Racconto rustico

Hayseed Romance (1935)

** (out of 4)

Here's yet another Educational Picture made by Buster Keaton, which features weak material way below the talents of its star. This time out Keaton plays a timid man who answers an ad in the paper asking for someone willing to marry and work on a farm. When he gets to the location he's happy the see a young, beautiful blonde (Dorothea Kent) but this joy quickly turns to terror when he finds out it was her obese aunt (Jane Jones) who really placed the ad. HAYSEED ROMANCE will remind some of Keaton's silent picture MY WIFE'S RELATIONS but this here isn't nearly as memorable, although I do have to tip my hat to the cast for at least giving it their all. Once again Keaton and company are let down by a rather bland and unoriginal screenplay that goes for cheap laughs that rarely work out. One example is a sequence where Keaton is about to go to sleep when the roof starts leaking. He goes on top of the house to fix it but sure enough he makes the problem worse. This does lead to one of the best scenes in the movie where the aunt is getting ready for bed only to have gallons of water come pouring in on her. I found Jones to be quite good in the role of the aunt as she was very funny in the way she pushes Keaton around. The film's low-budget is rather obvious in a couple scenes where the large woman needs a stunt double and it's obvious the person doubling her is at least three times smaller. Keaton is also good in the movie as his comic pacing is quite nice and we even get a double dose of him as in a couple scenes he plays his character as well as his "ghostly" conscience. Kent had a rather high-pitched voice for a sound flick but I thought her chemistry with Keaton was very charming.