Buster Keaton - The Navigator film poster

''The Navigator'' is a 1924 American

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by and starring

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

. The film was written by

Clyde Bruckman Clyde Adolf Bruckman (June 30, 1894January 4, 1955) was an American writer and director of comedy films during the late silent era as well as the early sound era of cinema. Bruckman collaborated with such comedians as Buster Keaton, Monty Banks, ...

and co-directed by

Donald Crisp Donald William Crisp (27 July 188225 May 1974) was an English film actor as well as an early producer, director and screenwriter. His career lasted from the early silent film era into the 1960s. He won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor ...

. In 2018, the film was selected for preservation in the United States

National Film Registry The National Film Registry (NFR) is the United States National Film Preservation Board's (NFPB) collection of films selected for preservation, each selected for its historical, cultural and aesthetic contributions since the NFPB’s inception ...

by the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The libra ...

as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Plot

Wealthy Rollo Treadway (

) suddenly decides to propose to his neighbor across the street, Betsy O'Brien (

Kathryn McGuire Kathryn McGuire (December 6, 1903 – October 10, 1978) was an American dancer and actress. Early life Born in Peoria, Illinois, McGuire was said to be recognized by critics and fans alike as one of the rising stars in film. Selected one of ...

), and sends his servant to book passage for a honeymoon sea cruise to Honolulu. When Betsy rejects his sudden offer, however, he decides to go on the trip anyway, boarding without delay that night. Because the pier number is partially covered, he ends up on the wrong ship, the ''Navigator'', which Betsy's rich father (

Frederick Vroom Frederick Vroom (11 November 1857 – 24 June 1942) was a Canadian actor of the silent film era. Vroom appeared in more than 70 films between 1912 and 1939, mostly in supporting roles and bit parts. He played featured roles in Buster Keaton' ...

) has just sold to a small country at war. Agents for the other small nation in the conflict decide to set the ship adrift that same night. When Betsy's father checks up on the ship, he is captured and tied up ashore by the saboteurs. Betsy hears his cry for help and boards the ship to look for him, just before it is cut loose. The ''Navigator'' drifts out into the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the conti ...

. The two unwitting passengers eventually find each other. At first, they have great difficulty looking after themselves (both used to being served), but adapt after a few weeks. At one point, they sight a navy ship and hoist a brightly colored flag, not realizing it signals that the ship is under

quarantine A quarantine is a restriction on the movement of people, animals and goods which is intended to prevent the spread of disease or pests. It is often used in connection to disease and illness, preventing the movement of those who may have been ...

. As a result, the other vessel turns away. Finally, the ship grounds itself near an inhabited tropical island and springs a leak. While Rollo dons a deep sea

diving suit A diving suit is a garment or device designed to protect a diver from the underwater environment. A diving suit may also incorporate a breathing gas supply (such as for a standard diving dress or atmospheric diving suit). but in most cases the te ...

and submerges to patch the hole, the natives canoe out and take Betsy captive. When Rollo emerges from the ocean, the natives are scared off, enabling him to rescue Betsy and take her back to the ship. The natives return and try to board the ship. After a fierce struggle, Rollo and Betsy try to escape in a small dinghy. It starts to sink, and the natives swiftly overtake them in their canoes. Just when all seems lost, a navy submarine surfaces right underneath them and they are saved.

Cast

as Rollo Treadway Uncredited *

as John O'Brien *

as Betsy O'Brien *

Clarence Burton Clarence Forrest Burton (May 10, 1882 – December 2, 1933) was an American silent film actor. Biography Burton was born in Fort Lyon, in Benton County, Missouri and started in show business at the age of 5, playing stock and musical comedy ...

as Spy * H.N. Clugston as Spy *

Noble Johnson Noble Johnson (April 18, 1881 – January 9, 1978), later known as Mark Noble, was an American actor and film producer. He appeared in films such as ''The Mummy'' (1932), ''The Most Dangerous Game'' (1932), ''King Kong'' (1933) and ''Son of ...

as Cannibal Chief

Production

After the disappointing reception of '' Sherlock Jr.'', Keaton and his production team's morale was low and they were looking for a project that would be both exciting and successful. While Keaton's Art Director

Fred Gabourie Fred Gabourie (September 19, 1881 - March 1, 1951) was a technical director and department head. Gabourie was born in Tweed, Ontario, Canada. He was a member of the Seneca Indian tribe. He served in the Spanish–American War. He worked prim ...

was scouting shipyards in San Francisco for another project, ''

The Sea Hawk ''The Sea Hawk'' is a 1915 novel by Rafael Sabatini. The story is set over the years 1588–1593 and concerns a retired Cornish seafaring gentleman, Sir Oliver Tressilian, who is villainously betrayed by a jealous half-brother. After being ...

'', he was shown the former USAT ''Buford'', a 5,000 ton, 500 foot ship that was being sold for scrap metal.Meade, Marion. ''Buster Keaton: Cut to the Chase''. New York, NY: Da Capo Press. 1997. . p. 148. The actual vessel was a combination passenger/cargo liner that had served as an Army transport during the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (clock ...

and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Prior to ''The Navigator'', the ''Buford''s most controversial service had occurred in 1919–20, during the

First Red Scare The First Red Scare was a period during the early 20th-century history of the United States marked by a widespread fear of far-left movements, including Bolshevism and anarchism, due to real and imagined events; real events included the R ...

, when it was used as the "Soviet Ark" to deport 249 "undesirables" from the United States to revolutionary Russia, among them the noted anarchist

Emma Goldman Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Russian-born anarchist political activist and writer. She played a pivotal role in the development of anarchist political philosophy in North America and Europe in the first half of the ...

and

Alexander Berkman Alexander Berkman (November 21, 1870June 28, 1936) was a Russian-American anarchist and author. He was a leading member of the anarchist movement in the early 20th century, famous for both his political activism and his writing. Be ...

. Gabourie was told that a film production could do anything with the ship, including set it on fire or sink it. Gabourie rushed back to Los Angeles to tell Keaton about the ship. Keaton immediately began planning a film centered around the ''Buford'' and had producer

Joseph Schenck Joseph Michael Schenck (; December 25, 1876 – October 22, 1961) was a Russian-born American film studio executive. Life and career Schenck was born to a Jewish family in Rybinsk, Yaroslavl Oblast, Russian Empire. He emigrated to New York ...

charter the boat for $25,000 with a crew and sail it to Los Angeles. Keaton renamed the ship ''Navigator'' and his crew began remodeling the interior, installing film lights and painting it. Of the 60 person film crew about half were real sailors hired to handle the ship. Filming on board the ''Navigator'' took 10 weeks, mostly off Catalina Island. Keaton initially hired Donald Crisp to direct the dramatic scenes, leaving himself free to concentrate on the comedic ones. However, Crisp was uninterested in drama and "turned gagman overnight on me!" according to Keaton. Keaton found Crisp difficult to collaborate with and informed Crisp that the shooting was over just as an excuse to get rid of him. Keaton then resumed filming without Crisp. After completing production on board the ''Navigator'', Keaton began shooting the underwater scenes in the Riverside municipal pool. They had to extend the pool's concrete walls to 20 feet and submerged a 12-foot prop propeller. However the extra weight in the pool caused the bottom to cave in and Keaton had to move production to

Lake Tahoe Lake Tahoe (; was, Dáʔaw, meaning "the lake") is a freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada of the United States. Lying at , it straddles the state line between California and Nevada, west of Carson City. Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake i ...

to finish the underwater scenes. To cope with the cold temperature of the lake, Keaton and his cameraman drank bourbon. It took Keaton several weeks to complete what would become a few minutes of underwater footage in the finished film. The delays caused the film to go over budget, which Keaton and Schenck fought over.

Critical reception

The film premiered on Columbus day 1924 at the Capitol theater in New York, at that time the largest movie theater in the world. At the Capitol ''The Navigator'' was a huge hit and ran for a rare second week at the theater. Overall ''The Navigator'' was Keaton's biggest hit, grossing $680,406 on a $385,000 budget. Keaton said that it was his best film. When the film was released, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' said, "Buster Keaton's comedy is spotty. That is to say it's both commonplace and novel, with the latter sufficient to make the picture a laugh getter..." ''Variety'' also noted the novelty of Keaton's deep-sea diving costume and settings and praised "an abundance of funny business" in some of the film's underwater scenes. More recently, film critic Dennis Schwartz wrote that the film "proved to be Keaton's biggest commercial success. Its theme of civilized man versus the machine (seen as making life difficult for modern man because we have become so dependent on it and it's not always reliable), was never used more effectively in cinema."

Accolades

The film is recognized by

American Film Institute The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees. Lead ...

in these lists: * 2000: AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #81

References

External links

* *
''The Navigator''
at the

International Buster Keaton Society The International Buster Keaton Society Inc.— a.k.a. "The Damfinos"—is the official educational organization dedicated to comedy film producer-director-writer-actor-stuntman Buster Keaton. Mission According to the Damfinos, their mission is "t ...

''The Navigator''
at silentera.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Navigator, The 1924 films 1924 comedy films American black-and-white films Silent American comedy films American silent feature films Films directed by Donald Crisp Films directed by Buster Keaton Films set on ships Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films Seafaring films United States National Film Registry films 1920s American films Silent adventure films