Spite Marriage
Screening on Film
With Buster Keaton, Dorothy Sebastian, Edward Earle.
US, 1929, 35mm, black & white, silent, 80 min.
In his undeservedly neglected final silent film, Buster Keaton created comedy sequences that rival—and in some ways surpass—his best work in The General. Buster plays Elmer, a pants presser in love with stage star Trilby Drew, who in turn loves leading man Lionel Benmore. When Lionel double-crosses Trilby, she lashes out by marrying the first available and seemingly rich man she can find, who turns out to be none other than Elmer in borrowed clothing. Originally released when sound films were beginning to flood the market, and rarely screened today, Spite Marriage is Buster Keaton’s final masterpiece.
Made by Chaplin at the height of World War I and distributed free throughout the country, The Bond is a rarely screened short from the HFA vaults. The film features Chaplin and friends conveying that while bonds of friendship, love, and marriage are inspiring, the most important bonds of all are Liberty Bonds, which will knock out the Kaiser.