Steamboat Bill, Jr.



Doo-doodoo-doo...Oh, right.

Arguably Buster Keaton's most famous film, this silent movie from 1928 stars Keaton as a steamboat owner's son, who hasn't seen his father since he was very young. Bill Jr. is clumsy, sloppy, and likes a girl who is the daughter of a rival steamboat captain. Eventually his father gets fed up and tells him to return to Boston. As he's about to go, his father's steamboat is condemned and his father arrested in a situation instigated by the rival. He tears up the train ticket to Boston, and breaks his father out of jail. There's a big storm, and things blow around that really shouldn't blow around. Eventually, he manages to save his father, the rival, and the daughter from the storm. Presumably they get along after this, although it's not actually shown.

 was added to the National Film Registry in 2016.

Watch it at Wikimedia Commons.


 * Blatant Lies: "That must have happened when the dough fell in the tool chest."
 * By Wall That Is Holey: The Trope Maker. Directly inspired Jackie Chan's scene in Project A 2.
 * Irony: the rival claims that Bill's steamboat should be condemned because the first strong wind will sink it. Guess what is the only structure to survive the storm.
 * Jail Bake: Instead of the traditional file-in-a-cake, it's tools in a loaf of bread, but same principle.
 * No Peripheral Vision: Bill Jr. hides by crouching and by lying down on a board.
 * Parental Marriage Veto: Both fathers do this, with the implication they would prefer an Arranged Marriage.
 * Shopping Montage: Subverted -- Bill Sr. makes his son try on a dozen hats (including Buster's signature flat porkpie) in an attempt to replace his beret, only for the hat to blow off almost immediately.
 * Sleeping Dummy: For Bill Jr. to escape from his father and meet his girlfriend.
 * Star-Crossed Lovers
 * A Storm Is Coming
 * Trash the Set: Much of the town is destroyed in the climactic storm.
 * Wrongful Accusation Insurance: Breaking someone out of jail is a crime no matter how trumped up the charges.