Hey there, thanks for stopping by! We wrap up the month of July with another edition of my look at the featured Letterboxd Lists. This week we look at the list titled They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They? 1,000 Greatest Films of All Time – 2025 Edition. If you’re looking at that list and you scroll down to the mid-600s, that’s where you’ll find today’s pick…The Navigator (1924).
Title: The Navigator
Directors: Buster Keaton and Donald Crisp
Released: September 28, 1924 (Denmark, Norway, USA, Canada, Finland, Sweden)
Runtime: 1 hour 5 minutes
Available to stream on: Criterion Channel, Kanopy, and Tubi
Rollo Treadway (Buster Keaton) is heir to Treadway fortune and described as “a living proof that every family tree must have its sap”. He decides, after viewing some newlyweds outside on the street, that he is ready to be married…today. While there are many issues with that plan, the main one is that the woman, Betsy O’Brien (Kathryn McGuire), has no idea of his plan or intentions. Sure that she’ll say yes, he has his butler secure two tickets on a honeymoon cruise to Honolulu.
It is a good thing that Rollo didn’t wager any of his fortune on Betsy saying yes. Understandably so, she rejects his proposal and Rollo slinks back across the street to his place. He decides that he still wants to go on the cruise. In fact, despite the cruise set to take sail tomorrow morning, he’s going to go ahead and board the ship tonight. Why wait to board in the morning and have to deal with the crowds?
When Rollo arrives to the pier, he boards what he believes to be his cruise ship. Instead, he has found his way onto the SS Navigator by mistake. To make matters worse, the Navigator was just sold by Betsy’s father, John (Frederick Vroom) to a country at war.
Meanwhile, John is down at the pier when he is captured by the rival country involved in the war. Betsy hears his cries for help and runs onto the Navigator to look for him. Except, he isn’t on the ship. And to make matters worse, the kidnappers set the Navigator adrift into the Pacific Ocean.
Rollo and Betsy are now the only two on the ship and drifting aimlessly. Sure they might be able to get past the awkward proposal from yesterday. But how will they find their way back to land?
Prior to this year, I had only seen Buster Keaton in Sunset Boulevard. I decided to try and correct that and The Navigator (1924) is now my fifth Buster Keaton film this year.
If you were like me, for the first 15-20 minutes or so, you were wondering if we’d be getting any of the trademark physical comedy. A part of me was starting to enjoy a straight role from Keaton. Though it wasn’t more than 10 minutes after I had that thought that Keaton’s physical comedy came to the forefront.
Is it the best physical comedy that I’ve seen from Buster Keaton? No, not at all. I’d say it is inconsistent but still very enjoyable. Especially when he is deep-sea diving and trying to maneuver his way around while underwater.
In addition to being enjoyable, The Navigator (1924) is also a breezy watch, clocking in at just over an hour long. While I wouldn’t say that this is a must watch, it certainly is deserving of at least one viewing.
So, have you seen The Navigator (1924)?
If so, leave a comment below or reach out on Bluesky and tell me what you thought!
As always, you can follow me on Letterboxd to see what else I’ve been watching lately.