Customer Reviews

Speak Easily [VHS]

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Boy! Am I in the minority opinion here or what?

I have often heard the complaints that when Buster started making sound pictures and signed with MGM his career was over. And I even believe Buster made remarks to that effect as well. But, I don't know, I don't mind Buster's sound pictures. Granted I have only seen a few of them, I think of them as light diversions. I also don't mind the films Laurel & Hardy made in the 40s.

"Speak Easily" has Buster Keaton playing Professor Post, a lonely man who never gets a chance to go out and lead a social life. He has no friends, no love in his life and only his butler to tell his worries to. One day Buster finds out he has inherited 750,000. He sets off and plans to go out a live life. Do all the things he's always wanted to do.

"Speak Easily" works best in the early moments and then struggles trying to find the correct tone. Maybe this is because Keaton and Durante had such different comedy styles.

But I still don't think of this as a bad movie and wouldn't mind watching it again. It may not be as good as some of Buster's silent films such as "Sherlock, Jr.", "The General", and "Our Hospitality".

The movie was directed by Edward Sedgwick, who directed several of Keaton's later films starting with in order of preference; "The Cameraman", "Spite Marriage", "Doughboys", and "The Passionate Plumber" (Also with Durante), though I prefer "Plumber" over this movie.

But "Speak Easily" has some good slapstick moments, particulary at the end of the film. I also liked a scene between Keaton and Thelma Todd, as an actress trying to get into Buster's good graces. And a gag dealing with a train in the beginning I found funny.

I'm sorry, surprised, and slightly embarrassed to find I'm the only one who likes this movie, but contrary to what you've heard I'd recommend Keaton fans take a look at this one.

Bottom-line: Enjoyable, light Keaton "talkie" that offers laughs but does have its problems. Has enough moments that made me laugh to suggest the movie to fans. Or maybe I'm a pushover for Keaton?

Despite his personal troubles during the early 1930s, Buster Keaton reveals another dimension of his comic talent in "Speak Easily." He gives a splendid performance as Timolean Zanders Post, an isolated professor who believes he has inherited $750,000. With this mistaken financial security, he manages a struggling vaudeville troupe that he takes to Broadway. "Speak Easily" was the second MGM film to pair Keaton with Jimmy Durante. Though an unusual combination, they work remarkably well in this enjoyable musical-comedy - one of the few movies that displays Keaton's flair for verbal humor. The result is the best of Keaton's MGM talkies.

If you're a Keaton fan your eyeballs will not melt in their sockets if you watch this - it really is not bad. It would be a rather enjoyable early talkie if it were not for the fact that Buster Keaton's talents are being wasted in this film. Since I know that by this time (1932) MGM gave him no creative control and treated him just as a performer, I can only wonder what the film would have been like if someone had listened to his ideas. However, at least there are no moments in which you must look away in embarrassment at what MGM is doing to the man, as there are in Free and Easy.

The good:
a. Unlike Free and Easy (a real embarrassment of a film), Buster does get the girl in the end.
b. Buster shows a real penchant for dialogue and verbal comedy, demonstrating that he was not outside his element in talking pictures.
c. The seduction/morning after scenes with Buster and Thelma Todd. Todd gave the best supporting performance in the cast. What a shame she died so young.
d. The ending where Keaton disrupts the show but scores a hit with the audience. It's not the most clever stuff he ever did, but it is funny.

The bad:
a. Buster being made to play a straight man to Jimmy Durante.
b. Buster's expressive eyes being hidden behind his pince-nez spectacles.
c. Buster bungling into a happy ending. In his years as an independent filmmaker his character would often start out lost and fumbling around, but he figured things out in the end and came up with resourceful and deliberate solutions.

The ugly:
Why did this film need Buster Keaton anyway? Lots of comics less talented than Keaton could have been employed to recite the dialogue that was written for this script and take a few pratfalls. I'm sure in 1943 you could have dressed up Orson Welles in a gorilla suit and he would have been an effective and convincing gorilla in just about any film you put him in - but why on earth would you want to?

As far as video and audio quality, this film is in very good shape for being a public domain copy of a 75 year old film. There's no hissing in the audio and the video has no scratches in it and is quite clear.

SPEAK EASILY (1932) - Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Ruth Selwyn, Thelma Todd, Hedda Hopper, Sidney Toler, Edward Brophy

MGM's star transition from Buster to Jimmy continues, yet here Keaton holds his own as Timoleon Zanders Post, a lonely college professor who, wrongly believing he's inherited $750K, goes out into the world. Smitten by a talentless ingenue, Post invests in a crummy stageshow so he can take it to Broadway. Durante plays colorful entrepreneur/song-and-dance man 'Jimmy' Dodge, who at one jubilant point sings a few lines from his signature piece, "Can Broadway Do Without Me?"

During NY rehearsals, the self-appointed starlet (Todd) of newly dubbed and tweaked musical revue "Speak Easily" invites Professor Post to her apartment for an intimate party. They get roaring drunk, she passes out and the gentlemanly Post manages to drag the woman to her bed. Then he disrobes, hangs his suit on an imaginary rack in the outside hall and collapses in the other bed.

Comes dawn and with it, two giant hangovers. Feigning anger, the actress questions what happened, blames innocent Post for getting her blotto and tells him to leave. While he gathers his things, she sneakily phones a friend (Brophy) and urges him to hurry right over and pretend to be her irate brother. When the "brother" suddenly arrives, suitless Post hides in the other room while Brophy bellows that this cad must marry his sister.

As he's carrying on, Jimmy climbs the fire escape and sends the dignified Post scurrying down it in his own flashy checkered duds. Then ol' banana nose bursts out of the bedroom half-dressed to cheerily announce that it'll be a sacrifice, but he'll marry the girl! It's a classic switcheroo that foils the scheme of golddigging Todd and Brophy.

This story's last 20 minutes equals A NIGHT AT THE OPERA's zany finale, with Buster showing considerable acrobatic skills, as his Professor goes onstage several times during premiere night and inadvertently disrupts the show, much to the delight of its audience.

Absolute chaos is heightened by a bill collector with an injuction who, when he corners Post, will demand an owed 10K or he'll close the show. At first he doesn't believe that clownish Keaton is the smash hit's owner and not its star; his payment demands are met when an investor with deep pockets buys half-interest in Speak Easily. Post gets the girl of his dreams and it's a happily ever after ending to a thoroughly satisfying comedy.

Highly recommended!

Keaton made worst movies that this for MGM - Free and Easy is the one that springs to my mind. In saying that this is no masterpiece, far from it.

The storyline leads to what should be a funny movie and parts of this are, for instance the scene with Thelma Todd at the hotel room (BTW love that drinks cabinet) and the morning after. I also like the little bit at the beginning with the train. And I like the Theatre Scenes at the end of the movie.

But like nearly everyone here we all know what was to come after so we know that this is the beginning of the end for Keaton at MGM. Durante and Keaton are not a good mix, Cliff Edwards and Keaton would have been much better combination.

The two-star rating on this review is specifically for the quality of MADACY's videotape, which is recorded at SLP speed (the slowest!). The film itself is just great!


SPEAK EASILY (1932) - Buster Keaton, Jimmy Durante, Ruth Selwyn, Thelma Todd, Hedda Hopper, Sidney Toler, Edward Brophy

MGM's star transition from Buster to Jimmy continues, yet here Keaton holds his own as Timoleon Zanders Post, a lonely college professor who, wrongly believing he's inherited $750K, goes out into the world. Smitten by a talentless ingenue, Post invests in a crummy stageshow so he can take it to Broadway. Durante plays colorful entrepreneur/song-and-dance man 'Jimmy' Dodge, who at one jubilant point sings a few lines from his signature piece, "Can Broadway Do Without Me?"

During NY rehearsals, the self-appointed starlet (Todd) of newly dubbed and tweaked musical revue "Speak Easily" invites Professor Post to her apartment for an intimate party. They get roaring drunk, she passes out and the gentlemanly Post manages to drag the woman to her bed. Then he disrobes, hangs his suit on an imaginary rack in the outside hall and collapses in the other bed.

Comes dawn and with it, two giant hangovers. Feigning anger, the actress questions what happened, blames innocent Post for getting her blotto and tells him to leave. While he gathers his things, she sneakily phones a friend (Brophy) and urges him to hurry right over and pretend to be her irate brother. When the "brother" suddenly arrives, suitless Post hides in the other room while Brophy bellows that this cad must marry his sister.

As he's carrying on, Jimmy climbs the fire escape and sends the dignified Post scurrying down it in his own flashy checkered duds. Then ol' banana nose bursts out of the bedroom half-dressed to cheerily announce that it'll be a sacrifice, but he'll marry the girl! It's a classic switcheroo that foils the scheme of golddigging Todd and Brophy.

This story's last 20 minutes equals A NIGHT AT THE OPERA's zany finale, with Buster showing considerable acrobatic skills, as his Professor wanders onstage several times during premiere night and inadvertently disrupts the show, much to the delight of its audience.

Absolute chaos is heightened by a bill collector with an injuction who, when he corners Post, will demand an owed 10K or he'll close the show. At first he doesn't believe that clownish Keaton is the smash hit's owner and not its star; his payment demands are met when an investor with deep pockets buys half-interest in Speak Easily. Post gets the girl of his dreams and it's a happily ever after ending to a thoroughly satisfying comedy.

Highly recommended!

First about the 2011 AFA entertainment dvd, then I'll tell you about the TRIAD dvd. I would rate both these products zero stars if I could.

The image on the AFA version is soft and dark, dusty, and the sound is out of synchronization to the picture. Not being one of Keaton's best films, the movie needs all the help it can get, and it certainly does NOT get it here.

The image on the TRIAD "Enhanced Version" DVD is shiny and smooth, but also fuzzy and smeary. It looks like someone copied it off of the television with an old VHS video machine. Facial details, in fact all details are indecipherable. And on this dvd, too, the sound is a full 1-second LATE to the image.

I guess we wait for Warner Brothers to release a remastered version for their On Demand store.

I really didn't mind "Speak Easily". As another reviewer mentioned, he is allowed to be seen as a intelligent person and his inexperience comes from the "Ivory Tower of Academia" which is more believable and doesn't show him to be such a loser as in other films. Also, in the film, he is not a victim, he offers to help the Theater company and they seem to really like him despite some of his oddities. Finally, FINALLY he is allowed to get the girl, which MGM seemed to think was not possible.
If Keaton had full control over this film, it would have been tighter, the physical humor less broad and no Jimmy Durante but all things considered, it's really not that bad which is about the best you can say about a MGM talkie.

This is not a bad movie... it's not great, but if you love Buster Keaton you'll enjoy it. Buster is a good actor and always loveable! His drunk scene with Thelma Todd is pretty funny. If you plan on purchasing this movie, the 2009 Triad version has a much cleaner picture than the one from Alpha Vidio.

Speak Easily, 1932 film

The film begins by showing "Potts College" founded 1876, it is co-educational. Professor Post returns, and the conversation is morbidly funny. A letter brings news of an inheritance, so Post leaves to travel by train. There is comic confusion on the train. We learn of the practical joke! At the station Post misses the train and visits the Opera House for a show. Post loans the show $250 to pay their debt. On Broadway they learn how they are rated. Miss Eleanor Espere walks in for her part. "Oh Timmy!" Hospitality in a Big City? "I prefer cocoa." Later Timmy has a few drinks at Eleanor's place. There is confusion afterwards. Post's lawyer shows up with news about the inheritance. Post must leave the state to prevent an attachment!

Jimmy Dodge comes to the rescue! The law wants to attach the property before the show begins. The show begins, the audience laughs at the mistakes. The actions are supposed to be funny. The confusion certainly is. It continues to the next act. The audience laughs. They think it is part of the show. A man offers a large sum for a half interest in the show. So there is a happy ending.

In addition to Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante, you will see Thelma Todd and Hedda Hopper. Sidney Toler is the stage director (he later played "Charlie Chan"). The background scenes tell about show business life in the 1930s.