Although not Keaton's greatest film, this one has sure got some really great moments. The build-up is rather slow while the main plot is being established: 1830s Kentucky. Keaton gets invited by a pretty girl to attend her family dinner. What he doesn't realize until too late is that the family in question is his inherited mortal enemies in a blood feud that has been going on for centuries. The girl's father and brothers all want to kill him but is prevented from doing so until he has left their house (hence the title).

Our Hospitality has got some amazing action sequences but the tempo is very uneven. The early part of the film treats us to some beautiful replicas of old vehicles including trains and bicycles and also some of Keaton's usual train-rail comedy. The middle part, where Keaton guests his blood feud enemies is full of running in and out through doors. Up until now everything has been pretty slow. The last third of the movie though, is truly mind boggling! Keaton and a chasing gunman falls down cliffs, flows down rivers and waterfalls, jumps in and out of moving trains and so on while tied to each other with a rope around their waists. It must have been through watching this James Bond learned his action trade. Our Hospitality however, has also got a lot of comedy in its moments of unbelievable action.

Good fun.

In the Nineteenth Century, there is a feud between the McKay and Canfield families in the country of the United States of America. When John McKay is killed, his wife sends their one years old baby Willie to New York to be raised by her sister. Twenty years later, Willie McKay (Buster Keaton) returns to claim for his family state. Along the train travels, he meets a young lady and they fall in love for each other. However, she is the youngest Canfield and her family has not forgotten the quarrel against the McKays.

"Our Hospitality" is amazing even in the present days. Without use of computer, as the present generation has accustomed to see on the screen, Buster Keaton participates of fantastic timing scenes using his physical capability, such as in the waterfall, or in the train water-tank. Further, there is a very interesting scenario, showing the crossroad between Broadway and Forty-Second Streets in New York based on a 1830 painting. Willie's dog, his bicycle and the funny train are other attractions of this great movie. My vote is ten.

Title (Brazil): "Nossa Hospitalidade" ("Our Hospitality")