I'm writing this as I watch Buster Keaton's Spite Marriage (IMDb here).

This is a funny film. One scene after the next--it reminds of the Warner Brothers cartoons--I'm waiting for Yosemite Sam to show up.

The scene with him putting on his makeup had me almost on the floor I was laughing so hard. Now he's on stage and destroying everything. I can totally see his influence on Woody Allen, especially in the hero's silent and pathetic obsession with a woman he can't have.

A gem.

Truly. And the stage play scene contains one of my favorite quotes from any medium: "No woman can resist me without a struggle!" Oh! the melodrama.

I'd love to see that on a t-shirt.

This is the one where he gets to do his antics on the yacht? His gymnastics there I thought were better than on the train in The General.

I also note that, in a sense, the film has a laugh track: The audience's reaction to Keaton's actions bumbling around!

The boat scenes are from another movie, methinks. I can't recall the title, but I remember it opening with him driving a car just to cross the street.

That would be The Navigator.

Haven't seen Spite Marriage. Sounds like I should.

Not to harp too much on the theatre sketch, but many parts of this scene (e.g., attempts to [spoiler]rush Keaton off-stage; many more examples exist, but I haven't seen either movie in over a year[/spoiler] ) were recycled for the operatic climax of the Marxist Marx Bros. film A Night at the Opera, with Harpo channeling Buster. This isn't a coincidence; Keaton was an uncredited writer for the film, a "joke consultant" if you will. Amazingly, even without Buster's famous deadpan, the scene still works as marvelous set-piece comedy.

Oh...and Spite Marriage was remade as the Red Skelton-vehicle I Dood It, with Buster Keaton acting as, to quote IMDB, "technical advisor: comedy".

Dude...talk about getting the most out of material. I wouldn't even call this Keaton's best film. (The Cameraman? The General? Or perhaps Steamboat Bill, Jr....)