Just finished watching this film. One of the funniest bits is during the Roman sequence where Keaton is chariot racing in the snow. Instead of horses and wheels, he modifies his chariot with a dog team and skis. When one of the dogs experience difficulties, he "pulls over", checks the pooch's leg, then proceeds to remove him and takes him to the rear of the chariot where, in the trunk, he has a "spare" dog to replace the "flat" one. Too funny.
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Definetley a great Keaton film. My favorite scene is the scene where he was hiding behind a car and it drove off. XD The position he was in and the car driving away combined was histerical!
shareThe classic leap stunt toward the end of the Modern Age is actually built on film of Buster screwing up the intended stunt. He intended to leap from the protruding board onto the roof of the other building, but he fell short and smashed into the wall, falling into an off-screen net. He was laid up for three days. But, per standing instructions always to film until Buster yelled "Cut!" or was killed, the cameraman caught the leap and the fall. Keaton added the plummet through the awnings, etc., and it worked beautifully. So just as we're seeing Buster break his neck in the water tower fall in "Sherlock Jr.", we're seeing Buster take a serious buster in "Three Ages".
shareI LOVED the lion. Hilarious.
Somebody here has been drinking and I'm sad to say it ain't me - Allan Francis Doyleshare
Yes, he sets up the "spare dog" gag when he first appears in a chariot sporting a spare tire and a license plate in Roman numerals!
The only part I would question was the use of the cat. It looked like a real cat in most or all of the shots. I know cats can stand a lot but that's no excuse for cruelty to animals. Don't know how they'd keep a real cat in such a place for so long, though, so maybe it was switched for a fake cat.
I laughed hysterically through the whole lion manicure.
My favorite shot in the whole picture is when the caveman is knocked into the pool and throws the world a kiss good-bye. TOO great!
Some great gags and a great film all around! I LOVED the lion; that's the cutest lion costume I've ever seen!
As far as the cat, I'd think surely they used a fake cat as the "bait" for the dogs in the chariot race. They BETTER have, anyway! :-)
"Now, bring me that horizon." --Captain Jack Sparrow
The cat is real (watch its legs move as its being dangled). Buster doesn't seem to mistreat the cat, though, as it appears to be well-harnessed on that spear point, and the dogs beneath it don't seem like anything to worry about. It wasn't a pleasant minute for the critter, more scary than uncomfortable and not too much of either. I'm guessing it was over it pretty fast.
As an animal lover myself, the one that always bugged me was the poor dog in "Our Hospitality," getting dragged around the train tracks like that!
The show cat probably lived to be 20; fat and content. Meanwhile, I look outside and see roadkill and stray cats torn apart by wild animals all before the age of 2. A fair price to pay.
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