Library Film Features Steam Boat Bill Jr.

In this silent comedy, college boy William Canfield Jr. (Buster Keaton) reunites with his boat captain father in a Mississippi River town. Though he's flummoxed by Willie's citified appearance, the elder Canfield seems to have found an ally to help him compete with fellow riverboat owner John James King (Tom McGuire). Willie finds himself falling for King's daughter, Mary (Marion Byron), but he has more pressing concerns when the weather turns bad and his father is arrested

This 1928 feature-length comedy was released by United Artists and the last product of Keaton's independent production. Directed by Charles Reisner the film was named after a popular Arthur Collins 1911 song "Steamboat Bill." In 2016 the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."

Keaton performs his best known stunt in this film where a building front falls all around him. Join us at the Greenville Public Library on Thursday March 23 at 7 p.m. Ryan Carpe will lead a brief discussion after the movie and as always there will be free theater popcorn, candy, coffee, and Jones Soda. We hope to see you there!