“Coney Island, Shot On Location On A Busy Day In Luna Park In 1917, May Be The One In Which His Character

“Coney Island, shot on location on a busy day in Luna Park in 1917, may be the one in which his character displays the widest emotional range. In the first scene he shimmies up a pole to watch a Mardi Gras parade, laughs, and tries to applaud—causing him to lose his grip on the pole and fall onto his date for the day (Alice Mann). Buster also weeps theatrically to the camera when the girl deserts him at the entrance to a boardwalk ride called the Witching Waves. Later he laughs some more, doubling over in mirth at the plight of poor Roscoe, whom Buster has just inadvertently knocked down with a giant mallet at a “test-your-strength” booth. In the second reel, feeling his oats in a brand-new lifeguard uniform, Buster executes an impeccable standing backflip, for no other apparent reason than because he can. He even preens for a beat or two afterward, puffing up his chest before exiting the frame in an attitude of manly resolve.”

Camera Man: Buster Keaton, the Dawn of Cinema, and the Invention of the Twentieth Century by Dana Stevens