Martin Bradley
Perfection and one of the greatest comedies ever made. Is "The Navigator" the best of Keaton, (he co-directed it with Donald Crisp)? Impossible to say since there are so many masterpieces. This is the one in which he is adrift on an ocean liner with the girl he hopes to marry. It's short, much too short; at under one hour it hardly qualifies as a feature but it has some of the best visual gags in all of cinema while Keaton's performance is, of course, nothing short of sublime. The climatic sequences involving a tribe of cannibals may hardly seem very PC these days but we must remember when the film was made. At least there are no Stepin Fetchit butlers in this one.
Bill Slocum
No, it's not Buster Keaton's first movie, or his greatest, but "The Navigator" is something quite wonderful: A primer in motion as to who he was and how he left so indelible an impression.In a way, "The Navigator" synthesizes the different facets of Keaton from each of his three prior features: There's the goofball war with nature seen in "Three Ages," the stoic but hapless victim of "Our Hospitality," and the anything-goes surrealism of "Sherlock Jr." Yes, the plot is weak, there are a couple of forced gags, and a cop-out ending, but try not to laugh watching this wonder of silent comedy.You can even call this a sort of sequel to Buster's first feature, "The Saphead." Buster again is a rich, sheltered playboy, one Rollo Treadway, who we are told right away is "living proof every family tree must have its sap." Rejected by his girlfriend Betsy (Kathryn McGuire) when he proposes marriage, Rollo defiantly decides to board their honeymoon ship alone, doing so the night before because he can't bear the thought of getting up in the morning. When the vessel is set adrift that night, it leaves Rollo alone - until he discovers Betsy there, too.I tried to shorten that synopsis, but it was tough. The best thing you can say about the convoluted plot is the film wastes little time getting you past it and into the action on board with Rollo and Betsy. Everything about "The Navigator" is so economic, yet the film is dense with gags, so many it's easy to find new ones with every new viewing.There are great comic sequences, each showing a different side to Buster's talent. The great opening on the ship, where Rollo and Betsy run around trying to find each other, is a masterpiece of comic timing, with each popping up just as the other disappears from the frame. It only works in a silent movie, where you can't hear the patter of their running feet which would clue them into the other's whereabouts in a trice. You laugh not just because it's funny, but for the thrill of the inventively weird symmetry on display.Then there's a kitchen sequence where Rollo and Betsy try to prepare food, each not knowing much about how it is done from being waited upon all their lives. So she makes coffee with three whole beans and a pitcher of seawater, while he tries to open a can of condensed milk with a drill. Then they sit down and try to eat what they have wrought.The knock on "The Navigator" is that it lacks a bit for heart, playing more like an extended short. The substance and depth are entirely in the gags, which is great when they are so good. Buster was said to have issues about the film, namely the work of his co-director Donald Crisp. But how about poor Frederick Vroom, playing Betsy's father! He's the third-billed actor, gets a couple of scenes, and then is literally dumped ten minutes into the movie, his fate left up in the air. He plays a war profiteer, sure, but they don't even bother to spell his name right in the credits!I'm not wild about a couple of bits, one involving a menacing portrait (said to be of Crisp, though it looks more like Mussolini) and the other when a record suddenly plays "Asleep In The Deep." They get chuckles but feel contrived, unlike everything else in the gag department here. Buster is brilliant here, either on land or in the water, and he's matched by McGuire, who executes her pratfalls with exquisite timing and no small amount of daring.No, I wouldn't call this the greatest Keaton film I've seen. It's just timelessly funny and completely disarming. Most importantly, it's a great introduction to newcomers of what Buster brought to the table that made him so unique. Worth a viewing, and worth another and another even more.
dfiscaletti8
The Navigator was an alright film, I wouldn't say it was amazing…but I don't have much experience with silent films so I guess my opinion isn't worth much. The movie did have quite a few funny parts though, some that were actually funny and others that were just so outrageous you couldn't help but laugh. I enjoyed the fact that the woman had a predominate role, I feel like that wasn't very common back then; I believe she did an excellent job portraying her role. As did Buster Keaton, but together they both made the film enjoyable. By the middle of the movie I found myself getting distracted and kind of lost sense with what was going on. I think it was because the comedy had gotten predictable and slowed down and the story seemed to drag out what seemed like could have been short scenes. Although I didn't enjoy the story line of the middle of the movie I do believe the film work was impressive with all the creative shots and use of detail. Even though there weren't many title cards it was very easy to understand what was going on, which was very refreshing. Over I think the acting and use of detail were some of The Navigators strong points and any silent film fan would enjoy this movie.
