Steamboat Bill, Jr.

“The Laugh Special of the Age. See It.”

Willie Canfield Jr. (Buster Keaton) steps off the train in a beret and a ukulele-strumming collegiate getup, a recent graduate arriving to meet the father he has not seen since he was a boy. Steamboat Bill Sr. (Ernest Torrence) is a broad, gruff river captain who expected a sturdier son. Charles Reisner and Keaton shoot the comedy in wide, steady frames, so each stunt plays out in a single unbroken view.