FREE AND EASY

US, 1930, 92 minutes, Black and white.
Buster Keaton, Anita Page, Robert Montgomery, Trixie Friganza, Fred Niblo, Lionel Barrymore, David Burton, William Haines.
Directed by Edward Sedgwick.

After successful films in the 1920s, silent films, like The General, Buster Keaton moved into the sound era. This was his first sound film. He was to continue, with ups and downs, until the mid 1960s with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Donald O’ Connor starred in 1957 in The Buster Keaton Story.

This is a Hollywood film, although it starts in the midwest, a young woman, Anita Page, travelling with her dominating mother, Trixie Friganza, goes to Hollywood for an audition. She is chaperoned by a town official played by Buster Keaton who is one of those sad little men that he portrayed so often, subject to a great deal of slapstick early in the film trying to get on and off the train. On the train is a heartthrob played by Robert Montgomery, sure of himself, ingratiating himself with the young woman.

The film is a great deal about Hollywood, including a film premiere with Buster Keaton finding himself on stage with actor William Haines in some farcical situations. He is excluded from the studios but tries to get in, with all kinds of ruses and disguises, wanders the sets, encounters actual directors Fred Niblo and Lionel Barrymore at work with their films. The young girl has some auditions, gets some roles – and there are some quite lavish presentations of film styles of the time, especially elaborate musicals with choruses.

Keaton is also offered an opportunity to appear in a film, in costume, but he makes a continual hash of his lines, all kinds of slapstick comedy as he ruins the filmmaking.

The mother also gets a film contract and throws her weight around.

Finally, Keaton who is in love with the young girl tries to explain his love for her but she interprets this as his giving good advice as to her response to Larry and his overtures.