Do any of the foreign language versions of Keaton's MGM talkies exist?
Has anyone seen any of them?
Are they in any way different from the English-language versions?
...And what are your thoughts on Ed Brophy, auteur and polymath?
Re: Buster question
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2021 4:52 am
by The Blackbird
The Spanish version of FREE AND EASY, ESTRELLADOS, exists and was released on DVD with the original.
Though it's not Keaton, the Spanish version of MIN AND BILL, LA FRUTA AMARGA, survives.
Buster Keaton- Casanova Wider Willen On DVD -& Other “Foreign” Keatons — including 1962 Munich Visit For The General
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2021 10:22 am
by Fred M. Stevens
Another Thread, From Nov 15, 2020 8:33 am Paul Morgan who starred in the two German Keatons below,
died in a camp.
Casanova Wider Willen, the German language version of Parlor, Bedroom and Bath, is now available on a region 2 DVD — see this thread.
Was it previously considered lost — and, if so, when was it found? Is it public domain, like its English language counterpart? Do any other foreign language MGM Keatons exist besides Wir schalten um auf Hollywood and Estrellados?
...............
Also, does this Lux Video Theatre TV episode exist? Full Cast & Crew: The Night of January Sixteenth (1956) Gertrude Astor Member of the Jury Betty Bronson Member of the Jury Ken Carpenter Self - Announcer Mary Carr Member of the Jury Viola Dana Member of the Jury Paul Dubov Regan Douglass Dumbrille Whitfield Sarah Fadden Magda Franklyn Farnum Member of the Jury Julia Faye Member of the Jury Alfred Hitchcock Self - Lux Intermission Guest Buster Keaton Member of the Jury Jerry Lawrence Announcer Eddie Marr Court Clerk Shirley Mason Member of the Jury May McAvoy Member of the Jury Jack Mulhall Member of the Jury Addison Richards Judge Hayden Rorke Van Fleet Mack Sennett Foreman of the Jury Richard Shannon Stevens Phyllis Thaxter Karen Emerson Treacy Anderson Les Tremayne Flint Helen Westcott Nancy
“Buster Keaton drives a steam locomotive into the Munich Central train station during German Mardi Gras, while the Bundeswehr Military Band plays a medley of songs from the Old South. Apart from the delightful incongruity which Keaton likely enjoyed, there is something elegiac and very satisfying seeing Buster here, on the threshold of having his classic films rediscovered throughout the world. No filmed footage seems to have been captured during his 1965 Venice ovation, but these brief scenes from February 1962 almost make up for that loss.”
The first song — if played at the event, this isn’t the live version — is Night Train, a funny choice, as the tune — despite its locomotive-themed title — was, even then, best known as a striptease anthem.
Ideally, as he pulled into the station, Keaton would have stripped off a East German uniform for a West German one.
Re: Buster question
Posted: Mon Apr 19, 2021 10:58 am
by BudAbbott
Thanks!
And have you seen any of them yourself?
Re: Buster question
Posted: Tue Apr 20, 2021 12:57 pm
by The Blackbird
ESTRELLADOS can be found online if you look for it. So can EL PRESIDIO, the Spanish version of THE BIG HOUSE.
Re: Buster question
Posted: Sun Apr 25, 2021 2:08 am
by BudAbbott
Thanks for the tip, I found it. Looks awful -- but Buster's Spanish is definitely funny.