The Triumph of Lester Snapwell

The Triumph of Lester Snapwell (1963) is an inoffensive little commercial from Buster Keaton's late career. Though it's designed to do nothing more than advertise Kodak's newest camera (for 1963, anyway), it does permit Keaton to do some of his understated physical comedy. It is not anything innovative or on par with his golden age of the 1920s, but it is a much better fit for his talents than the awful Beach Party films.

The "plot" is little more than a series of vignettes taking place in different time periods, showcasing the photographic methods of the day. Buster jumps from the 1860s to the 1880s to the 1920s to the 1950s and then finally into the modern day, hoping to snap a photo of his much younger girlfriend Clementine. It's interesting to see all the camera models in addition to Buster doing his thing.

A minor entry, but a cute and inoffensive one too.