Customer Reviews

Doughboys: Heroes of WWI [VHS]

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Doughboys" features Buster as a rich kid who erroneously enlists in the US Army during World War 1. Supposedly, some of the scenes are based on his experiences when he actually served in the war.

This film is set in 1917, according to the newspaper headline at the beginning of the picture that announces that President Wilson is calling for volunteers. However, if you looked away from the TV for 2 seconds and didn't see that headline, you would think it was set in 1930, when the film was made. Obviously, the MGM wardrobe department neglected to dress the cast and extras according to the style of the 1910's. None of the women are wearing corsets, long hair, big hats, lace-up shoes, or hemlines below the knee. None of the men are wearing derbies. All of the fashion you see is 1929-30. Buster is standing alongside his 1930 Rolls Royce in this scene. It is surprising to see such negligence in a Buster Keaton film because he had been a stickler for authenticity when he was in charge of the silent productions he made at his own studio, some with historical settings such as "Our Hospitality" and "The General". However, when he joined MGM in 1928, he was forced to surrender most of his creative control.

Anyway, two of the best scenes in "Doughboys" are musical numbers. One is an uncoordinated acrobatic dance that all the film historians and critics rave about. Buster is in women's clothing (although he's got his Army boots on) in a stage revue to entertain the boys. A better musical scene is a rhythmic ukulele duet with Ukulele "Ike" Edwards. In their barracks before a roll call on the ship to France, the two share a ukulele and sing a jazzy number about nothing (the lyrics go like this: "da dum da doo ba ba dum I want my mama dum bo dee dum bo") that ends with Buster either sucking or biting (I can't tell which) the tuning devices of the ukulele. We are robbed of more of this wonderful scene when Sargeant Brophy storms in and screams to break it up. Sargeant Brophy is played by Ed ("you mugs! ") Brophy, who happens to scream and beat up Buster in most of his MGM films. But this one takes the cake. I have never seen any actor take on so much scream abuse than Buster does in "Doughboys".

Buster's battle scenes are quite clever. He tries to incorporate his silent physical comedy in some of the scenes, but the producers of the film don't give him more than half a soundless minute to get his gags across (a good one which reminds me of Woody Allen is his clumsy attempt to dispose a bomb that's ready to explode). In the early days of sound, movie-makers were obsessed with filling all their scenes with lots of talk.

The wonderful Turner Classic Movies recently broadcast DOUGHBOYS during a Buster Keaton marathon in which they had just aired three of Keaton's 20s silent short films. The difference between this film and those classics was enormous. Conventional wisdom tells us that Buster Keaton's career plummeted (after peaking in the 1920s) when he signed his MGM contract, thus losing the creative control that he had enjoyed previously.

I knew this fact previously, so I went into DOUGHBOYS not expecting much. It was a comedy war film following Keaton's character from army boot training to combat. There have been other movies that have taken these elements and made entertaining and funny scenarios out of them, so I assumed that there existed the potential for quality. I made it a point to take the jokes on their own merits rather than anticipating the heights that I had seen in Keaton's silent films. Unfortunately, I had to wait quite a long time for the jokes. Eventually I realized that what I had been viewing as awkward silences were, in fact, the jokes.

Oh dear, this was painful. Buster Keaton never had a chance to save this one, because he has absolutely nothing to work with. I never felt sorry for a film star the way I felt for Buster Keaton in this stinker. What was MGM thinking? They get one of cinema's most original and creative minds and put him in the most clichéd and unfunny comedies I've seen.

I only laughed twice while watching this film. The first was the sequence where Buster (in drag) manages to infiltrate a stage show and gets involved in an energetic fight/dance routine. It's Buster playing to his slapstick strengths, so naturally the result is graceful and hilarious. The second laugh comes from almost the very end, where Buster finds himself behind enemy lines and discovers unexpected conditions.

Two funny gags do not a good film make. To any fan of Buster Keaton, I would recommend just fast forwarding to the dance sequence and forgetting about the rest. Oh, Buster, why, why, why?

"Doughboys" (1930) was inspired by Buster Keaton's World War I experiences. Unlike the majority of his MGM talkies, the studio allowed Keaton more creative input for this military comedy. Directed by Edward Sedgwick, "Doughboys" has some classic moments - such as Buster's performance in drag and his scat-singing with Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards - that make up for the dead spots. Though Keaton was fond of "Doughboys," it's a far cry from "The General" and "Seven Chances."

"In every picture it got tougher. They'd laugh their heads off at dialogue written by all your new writers. They were joke-happy. They didn't look for action; they were looking for funny things to say."

- Buster Keaton about why his career ultimately failed

DOUGH BOYS (a/k/a DOUGHBOYS, 1930, dir. Edward Sedgwick) was Buster Keaton's 6th feature film under contract to MGM (he'd do one more for MGM, What! No Beer? [VHS] with Jimmy Durante before being fired) and this was his 2nd talkie.

As they wanted him only so they could have another actor in the can, and to use as a punching bag, he is swimming in a cast of funny men and gorgeous dames. Not a bad comedy for all that, but one can plainly see the legendary "hell of a lot of pratfalls" Keaton complained about later. To compare this to silent film is not only egregiously stupid - it is also unnecessary.

A new world was being born. Even though it would eventually kill Buster, never forget he was the FATHER.

As an example of the cast, Ed Brophy plays the shrill, hilarious, bloodthirsty drill sergeant, "Chief" Sgt. Brophy. BK plays Elmer, a rich guy who mistakenly enlists in the Army during WWI. They ship off to France and hilarity ensues, with Brophy shrieking at poor BK like he was a teenaged brat. What boggles me about this particular film is the ire and confusion it draws from fans who apparently have never heard BK speak before this.

For the life of me, I cannot understand this silly attitude toward Buster's voice. Sure it was a deep, whiskey-sodden Kansas drawl of a voice. It added to his sexiness (oh, yes, he was sexy) and he made it work with the comedy he was doing. In other words, he read his lines and as Spencer Tracy always said, that's all you must do.

MGM pioneered the "screwball" comedy which was really a variety show with scads of comedians. Buster was relegated by MGM into bit-player status within less than a year after he went under contract with them. They were launching their new talkie stars on the backs and necks of the silent immortals. Buster had been warned by his friends not to go under contract - Oliver Hardy and Charlie Chaplin were the loudest about it. Here, it is too late.

Most evil of all are the people who say Buster would do anything for a dollar. If you had lived his life and suffered what he did, you'd have prostituted yourself down the block from wherever you'd be squatting! Be careful whom you insult. This is the man who invented modern film. Don't forget, he even got as far as being THE uncredited gag writer for the Marx Brothers: the ultimate insult.

Strictly as film, this comedy is not at all bad. It has very advanced humor that is still fresh and really funny. It has silly moments but they are few and far between. This film in particular gives the Marx Brothers a run for their money. May I beg to remind all critics that were it not for the earlier Buster, this type of comedy film would never have been conceived! So if you can tolerate the disintegrated picture (the sound is flawless) then go for it. It's a nice piece of history.

Buster [about his girlfriend]: She kissed me!
Fellow comrade-in-arms: So sue her!!

However, if you love Buster Joe as I do, be ready for the heartache of a lifetime when you see what he's been reduced to playing. Two stars are for you, Buster, and one for the comedy history the film provides.

This isn't a four star film if you're not a fan of Buster Keaton. However, if you are a fan, it has a far more independent feel to it than its predecessor, Free and Easy, which was Buster's first talkie. Here Buster plays a wealthy young man who doesn't quite get how the rest of the world works until he manages to accidentally join the Army and is shipped overseas during World War I. Ed Brophy does a great job as an over-loud sergeant who is always on Buster's case, and Cliff Edwards pairs up well with Keaton in a musical number and a skit. This is probably second to Speak Easily as being the best of Keaton's MGM talkies, although there is still no comparison to his silent features. Maybe this film is OK because it seems that Buster was allowed to put more of his stamp on it than his other MGM films. For example, the scene where he is entertaining the troops is right out of how he actually entertained soldiers when he was in the Army during World War I. Also, Keaton always said he never quite got the point of WWI since he knew so many nice Germans. Keaton's passivist views comes through in subtle ways throughout the film rather than with the more heavy-handed way Chaplin conveyed the same message.

No part of it is actually an embarrassment to watch, and the parts that are belabored are less so than some parts of Keaton's lesser silents. However, Buster never reaches the heights that he does in any of those silents either. The main problem with this and all of Keaton's talking pictures was that early sound pictures were all going for dialogue laughs and that was just not Buster's brand of comedy. However, if you are a Keaton fan there is still much to like about this wartime comedy. Too bad it is not out on DVD.