Battling Butler is a 1926

1926 in film

-Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film....

 comedy

Comedy

Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...

 silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 directed by and starring Buster Keaton

Buster Keaton

Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...

.

Plot summary

Alfred's father, portrayed as a wealthy aristocrat, feels his son has grown up too comfortably and as a result has not become what a man should be. To remedy this predicament he sends his son Alfred off on a hunting trip. On the trip, in the midst of many follies brought on by his inexperience with the outdoors, he meets a young mountain girl. After some initial friction he decides he has fallen in love with her. Alfred's butler, who has accompanied him on the outing, is sent to arrange the marriage with the girl's father, who thinks Alfred is too weak to become a member of the family. In an attempt to change the father's mind, the butler tells the girl's father and brother that Alfred is actually Alfred "Battling" Butler, promoted in the morning newspaper as a professional boxer. The deceptive explanation works, and the father and brother of the mountain girl proudly arrange a wedding. Comic mischief ensues as Alfred and his butler attempt to make their newly fabricated story seem plausible to the family of his new bride.

Origins

The movie is one of Keaton's rare instances where his source is based on a stage play. The play was actually called Battling Buttler and starred Charlie Ruggles on Broadway in 1923. It initially ran from October 8, 1923-July 5, 1924 playing first at the Selwyn Theatre and then moving to the Times Square Theatre. In total there were a whopping 313 performances, a very impressive run for an original play.

Cast

• Buster Keaton
  Buster Keaton
  Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
  
   as Alfred Butler
• Sally O'Neil
  Sally O'Neil
  Sally O'Neil was an American film actress of the 1920s. She was born as Virginia Louise Noonan, one of 11 children born to a judge in Bayonne, New Jersey. One of her sisters was actress Molly O'Day....
  
   as the mountain girl
• Walter James as her father
• Bud Fine as her brother
• Francis McDonald
  Francis McDonald
  Francis McDonald was an American actor whose career spanned 52 years. Although never really a headlining actor, he made 41 film and television appearances between 1913 and 1965, appearing in films such as The Temptress in 1926 with Greta Garbo...
  
   as Alfred "Battling" Butler
• Mary O'Brien
  Mary O'Brien
  Mary Maime O’Brien was a feminist political philosopher. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, she trained and worked as a nurse before emigrating to Canada in 1957. In Canada, O’Brien first worked as a nurse and then completed graduate work in political philosophy. She taught sociology and feminist social...
  
   as his wife
• Tom Wilson
  Tom Wilson (actor)
  Tom Wilson was an American film actor. He appeared in 254 films between 1915 and 1963. He was born in Helena, Montana, and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Little Marie...
  
   as his trainer
• Eddie Borden
  Eddie Borden
  Eddie Bordon May 1, 1888 – July 1, 1955) was an American film actor who started in vaudeville and began appearing in films from 1921-1955.-Selected filmography:* Hold Everything * Battling Butler * Rough Romance...
  
   as his manager
• Snitz Edwards
  Snitz Edwards
  Snitz Edwards was a notable character actor of the early years of the silent film era into the 1930s.- Background and career on the stage :...
  
   as Alfred's valet

See also

• List of American films of 1926
  • 1926 in film
    1926 in film
    -Events:*August - Warner Brothers debuts the first Vitaphone film, Don Juan. The Vitaphone system used multiple 33⅓ rpm disc records developed by Bell Telephone Laboratories and Western Electric to play back audio synchronized with film....
    
    
  • Buster Keaton filmography
    Buster Keaton filmography
    - Starring Roscoe Arbuckle, featuring Buster Keaton :- Starring Buster Keaton :- Starring Buster Keaton, for Educational Pictures :- Starring Buster Keaton, for Columbia Pictures :- Starring Buster Keaton, for independent producers :...