Parlor Bedroom and Bath

May 26, 2023 tom.raymond Buster Keaton movies 0

Parlor Bedroom and Bath (1931) starring Buster Keaton, Charlotte Greenwood, Reginald Denny

Parlor Bedroom and Bath (1931) starring Buster Keaton, Charlotte Greenwood, Reginald Denny

Synopsis of Parlor Bedroom and Bath

In Parlor Bedroom and Bath, a man tries passing off a socially awkward fellow as a Casanova in the hopes of marrying off his would be sister-in-law. Buster Keaton is an innocent bill-poster who becomes entangled in a rich man’s scheme to marry off his aggressive sister-in-law.

Product Description 

“You can’t judge a husband by a bathing suit… but you can get a pretty good idea!”

Young, rich Virginia Embrey (Sally Eilers) longs to wed her aristocratic fiance, Jeffrey Haywood (Reginald Denny), but will not commit to marriage until her older sister, Angelica (Dorothy Christy), takes a husband. Despite the danger of becoming an old maid, choosy Angelica cavorts at the local country club, rejecting suitor after suitor. When Jeffrey spies hapless Reginald Irving (Buster Keaton), he sees the perfect groom for Angelica and gives him a crash course in becoming a Casanova. Reginald is enraptured by Angelica and willingly (and hilariously) follows Jeffrey’s instructions. 

One of the first sound films starring legendary silent comic Buster Keaton, Parlor, Bedroom & Bath is an uproarious and naughty pre-code farce based on a beloved play by Charles W. Bell and Mark Swan.

Comedy highlights

The numerous young women come to "comfort" Buster Keaton as he's recovering in "Parlor Bedroom and Bath"
  • The sheer number of pretty girls that Jeff brings to “visit” Reggie, to cement his reputation as a ladies’ man.
  • Jeff want Reggie to take another woman to the Seaside Hotel, to make Angelica jealous. But shy Reggie doesn’t have a clue what to do, or say to a woman. So Jeff dictates …. And neither of them can spell!
  • Reggie driving the wrong woman, Nita, to the Seaside Hotel — and the wheel on her car falls off!
  • Then, a train comes by and the audience thinks it’s going to destroy the car. But, it passes harmlessly by. But then a train coming from the other direction demolishes it! A funny bit, reused from One Week.
  • Checking into the hotel is a hilarious bit.
  • At the hotel: I’ll have a lobster, and the lady, too. Bellboy: That’ll be three lobsters … Reggie: You’ll have to eat two lobsters.
  • Bellboy:Do you favor your father or your mother? Reggie: my mother; my father left town the day before I was born. Bellboy: He must have known what was coming.
  • At the hotel, Nita (a married woman who’s trying to teach her husband a lesson) runs away screaming from Reggie, wrongly believing that he’s a wild-eyed skirt chaser! While he’s totally perplexed about what to do, Polly comes in! To teach him how to woo! And Reggie’ absolutely hopeless. The tutoring scene’s absolutely hilarious!
  • The madcap chase scene is funny, but goes on too long.

Cast of characters

Buster Keaton and Dorothy Christy as the romantic couple in "Parlor Bedroom and Bath"
Charlotte Greenwood's going to teach Buster Keaton how to be romantic -- no matter what!
Nita and Reggie after her car's been destroyed
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Professional clown for over 25 years - happily married, with 5 children and 1 grandson