Heartbroken Buster Keaton, jilted by his girlfriend, gets into his boat “The Love Nest“. He plans to sail around the world & forget, but …
The Love Nest (1923) starring Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton’s The Love Nest is a very funny silent comedy short. It deals with a heartbroken Buster, being jilted by his girlfriend, getting into his boat. His small boat is named “The Love Nest”, hence the title. He plans to go on an around the world trip, in an effort to forget her. Soon, he’s running low on provisions. Then, he’s picked up by a larger ship. And that’s where the bulk of the comedy happens.
The captain of the ship is a harsh taskmaster. Whenever anybody makes a mistake, he throws them overboard into the ocean! And then throws them a life saver. Poor Buster makes several “fatal” mistakes …. But the Captain keeps wrongly blaming someone else, and throwing the wrong person overboard!
Then, Buster’s trying to reel in a whale …. And the Captain grabs the rope, only to be pulled overboard himself! Buster then tries to promote himself to Captain:
[to the crew] Men, I am now your captain. I will raise your pay and get you an insurance policy!
Not only does nobody listen, the Captain comes back on board! And, he’s quite unhappy with Buster.
Afterward, there’s more chaos, and Buster chops a hole in the boat, sinking it! Eventually, he finds himself alone again. He stops for a rest — having sunk his own boat — on what turns out to be a Navy target! He’s nearly blown to bits when …
He wakes up. The entire thing has been a dream. He’s in “The Love Nest”, but still tied to the dock, as his girlfriend comes out and chides him. Ending the short.
Cast of characters
- Buster Keaton … Buster Keaton
- Joe Roberts (Cops) … Captain of the Whaler
- Virginia Fox (Electric House) … The Girl
- Steve Murphy … Member of ship’s crew
Trivia for The Love Nest
- Every time the Captain throws a crew member overboard, he crosses their name off a list. All of the names listed as the ship’s crew were contemporary comedians/actors. The first name on the list is Stan Jefferson (Stan Laurel).
- Buster Keaton’s final silent short film.
Editorial review of The Love Nest courtesy of Amazon.com
The Love Nest is a fantastic seafaring comedic adventure from comedy virtuoso Buster Keaton. Named “the Seventh Greatest Director of All Time” by Entertainment Weekly, Buster Keaton’s impact on cinema is so far reaching that it’s hard to grasp. Here in The Love Nest his talents are once again on full display, as he makes use of clever sight gags, puns, and physical comedy delivered in his classic deadpan style. Keaton travels the world in virtually every sailing vessel imaginable and irritating everyone he meets along the way! The Love Nest was the last of Keaton’s short film career before embarking on a long and successful run of feature length productions.