The romantic leads, Jeffrey and Virginia aren't particularly interesting and their storythey can't marry until Virginia's abrasive older sister Angelica finds a matemay have been too contrived even for Jane Austen (a tiresome subplot involving a pouty young wife who feels neglected by her husband adds to the tedium). But the film picks up considerably when meek Reginald (Buster Keaton) enters the picture and is bullied by Jeffrey into courting Angelica. Some of his slapstick may belong to another decade, as when several characters keep losing their balance on a wet floor in a hotel lobby, but it is well done and really the main point of interest in what would otherwise be a so-so early talkie. The highlight of the slapstick sequences doesn't occur until toward the end of the film, but it is well worth waiting for--the 5'6" Keaton, clad in slipping pajama bottoms is more or less attacked by one statuesque blonde after another who, determined to teach him to be more masterful, fling him about like a rag doll (the funniest of the amazons is the six foot tall Charlotte Greenwood who resembles a blonde Olive Oyl).
It's not "The General," but it's certainly worth a look.
It's not "The General," but it's certainly worth a look.