THE NAVIGATOR (1924) tells the story of a bored, wealthy young man (Buster Keaton) who, after having his marriage proposal rejected, decides to go for a cruise. Unfortunately, he winds up on the wrong boat and sets sail on an empty ship that is headed for destruction. There he meets his would-be fiancée (Kathryn McGuire), whose father sold the ship to a small country at war, and whose enemies decided to set it adrift. Comic complications ensue. Directed by Buster Keaton and Donald Crisp.SCRIPT: THE NAVIGATOR is definitely one of Keaton's most entertaining efforts. The movie lasts barely an hour, but is full of comic invention and ingenuity. Among the highlights are Keaton's hilariously inept attempts to make breakfast on the ship, his battle with a swordfish, and their epic battle against cannibals. This movie gave my wife and me lots of laughs! SCORE: 9/10ACTING: Buster Keaton was known for his "stoneface" routine, remaining comically unflappable in the face of dire circumstances, and he does it well here. He does well at portraying the bored rich young man, and is also very athletic when the situation calls for it. Kathryn McGuire is also very good as his love interest. McGuire comically mocks the "damsel in distress" style of acting at times, and she's very game for all of the slapstick funny business as well. They are the two who are most prominent in the movie; in fact, they're the only people involved for long stretches of the film, and their chemistry and talent help keep things afloat. SCORE: 9/10CINEMATOGRAPHY/PRODUCTION: This film was expertly shot by Byron Houck and Elgin Lessley. In many cases, all they have to do is just set the camera up and let it roll to capture Keaton's stunningly inventive gags, but there are nice tracking shots and underwater camera-work as well. Also, the battle between Keaton, McGuire, and the cannibals is given the right epic feel while still being quite funny. Solid work overall. SCORE: 8/10SUMMARY: THE NAVIGATOR is great fun, with lots of inventive gags and great comic chemistry between the two leads. It's one of Keaton's best films, and it stands the test of time as a wonderful example of the imaginative richness of silent comedy. SCORE: 9/10

I've rarely heard anyone consider Buster Keaton's 1924 feature The Navigator as one of his best efforts. In his 1920s heyday, TN was Keaton's most popular and financially successful effort, a fact likely to shock folks who marvel at the ingenuity of his more inspired work, like Sherlock Jr (1924) or The General (1926), both of which had disappointing box office returns.Still, let's not be too harsh on TN, which really is a funny film. The premise is simple: two spoiled rich kids with a great deal of romantic tension between them are marooned on a ship in the middle of the ocean and must learn to fend for themselves. Keaton and his team wring a lot of great material from this premise.Buster and his understated emoting are fantastic as always, but I feel his leading lady Kathryn MacGuire is rarely given the credit she deserves. In his book "Classics of the Silent Screen," Joe Franklin insists MacGuire's characters in TN and Sherlock Jr were idiots, but I actually think MacGuire was among Keaton's best comic partners. While she's little more than a damsel-in-distress in Sherlock Jr, this film has her as Keaton's equally clueless comedic partner and there is more of an equality between them than there is for most of Keaton's leading ladies.It may not be his best, but TN is still a fine movie and a great little comedy to relax with after a long day.

The Navigator was an alright film, I wouldn't say it was amazing…but I don't have much experience with silent films so I guess my opinion isn't worth much. The movie did have quite a few funny parts though, some that were actually funny and others that were just so outrageous you couldn't help but laugh. I enjoyed the fact that the woman had a predominate role, I feel like that wasn't very common back then; I believe she did an excellent job portraying her role. As did Buster Keaton, but together they both made the film enjoyable. By the middle of the movie I found myself getting distracted and kind of lost sense with what was going on. I think it was because the comedy had gotten predictable and slowed down and the story seemed to drag out what seemed like could have been short scenes. Although I didn't enjoy the story line of the middle of the movie I do believe the film work was impressive with all the creative shots and use of detail. Even though there weren't many title cards it was very easy to understand what was going on, which was very refreshing. Over I think the acting and use of detail were some of The Navigators strong points and any silent film fan would enjoy this movie.

Despite this film being branded as one of the classics I didn't find it very entertaining. The acting was nothing to write home about and the scenes were far too dragged out for my enjoyment(i.e. The scene on the boat where they haven't seen each other yet and are frantically running around in circles).I found the sense of humor that was most prevalent in this film to be juvenile at best. I'm sure that if I was between the ages of 8 and 10 I would have found it quite entertaining but at my current age I found the jokes to be very typical and very rehashed.The plot wasn't very thought out and I didn't feel that it had any real depth. It was simply a scenario put in place to set up the scene for a series of bad slapstick jokes.Perhaps I judged too harshly but I didn't find this film to be of any real artistic value.