Battling Butler isn’t generally ranked among the top ten Buster Keaton films but The Great Stone Face considered it to be his personal favorite.

The silent comedy was released into the public domain in 2022, a few months after Volume 3 of The Buster Keaton Film Collection was released by the Cohen Media Group on Blu-ray. Roughly three years later, it was released onto DVD by Alpha Classics Video.

Alfred Butler (Buster Keaton) is a pampered rich kid and a disappointment to his gruff father, who sends him on a rugged outdoor retreat to make a man of him. Out of his element but eager to prove himself in a backwoods Kentucky neighborhood, Alfred falls for a mountain girl (Sally O’Neil) and tries to win over her working-class family (Walter James, Budd Fine).

To impress them, Alfred’s valet (Snitz Edwards) falsely claims that Alfred is the famous prizefighter Battling Butler—who happens to share his name. Caught in the lie, Alfred must keep up the act, even as the public embraces him as the real boxer. His troubles escalate when he’s expected to enter the ring for a professional bout.

On the day of the big fight, the real Battling Butler (Francis McDonald) appears and takes Alfred’s place—but doesn’t appreciate the impersonation. In a brutal confrontation, the real boxer beats Alfred senseless, until Alfred, motivated by love and humiliation, unexpectedly fights back and knocks him out in a frenzy.

Stunned by his own transformation, Alfred confesses everything to his sweetheart. She forgives him, and the film ends on a comic high as the newly confident Alfred struts through the city, still in his boxing trunks but now wearing a top hat—equal parts absurdity and triumph.

It’s strange to think that Keaton considered Battling Butler superior to The General, Sherlock Jr., Steamboat Bill Jr., College, The Navigator, or any of the masterpieces we now associate with his legacy. That it came out the same year as The General is telling in itself. The film is based on a British musical, but unlike the stage version—which never showed the boxing match—Keaton insisted audiences would feel cheated if the climactic fight didn’t play out on screen. True to form, Keaton performed his own stunts, and production delays followed due to injury.

As a character, Alfred Butler follows a familiar Keaton arc—starting soft, growing into himself, and eventually rising to the occasion. His antagonists, as in so many of Keaton’s films, can’t stand up to his ingenuity or unexpected strength. You wouldn’t guess that at Battling Butler’s midpoint, though, when Alfred and the Mountain Girl make their romantic escape and the masquerade is still very much intact.

I do wonder how Battling Butler plays with a live audience. Watching it solo on home video, it feels like more of a curiosity within his filmography than a true standout. Definitely don’t start it when your eyes are already battling sleep—it takes attention to keep up with the intertitles. That said, Robert Israel’s score is engaging and keeps the energy up. From a technical standpoint, the film holds its own: Keaton, working with cinematographers Bert Haines and Devereaux Jennings, shows a clear command of when to go wide and when to punch in close. It’s part of the quiet visual brilliance that makes even Keaton’s lesser films worth seeing.

While Battling Butler might not rank among Keaton’s all-time masterpieces, it stands as an enjoyable and cleverly crafted film that showcases his signature blend of physical comedy and visual storytelling. Its charm and inventiveness make it well worth watching, especially for fans eager to explore beyond his most famous works. In the end, it’s a reminder that even Keaton’s “lesser” films hold moments of brilliance and heart.

DIRECTOR: Buster Keaton
SCREENWRITERS: Paul Gerard Smith, Al Boasberg, Charles H. Smith, and Lex Neal
CAST: Buster Keaton, Sally O’Neil, Snitz Edwards, Walter James, Francis McDonald

MGM released Battling Butler in theaters on September 18, 1926. Grade: 3.5/5

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