Selected Short Subject: The Spook Speaks (1940)

Directed by Jules White. Cast: Buster Keaton, Elsie Ames, Lynton Brent, Bruce Bennett, Dorothy Appleby, Don Beddoe, Orson the Penguin. Released September 20, 1940. Two Reels.

There is an unfortunate belief among many film buffs that Buster Keaton's career plummeted once he left independent production and joined MGM; a decision he regretted for the rest of this life. And while Keaton's more limited creative control was indeed a factor to consider, his final two silents -- "The Camerman" and "Spite Marriage" -- are far better than their reputation.

Keaton liked technology, and was eager to do a sound film. But he wasn't allowed to experiment, he was simply an actor to MGM. While there is something to be said for his MGM sound features like "Dough Boys" and "Speak Easily," they were not at the level of silent classics like "Sherlock Jr" and "The General." They were, however, big box office hits, but a despondent Keaton, who also had some challenges in his personal life, hit the bottle hired and was dropped from the studio.

After some hit-and-miss short comedies for Educational Studios, Keaton joined Columbia's short subject department for more hit-and-miss comedies. The knockabout slapstick and mechanical gags that worked so well for The Three Stooges and Andy Clyde did not always jibe well with Keaton, but his natural talent would shine through, resulting in some very funny two-reelers like "Pardon My Berth Marks" and "Pest From the West."

Keaton's horror comedy at Columbia was "The Spook Speaks" and, sadly, it is one of his least interesting shorts from this period in his career. However, it was also one of his most popular. In fact, famously, Ted Okuda's book "The Columbia Comedy Shorts" reprints a trade magazine blurb from a theater owner in Beverly, Massachusetts who stated: "Buster Keaton in all his glory. Went over big with our audiences. This old timer still means something at the box office and deserves splendid mention in your newspaper ads."

There likely was some input from Keaton and his longtime collaborator Clyde Bruckman who co-wrote the script. They used some basic ideas from Keaton's silent classic "The Haunted House," but has none of that film's cinematic cleverness. In fact, "The Spook Speaks" consists of the most typical and predictable haunted house gags. Buster's stone faced bewilderment helps a little, as it is an offbeat reaction to such gags, but being paired with raucous Elsie Ames upsets that approach as well.

The plot has Buster and Elsie as caretakers hired by a magician to watch his home while he's on tour. A rival magician who wants to steal his secrets has rigged the house with scary gags while Buster and Elsie react. A stranded pair of newlyweds are tossed into the mix for no apparent reason, and most of the laughs come from the antics of a trained penguin.

Dorothy Appleby, who plays one of the newlyweds, once told the late Bill Cappello in an interview that she caught Buster Keaton sitting alone on the set and crying between scenes. She asked producer-director Jules White why, and Jules said that Buster was once a high paid star of feature films and was now doing shorts for far less money.

With this knowledge, a film like "The Spook Speaks" can be a sad experience. But, historically, we learn from the misfires as much as we do the triumphs. The fact that a film as weak and by-the-numbers as "The Spook Speaks" was so well received by audiences and kept Buster Keaton embraced by moviegoers of another generation from his silent classics, is perhaps a triumph itself.