User reviews

Yes, that's about it. As the film was produced by the National Film Board of Canada, it was a look at Canada, with Buster along for the ride. I saw this in school when it was first released, and as I had never heard of Buster, I became very interested in Buster Keaton's famous stone face. I was glad to see the film, as it started me off on a journey to see as many of the oldies as I could. And having an 8 movie retrospective of Keaton at our local repertory theater, was definitely one of my high points! With "The Three Ages" "The General" Steamboat Bill Jr." and many others, I discovered how good he was. While "The Railrodder" may be more of a film for die hard Keaton fans, I would recommend it.

The film that I was really reminded of here turned out to have been Powell and Pressburger's "49th Parallel" -- a slice through almost exactly the same set of coast-to-coast scenery. I had no idea I could recognise Canada subconsciously like that...

"The Railrodder" is an amiable and slightly surreal travelogue, which bears a resemblance at times to a live-action version of the adventures of the Road Runner or other cartoon antics: e.g. a massive freight train vanishes into one end of a tunnel, a small railcar enters the other, and the sound of an almighty smash-up is heard from within... to unexpected result! However, despite this and the featuring of a dialogue-free Buster Keaton in the principal role (one he must surely have relished, given the emphasis on his beloved trains) it isn't really a comedy as such, but more of an off-beat ode to the Canadian landscape. There are at least two laugh-out-loud gags to treasure, though: the very typical Keaton-solution to rain in one's teacup, and the arrival of an equally intrepid voyager from the Pacific coast.

An odd little light-weight piece, on the whole amusing.

The Railrodder is one of the last films and very last silent film Buster Keaton made. Although gained some weight and lost some hair and flexibility The Great Stone Face didn't lose any of his comedic timing.

Buster plays an English gentleman who notices an add in the newspaper - See Canada Now! He jumps into the Thames and literally swims to the Canada. He finds a railway motor car (with inexhaustible fuel supply) and accidentally starts its engine, and so the trip across Canada begins. One running gag is infinite compartment box where Buster pulls out everything starting with blankets and billows ending with pots and shotguns.

Most of the gags are more like sweet nods to Buster's earlier works rather than just laugh out loud moments. Delightful film to Buster Keaton fans, and when you already watch this, don't forget to check out the documentary 'Buster Keaton Rides Again' that contains only known footage of Buster Keaton behind-the-scenes.

In an affectionate tribute to the silent films that made his name in the 1920s, Buster Keaton returns to the familiar character in slap shoes, baggy trousers and flat hat for this short travelogue set in Canada. The idea is simple: he gets on a tiny motorised railway buggy and travels from coast to coast, settling into his mobile home-from-home while causing or narrowly averting chaos along the way.

Under the direction of Gerald Potterton, the gags are more like a nostalgic nod in the right direction rather than laugh-out-loud funny; nevertheless, Keaton fans will find much to appreciate in the details: his familiar shambling walk, or the way Buster slips off his seat as a train rushes past him, or the way he stands on top of the buggy to scan the horizon just as he did on the locomotive in The General.

Ironically, the best sight gag is not in The Railrodder itself but in the documentary about the making of the film, when, with exquisite timing, Buster appears to stop and start a freight train by pulling it with one hand.

The Railrodder and the documentary are both currently available as extras on the MK2 restored 2-DVD edition of The General.

Just watched on the National Film Board of Canada site as linked from Mark Evanier's this latter day short of Buster Keaton's near the end of his life. In it, he travels from London, England, to the Canadian countryside before riding on a railcar he stumbles into. Some amusing gags abound like seeing him drinking tea while anticipating some rain as he covers his cup with the saucer or doing a shot of him passing through from the POV of restaurateurs. Nothing really hilarious but it's fascinating to watch the now-elderly man still do his own stunts and surviving on his own terms to boot. After years of suffering a creative decline after his treatment at M-G-M during the early sound era, it's such a treat to see him come full circle to his rediscovery as a comic genius during his final years of his career. This fascinating short was also the subject of a documentary filmed around the same time called Buster Keaton Rides Again. Since the sites I listed in the beginning have put that one up as well, I'm going there right now to watch it...

After reading an advertisement advocating a visit to Canada, our intrepid adventurer (Buster Keaton) jumps into the Thames and swims all the way there! Once he arrives - remarkably dry and fit - he commandeers a railroad engineer's truck and embarks on a musically enhanced (think Ry Cooder morphing into some lively harmonica) journey at break speed across the 3,500-odd miles from east to west. Along the way we travel through some beautiful (and not so) countryside stopping only briefly when his wheels eventually need oiling after he grinds to an halt! It's a visit Canada production and the star enters into the spirit of his one man trip - eating, washing and snoozing on his well equipped little wagon. He's got a map - but quite what for is anyone's guess - the rails are only going one way! There are few more traditional type sketch escapades as he meanders his way along but curiously enough, it didn't actually really make me want to visit the place. Vast expanses of prairie and forest are fine for a while, but after several hundred miles of them... Luckily the Rockies do hove into view and now equipped with a camera he can photograph some of the impressive engineering that conveys the tracks through the chilly terrain. He's got a camera - so of course he's got a fur coat too - oh, and some knitting to help pass the time. Perhaps we could all have a go? Has he given any consideration as to how he's going to get home again? It's an original idea that works well enough for about fifteen minutes, but thereafter it does run a little out of steam. Worth a watch though.

The history books tell us that the death knell for silent films was sounded with The Jazz Singer in 1927, and that, with the exception of a few holdouts such as Chaplin, the form was all but dead by 1929. Buster Keaton was one of many actors of the silent era who was forced to move into sound. He was a moderate success, but never maintained the success he enjoyed as a silent comic. The Railrodder, released in 1965, was a wonderful homecoming for Keaton to the world he left behind -- that of the silents.

Of course, The Railrodder isn't completely silent. There is a wonderful (if slightly repetitious) soundtrack, and sound effects, and it's in color. But otherwise, Keaton is completely on form as an Englishman who decides to see Canada, swims the Atlantic Ocean (don't ask), arriving in Nova Scotia where he accidentally hijacks a one-man maintenance rail vehicle with a seemingly infinite supply of tea, eggs, and other necessities of life - not to mention fuel - and takes off on a whirlwind trip across the country.

The scenery is Keaton's co-star on this adventure, though his character is too busy doing laundry, shaving, making breakfast, and even going hunting, to notice much of it.

Fortunately, much of the scenery Keaton's character passes hasn't changed much over the last 40 years, which has given the movie a timeless quality.

An interesting sidenote to this production is that the NFB produced a behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of the film. Entitled Buster Keaton Rides Again, the documentary is several times LONGER than the film it is profiling!

Whether you are a fan of Canadian history, of railroads, or of silent movies, The Railrodder is a film you simply must see at least once -- but preferably, many times.

OK. This is far from Buster Keaton's best work (The General, Seven Chances), but it just goes to show you the mastery of a style all but lost. With the insights of "Buster Keaton Ride's Again", this short silent film gives us not only a look into the past, but an art form that was almost lost forever. For 70 years young, Buster Keaton showed that age means nothing. He did all his own stunts on the rail line, and some were quite dangerous, even if he downplayed it.

Yes, this was more like an ad for "See Canada By Rail", but it doesn't take away from the magic and inspiration of the site comedy he gives us. The gags are almost all pure Keaton.

It's a fun, light-hearted ride, no more than can be expected in a 20 minute short film. And being in color, perhaps younger viewers will allow themselves to get caught up in the magic. One taste of this, and perhaps classics like the General will be next on a young viewer's list.

Anyone familiar with this cinematic comic genius will be filled with mixed emotion in this one man show across the length and breath of Canada on a motoized handcar. There remains the game performer still working the chuckles long after the silents went silent but the ravages of time and drink are clearly evident. One is amazed to see Keaton in that state doing stunts on a swift moving rail car like it was 1927 but saddled with the morose fact he would be dead within the year.

The film itself is a unique travelogue across Canada with Keaton as guide and while not uproariously funny it does a decent job of dividing itself and allowing the country to co-star. Overall an ok ride featuring a few precious moments but also a with a touch of through the past darkly far from not only when he was a contender but world champ.

Having finally watched this comedy/documentary, yes, even I can make connections to the wonderfully underrated The Straight Story starring Richard Farnsworth. Interesting to note that both of these beloved men were STUNTMEN thru and thru!! The Railrodder is amazing, and contrary to previous discussions, Keaton was a survivor of alcoholism, and his dignity and wit shine through even as cancer was ravaging him. Keaton was a Genius! Having never traveled Canada, I am pleasantly surprised to hear this AMAZING country shown in this film still exists. I keep pronouncing the title of this film as Rail-Rodder, like hot rodder! The behind the scenes document is a wonderful revelation of the artist as an older and wiser man, not the washed up alcoholic some suggest. Keaton was in fine form through all this,even with cancer.

"The Railrodder" is one of Buster Keaton's last films and, oddly, it's a travelogue of sorts made for the National Film Board of Canada. I've been a member of a Buster Keaton Facebook group for some time and heard several folks saying how good it was...though when I saw it decades ago I was unimpressed. So, I decided to see it again. After all, my initial reaction might have been too harsh.

The film is essentially a silent, though there is music and sound...just no one speaking. It begins with Buster in London...reading about how lovely Canada is. So, he jumps into the Thames and moments later he walks ashore in Canada. From there, he hops aboard a Canadian National Railway maintenance car (sort of like a gocart version of a train) and drives the rails across the nation.

For the most part, this is a mildly enjoyable but decidedly unfunny film. While a few bits are nice, the film bears no similarity to Keaton's brilliant shorts of the 1920s...none. As I said above, it's more a travelogue showing various bits of Canada as Keaton goes from coast to coast...but the jokes just aren't very funny nor are there very many. It is a chance to see a great comic...just not doing his best work. And, as you can tell, my earlier feelings about the picture were pretty much unchanged.

Sad, in a way. Here's the greatest comedian of the silent era (sorry, Chaplin fans, but you're just wrong, okay?) showing that he can still cut it, never mind how old he might be.

Film appears to be an advert for Canada (probably is), but is still a joy. A endless series of inspired sight-gags as Buster sails calmly through the wilderness on a railroad buggy. The dexterity, poise and, above all, quiet dignity of the man shine through.

Pity the world forgot about him for so long.

This was pure Buster. Although it was not a silent film, there was no dialog, and the feel was like one of his best silent features, The General (1927). This was a fine movie and perhaps his last performance in his old style.

Buster Keaton was an all-time entertainer, who had made much success with his silent movies and was also known for his famous 'Stone Face'.His movie, 'The Railrodder' is one of his unique films and it shows us his unplanned sudden journey. Keaton himself stars in the movie and is shown as an English Gentleman who is shown to be reading a newspaper and when he sees the ad saying "See Canada Now!", he doesn't even hesitate and jumps into the sea, swims across what happens to be the Atlantic Ocean and emerges on the Eastern Coast of Canada. This shows us his desperation and similarly creates humor in the rest of the short film. He then takes advantage of the opportunity he gets and travels across Canada in what is commonly known as the speeder.

Although the film does not have a big story line, it is fascinating, like always, how he always manages to keep the audience interested without any speech (i.e. before he started doing talkie films, for example:Free and Easy (1930)), But it still has catchy soundtracks to go with the situations. We can clearly see there is a lot of hard work put into the making of this film, as it shows the magnificent scenes of nature, etc. I'd say this movie should be seen at least once and I rate it a total of 8.

One year before his death in 1966, Buster Keaton, although far from the great popularity he enjoyed for the better part of the 1920's, squandered with the advent of sound under the autocratic rule of a studio that had no clue whatsoever how to use a man as talented as Buster, who had proved with THE CAMERAMAN (his first film for MGM after Jo Shenck sold his contract) to be absolutely unbeatable when left to his own devices and his own team of gagmen, the genius of silent cinema came on stage one last time for a final bow. THE RAILRODDER and the other short film he did the same year for Alan Schneider and Samuel Beckett, FILM, the first a joyous celebration of a legend, the other a sad, thoughtful examination of a man and myth; taken together, they form a great tribute to a great figure of cinema.

Although the style, the train setting, and a lot of the gags are a throwback, intentional homage, to some of Buster Keaton's most famous moments (THE GENERAL first among them), unlike the short films that made him a star in the 20's, this time Buster shares the stage. Vying for attention and getting it are both the Canadian countryside, open prairies and mountains, and the beautiful photography. To be appreciated for its cinematic merits as well as Keaton's presence, The Railrodder is a purely enjoyable, not particularly funny, but pleasant, warm, sympatico short film. And even in his old age, Buster has lost none of his stonefaced charm, that boyish naivety and oblivion to danger.

Somebody charged with making a travel film to advertise the beauties of Canada had a stroke of pure genius: Send Buster Keaton cruising silently across it on a motorized railcar.

Though the film isn't technically a silent film (there are both sound effects and a soundtrack), it's still a silent film in style and feel. Keaton, though far past the vigor of his youth (in fact dying of cancer), shows that he still has his same plucky, imperturbable aplomb.

Sitting by the Thames, Buster's unnamed character sees a full-page newspaper ad that commands him, "Visit Canada now!" Ever one to take up a challenge, Buster leaps into the river to emerge, sodden but undeterred, in Nova Scotia. There, he undertakes a mechanized magic carpet ride through the magnificent Canadian landscape, with all of his needs miraculously attended to by the bottomless toolbox.

Even those unfamiliar with Keaton's silent work will enjoy this charming little movie. Keaton aficionados, however, will be absolutely delighted, spotting one nod after the other to his independent masterpieces, each given a new life by the master himself. And Kudos to the NFB for doing what MGM didn't -- for letting Keaton be Keaton, and giving him the means to leave one more gift to his fans.

Buster Keaton reads a full page newspaper ad which simply says, "SEE CANADA NOW!". He steps off a London bridge and walks onto the east coast of Canada. It's a long ride on a rail cart all the way to the Pacific Ocean.

Buster Keaton goes back to doing his silent character in one of his last works. This is produced by the National Film Board of Canada. It's a travelogue and advertisement for Canada and CN rail. The visuals are limited to the railway but there are some interesting stuff. Buster is limited by the little cart. I don't expect the seventy year old to do any big stunts. I doubt that he's the one jumping off the bridge. It's enough that he probably got cold walking out of the ocean and hanging out on that open little cart. It ends with a fun gag if only I know who that is. Buster needs to hand it off to an adoring performer. If only Jackie Chan had any overlapping time with Buster.

Buster Keaton was a star in the early days of film, this delightful little piece from 1965 proves he still had that pizazz that makes a great comedy star to till the very end. Falling off London Bridge in England and swimming all the way to Canada is one many funny, great things to be seen in this movie, but I think it really mostly highlights, Canada and it's railroad, plus you get to see the country's scenic beauty and places of the House of Parlament, all along the way and a great Jazz/Country/Bluegrass/Classical score to boot. Let's not forget Buster dodging mighty trains all along the way and doing other crazy stuff.

Those of us who watch good cinema would agree that we have all grown up watching a lot of Buster Keaton's American films.However,there are not many of us who have been aware of his appearance in a Canadian film."The Railrodder" sees Buster Keaton as an enthusiastic traveler who travels from Atlantic until Pacific ocean to discover the rugged beauty of Canada.As a result of accidentally entering a rail push trolley whose occupant is lying elsewhere,Buster Keaton's character is able to carry out his travel through the length and breadth of Canadian landscape. It is not only the travel which fascinates him and viewers but while watching this film,everybody is also impressed by incidents which happen to him during the journey and the nature which he encounters.The English gentleman-A role played with great finesse and maturity by Buster Keaton,gets sleep,drinks his morning coffee and shoots at birds."The Railrodder" is an important film by Gerald Potterton which would appeal solely to those viewers who are aware of the importance which Buster Keaton has in the field of cinema.Watching this comedy cinema classic one can ascertain the difference between a real comedy film and a fake comedy film filled with clowns of the worst kind.

The Railrodder (1965)

** (out of 4)

This here isn't a particularly good film but at the same time it's worth watching due to its star. The Railrodder (Buster Keaton) is a man living in Europe who reads about how great Canada is so he goes there and travels the railway system where he takes in the wonderful visuals.

This twenty minute short really isn't all that good but it's slightly interesting thanks in large part to Keaton who appears in his final silent movie. There aren't any spoken words here so I'm sure the fact that the filmmakers got Keaton for the role played a huge part in this decision. What we basically see if Buster riding around and seeing various parts of Canada.

There's really not any sort of story as this here is basically just a travelogue meant to make people want to visit Canada. The photography is good enough for this type of film but I honestly can't say I wanted to visit Canada, which I guess defeats the whole purpose of the movie. Still, it's nice getting to see Keaton in this later day role.

in 1999, David Lynch made an apparently simple film about a man traveling across the country on a lawn mower. The actor playing the part had terminal cancer and knew it.

The nature of the thing was deceptive: superficially it was a simple travelogue, but if you knew Lynch you could see barely hidden depths. The control was amazing, simply amazing.

I'm sure he had this partly in mind. Here we have an old guy, also dying of cancer, traveling across the land in a similar vehicle. The genre is comic but the tone is the same: a lone man in the midst of vast nature.

Its a sad time though. The man we watch was a genius, someone who invented a huge portion of how we think in film. But he became a drunk and ruined himself. You can see this ruin in every move.

Yes, he can pretend to be himself, but that screen self was so sharp, so tuned that it probably vanished in the first phases of his drink.

What a sad, sad movie. I recommend watching "Straight Story," then this, then the accompanying documentary. It will bring pathos into your day and sadden your dreams.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.