The Navigator (1924)
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The Navigator Movie Review
The Navigator is a 1924 silent comedy film directed by and starring Buster Keaton. It’s a slapstick comedy classic for the ages.
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“Our story deals with one of those queer
tricks that Fate sometimes plays“
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It follows a man and a woman who are both rich and spoiled and end up as a romantic couple here accidentally on a ship. They at first are clumsy and inexperienced, but eventually they learn to take care of themselves and manage to survive in the end.
This is literally the ultimate ship comedy as I cannot think of any movie that comes close to it in terms of scope as they thought of everything here when it comes to the ship and the sea, or at least of many interesting things for the sake of comedy, and they mined them for great laughs.
I chuckled and laughed more than a couple of times watching this classic comedy, but most importantly I held a big smile on my face throughout as it’s just that wonderful, charming and fun. It honestly flew by for me how incredibly entertaining it was.
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Buster Keaton has rarely been better in both the starring and the directorial chair. The movie is stupendously directed while his acting performance is superb. He sold all of his slapstick and was genuinely funny and likable from beginning to end.
But he’s not alone here as he got the help from Kathryn McGuire who herself is quite underrated and she’s the second most important part of this feature and without her it wouldn’t be as great. She also is surprisingly funny in her role and action scenes, and the romance that blossoms between the two is downright beautiful and so well written.
The only thing The Navigator was missing lies in the runtime which is simply too short and I was having so much fun that I wanted much more from it. The ending felt maybe a bit abrupt, but still it was so amazing and that submarine emerging really caught me by surprise and that element of freshness imbues this picture from start to finish.
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The only thing I did not like very much plotwise is the cannibal angle. I do forgive the movie for being racist when in the twenties that’s how people thought of Africans – as savage and cannibalistic. But still it’s the one part of the flick that made it dated and over-the-top, though still the men portrayed a genuine threat for our protagonists, the one that they had much trouble to escape from, so I was ultimately fine with their inclusion, just not thrilled. Everything in this movie is so glorious that nitpicking does not suffice in this instance.
The ending is very effective and the beginning sets up the story really well, but it’s the middle part that left me hungry for more. I just loved every scene with the two stuck on a ship and having trouble eating, sleeping etc. Everything was so effective there with many moments being instantly memorable how hilarious and inventive they are.
Another scene that’s possibly a standout is the underwater stuff. I am a big fan of the ocean and underwater exploration so I was just thrilled seeing a silent movie with that element to it. They obviously had a lot of trouble shooting this scene, but it was worth it as the end result is both wonderfully goofy with the crab and the octopus while also being unforgettable and a lot of fun.
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The Navigator looks superb throughout and the intertitles are sparingly used which was a great choice as it relies more on action, but the action is constantly grounded in reality and thus all the funnier for it. And the cinematographers had a great eye for striking sets, shots and takes that are abundant throughout. It’s a classic by all means and it’s, along with his ‘Sherlock Jr’, Keaton’s most accomplished feature.
Beautifully shot, so well scripted and both superbly directed and acted by Buster Keaton, The Navigator is one of his masterpieces without any doubt. I loved the unexpected ending, the underwater scene is a glorious treasure to behold and the entire middle part was excellent. The two protagonists share great interactions and the film is very funny throughout thanks to excellent situational humor and slapstick that utilize its ship setting so well. It is a hugely entertaining flick filled with many instantly iconic, unforgettable moments. The Navigator is most certainly a comedy classic for the ages and an absolute masterpiece of the genre.
