Three on a Limb (1936)
** (out of 4)
A Scout leader (Buster Keaton) pulls into a drive-in where he quickly falls for the waitress (Lona Andre) who he agrees to drive home. Once there Keaton learns that the girl's parents want her to marry two different men so Buster gets the idea of trying to win her heart but when he goes to marry her the other two men show up and problems follow. This Educational film is yet another in a long-series where one can't help but feel sorry for Keaton. While this film isn't a complete failure and it's true there are a couple nice laughs, at the same time you can't help but wish the material had been much better. There's very little plot going on here outside Keaton wanting to marry the girl but her mom and dad both wanting someone else. This leads to a frantic scene at the end when all three men, the girl, the parents and a second woman are fighting and trying to get married but different sets end up in front of the preacher. This is a pretty amusing sequence because director Lamont keeps things moving at a fast pace and the actors are actually doing a fairly good job with it. The problem is that the majority of what leads up to it is rather lame. There are a couple jokes about Keaton being dressed up as a Scout but we're never really given any idea why he is. It doesn't add too much to the plot either. The Andre character is very adorable and the actress does a nice job with the role making you see why all three would be fighting over her. Keaton isn't too bad either as he takes several falls along the way. Harold Goodwin and Grant Withers are good as the other men.
