Review of The Railrodder

7/10
The Railrodder is a fascinating look at Buster Keaton during his latter years
11 June 2011
Just watched on the National Film Board of Canada site as linked from Mark Evanier's this latter day short of Buster Keaton's near the end of his life. In it, he travels from London, England, to the Canadian countryside before riding on a railcar he stumbles into. Some amusing gags abound like seeing him drinking tea while anticipating some rain as he covers his cup with the saucer or doing a shot of him passing through from the POV of restaurateurs. Nothing really hilarious but it's fascinating to watch the now-elderly man still do his own stunts and surviving on his own terms to boot. After years of suffering a creative decline after his treatment at M-G-M during the early sound era, it's such a treat to see him come full circle to his rediscovery as a comic genius during his final years of his career. This fascinating short was also the subject of a documentary filmed around the same time called Buster Keaton Rides Again. Since the sites I listed in the beginning have put that one up as well, I'm going there right now to watch it...
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