Copyright 20 November 1923 by Joseph M. Schenck Productions. Released through Metro Pictures. U.S. release: 19 November 1923. New York opening at the Rialto: 9 December 1923. 7 reels. 6,220 feet. Runs 69 minutes when projected at sound speed; 74 minutes at recommended speed. (And I'm pleased to say that the video copy, though somewhat light in shading and lacking in contrast, runs the full 74).
SYNOPSIS: A re-telling of what could hopefully have been the final chapter of the Hatfield-McCoy feud, set in the period 1810-1831.
COMMENT: An absolute must-see delight for all of us train buffs, in which respect it resembles a companion piece to The General (1926), Our Hospitality is also a wonderful take on the manners and mores of the Old South. So, even if you don't particularly enjoy the picture's wondrously accurate recreation of Stevenson's "Rocket" and all the glorious gag variations so inventively worked into an increasingly nonsensical pattern on the inward train journey to Hospitality country, you must thrill to the irrepressible displays of Keaton's comic genius (not to mention his death-defying acrobatic skills), once that land of golden romance is reached.
Assisting Buster is a well-nigh faultless cast of time-tested players led by Keaton's own father and the lovely Natalie Talmadge. Plus Keaton's regular heavy, Joe Roberts.
OTHER VIEWS: After an unusually dramatic and moodily atmospheric start, this film settles down into hilarious Keaton territory once the heir-apparent sets out to claim the old family estate. The gags become progressively more daredevil as well as more breathtakingly surrealistic, ending in a wonderful "catch" as Buster rescues his real-life wife from the rapids... If you love The General, you'll dote on Our Hospitality. I think it's the funnier and far more inventive film.
SYNOPSIS: A re-telling of what could hopefully have been the final chapter of the Hatfield-McCoy feud, set in the period 1810-1831.
COMMENT: An absolute must-see delight for all of us train buffs, in which respect it resembles a companion piece to The General (1926), Our Hospitality is also a wonderful take on the manners and mores of the Old South. So, even if you don't particularly enjoy the picture's wondrously accurate recreation of Stevenson's "Rocket" and all the glorious gag variations so inventively worked into an increasingly nonsensical pattern on the inward train journey to Hospitality country, you must thrill to the irrepressible displays of Keaton's comic genius (not to mention his death-defying acrobatic skills), once that land of golden romance is reached.
Assisting Buster is a well-nigh faultless cast of time-tested players led by Keaton's own father and the lovely Natalie Talmadge. Plus Keaton's regular heavy, Joe Roberts.
OTHER VIEWS: After an unusually dramatic and moodily atmospheric start, this film settles down into hilarious Keaton territory once the heir-apparent sets out to claim the old family estate. The gags become progressively more daredevil as well as more breathtakingly surrealistic, ending in a wonderful "catch" as Buster rescues his real-life wife from the rapids... If you love The General, you'll dote on Our Hospitality. I think it's the funnier and far more inventive film.