The Cameraman
The film was almost lost forever. The only known copy at the time was destroyed in a fire at Storage Vault No. 7 at MGM on 10 August 1965. The master copy of it used today was made using a print that was found in Paris, in 1968, and a master positive copy of nearly the entire film, found in 1991. In modern copies of the film, the quality of the image varies dramatically; the scenes with best quality were obtained from the material found in 1991.,At the end, when Buster and Sally are walking in the ticker-tape parade that Buster mistakenly thinks is for him, it can be seen that the parade is actually for Charles A. Lindbergh after his historic flight over the Atlantic which took place in 1927. Earlier, after Buster had purchased his movie camera, his bank passbook noted that the account is closed on June 30, 1928. However, this is not a Goof, as the parade is used simply for the effect of the movie, not as a historical representations.,Sally Richards: [advice to the aspiring cameraman] You must always grind forward... never backward.,There is an Italian edition of this film on DVD, re-edited in double version (1.33:1 and 1.78:1) with the contribution of film historian Riccardo Cusin. This version is also available for streaming on some platforms.,Featured in The Big Parade of Comedy (1964),Its sight gags may not be as funny, complex and clever as in Buster's independent films (The General, Sherlock Jr, Steamboat Bill Jr and others), but The Cameraman has probably the best romance of all his films, and is certainly one of the best directed. It has some wonderful sequences in it: the giant crane shot up and down the side of a gigantic stairway setpiece, contains probably the most impressive piece of direction. Buster's face was at its handsomest here, just before his excesses of the 30's. The version i saw had a fittingly gorgeous romantic score, which didn't hurt. Overall, The Cameraman is one of Buster's most charming, enjoyable films. And now one of my favourites.

If you've never seen a silent movie, i'd recommend this as a great place to start. Its such a welcoming, likeable movie. Visual humour does get much funnier than this - but the main source of joy in Keaton movies is Buster's irrepressibly likeable little character, here at his most likeable.,