Buster Keaton filmography

Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton in 1939

This is a list of films by the American actor, comedian, and filmmaker Buster Keaton.

Short films

Starring Roscoe Arbuckle, featuring Buster Keaton

Release date Title Credited as Notes
Writer Director Role
April 23, 1917 The Butcher Boy Buster First film role
June 25, 1917 The Rough House Yes Yes Gardener / Delivery Boy / Cop Co-directed and co-written by Roscoe Arbuckle
August 20, 1917 His Wedding Night Delivery boy —
September 30, 1917 Oh Doctor! Junior Holepoke —
October 29, 1917 Coney Island Rival / Cop with mustache —
December 10, 1917 A Country Hero Vaudeville artist Lost film
January 20, 1918 Out West Sheriff / Saloon owner —
March 18, 1918 The Bell Boy Bellboy —
May 13, 1918 Moonshine Revenue agent —
July 6, 1918 Good Night, Nurse! Dr. Hampton / Woman with umbrella —
September 15, 1918 The Cook Waiter —
September 7, 1919 Back Stage Stagehand —
October 26, 1919 The Hayseed Manager, general store —
January 11, 1920 The Garage Mechanic / Fireman —

Starring Buster Keaton under Buster Keaton Productions

Release date Title Credited as Notes
Writer Director Role
September 1, 1920 One Week Yes Yes The groom —
October 27, 1920 Convict 13 Yes Yes Golfer turned prisoner / Guard —
December 22, 1920 Neighbors Yes Yes The boy —
December 22, 1920 The Scarecrow Yes Yes Farmhand —
February 10, 1921 The Haunted House Yes Yes Bank clerk —
March 14, 1921 Hard Luck Yes Yes Suicidal boy —
April 12, 1921 The High Sign Yes Yes Our hero —
May 18, 1921 The Goat Yes Yes Buster Keaton —
October 6, 1921 The Playhouse Yes Yes Audience / Orchestra / Mr. Brown – First Minstrel / Second Minstrel / Interlocutors / Stagehand —
November 10, 1921 The Boat Yes Yes The boat builder —
January 1922 The Paleface Yes Yes Little Chief Paleface —
March 1922 Cops Yes Yes The young man —
May 1922 My Wife's Relations Yes Yes The husband —
July 21, 1922 The Blacksmith Yes Yes Blacksmith's assistant —
August 28, 1922 The Frozen North Yes Yes The bad man —
October 16, 1922 The Electric House Yes Yes Buster Keaton —
November 1922 Day Dreams Yes Yes The young man Distributed by
First National Pictures
January 22, 1923 The Balloonatic Yes Yes The young man —
March 1923 The Love Nest Yes Yes Buster Keaton —

Starring Buster Keaton for Educational Pictures

Release date Title Credited as Notes
Writer Director Role
March 16, 1934 The Gold Ghost Wally —
May 25, 1934 Allez Oop Elmer —
January 11, 1935 Palooka from Paducah Jim Diltz —
February 22, 1935 One Run Elmer Elmer —
March 15, 1935 Hayseed Romance Elmer Dolittle —
May 3, 1935 Tars and Stripes Apprentice seaman Elmer Doolittle —
August 9, 1935 The E-Flat Man Elmer —
October 25, 1935 The Timid Young Man Milton —
January 3, 1936 Three on a Limb Elmer Brown —
February 21, 1936 Grand Slam Opera Yes Elmer Butts Screenplay by Buster Keaton and Charles Lamont
August 21, 1936 Blue Blazes Elmer filmed in New York
October 9, 1936 The Chemist Elmer Triple filmed in New York
November 20, 1936 Mixed Magic Elmer "Happy" Butterworth filmed in New York
January 8, 1937 Jail Bait Office Boy —
February 12, 1937 Ditto The forgotten man —
March 26, 1937 Love Nest on Wheels Elmer —

Starring Buster Keaton for Columbia Pictures

Release date Title Credited as Notes
Writer Director Role
June 16, 1939 Pest from the West Yes Sir Screenplay by Clyde Bruckman and (uncredited) Buster Keaton
August 11, 1939 Mooching Through Georgia Homer Cobb —
January 19, 1940 Nothing But Pleasure Clarence Plunkett —
March 22, 1940 Pardon My Berth Marks Elmer – Newspaper Copyboy —
June 28, 1940 The Taming of the Snood Buster Keaton —
September 20, 1940 The Spook Speaks Buster —
December 13, 1940 His Ex Marks the Spot Buster – the husband —
February 21, 1941 So You Won't Squawk Eddie —
September 18, 1941 General Nuisance Peter Hedley Lamar, Jr. —
November 20, 1941 She's Oil Mine Buster Waters, plumber —

Starring Buster Keaton for independent producers

Release date Title Credited as Notes
Writer Director Role
October 15, 1952 Paradise for Buster Buster Industrial short for John Deere & Co., directed by Del Lord
1960 The Devil to Pay Diablos Industrial short for the National Association of Wholesalers
1963 There's No Business Like No Business Industrial short for Maremont Exhaust and the Gabriel Shocks Division of the Arvin Corporation
1963 The Triumph of Lester Snapwell Lester Snapwell Industrial short, filmed in color, for the Eastman Kodak Company
1965 The Fall Guy The Fall Guy Industrial short for U.S. Steel
January 8, 1965 Film The Man Experimental project by Samuel Beckett
October 2, 1965 The Railrodder The Man National Film Board of Canada travelogue, filmed in color, to promote travel in Canada.
January 8, 1966 The Scribe Journalist Industrial short for the Construction Safety Association of Ontario

Directed by (but not featuring) Buster Keaton for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Release date Title Credited as Notes
Writer Director Role
February 26, 1938 Life in Sometown, USA Yes —
May 28, 1938 Hollywood Handicap Yes —
September 10, 1938 Streamlined Swing Yes —
Release date Title Credited as Notes
Writer Director Role
1922 Seeing Stars Himself —
April 12, 1925 The Iron Mule Indian —
April 4, 1931 The Stolen Jools Policeman —
December 7, 1935 La Fiesta de Santa Barbara Himself —
August 6, 1936 Sunkist Stars at Palm Springs Himself —
May 3, 1939 Hollywood Hobbies Himself Third baseman on all-star baseball team

Feature films

Starring Buster Keaton for Metro Pictures

Release date Title Credited as Notes
Writer Director Role
October 18, 1920 The Saphead Yes Bertie 'The Lamb' Van Alstyne —

Starring Buster Keaton under Buster Keaton Productions

Release date Title Credited as Notes
Writer Director Role
September 24, 1923 Three Ages Yes The Boy Co-directed with Edward F. Cline
November 19, 1923 Our Hospitality Yes Willie McKay Co-directed with John G. Blystone
May 11, 1924 Sherlock Jr. Yes Projectionist / Sherlock Jr. —
October 13, 1924 The Navigator Yes Rollo Treadway Co-directed with Donald Crisp
March 15, 1925 Seven Chances Yes James Shannon —
November 1, 1925 Go West Yes Yes Friendless —
September 19, 1926 Battling Butler Yes Alfred Butler —
December 31, 1926[1](Tokyo)
 The General Yes Yes Johnnie Gray Co-written and directed with Clyde Bruckman
September 27, 1927 College Yes Ronald Co-directed with James W. Horne
May 20, 1928 Steamboat Bill, Jr. Yes William Canfield Jr. Co-directed with Charles Reisner

Starring Buster Keaton for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

Release date Title Credited as Notes
Writer Director Role
September 22, 1928 The Cameraman Yes Buster Co-directed with Edward Sedgwick
April 6, 1929 Spite Marriage Yes Elmer Gantry Co-directed with Edward Sedgwick
March 22, 1930 Free and Easy Elmer —
July 7, 1930 Estrellados Canuto Cuadratin Spanish-language version of Free and Easy
August 30, 1930 Doughboys Elmer —
January 23, 1931 De frente...marchen Canuto de la Montera Spanish-language version of Doughboys
February 28, 1931 Parlor, Bedroom and Bath Reginald Irving —
September 26, 1931 Sidewalks of New York Harmon —
October 19, 1931 Casanova wider Willen Reggie Irving German-language version of Parlor, Bedroom and Bath
December 23, 1931 Buster se marie Reggie French-language version of Parlor, Bedroom and Bath
February 6, 1932 The Passionate Plumber Elmer E. Tuttle —
August 13, 1932 Speak Easily Professor Post —
December 30, 1932 Le plombier amoureux Elmer Tuttle French-language version of The Passionate Plumber
February 10, 1933 What! No Beer? Elmer J. Butts —

Starring Buster Keaton for independent producers

Release date Title Credited as Notes
Writer Director Role
December 11, 1934 Le Roi des Champs-Élysées Buster Garner / Jim le Balafré —
January 2, 1936 The Invader Leander Proudfoot —
August 2, 1946 El Moderno Barba Azul GI / Prisoner Also known as A Modern Bluebeard and Boom in the Moon
October 30, 1965 Buster Keaton Rides Again Himself Documentary about the making of The Railrodder
Release date Title Credited as Notes
Writer Director Role
October 10, 1920 The Round-Up Indian Uncredited
December 23, 1928 Brotherly Love Barber Uncredited, appearance is speculative
April 23, 1929 Tide of Empire Drunk thrown out of bar Uncredited
June 20, 1929 The Hollywood Revue Himself / Princess Raja —
Unreleased, scheduled for September 1930 The March of Time Caveman —
November, 1931 Wir schalten um auf Hollywood Himself Truncated German-language version of The March of Time
October 13, 1939 Hollywood Cavalcade Himself —
July 19, 1940 New Moon Prisoner – 'LuLu' most scenes deleted
October 11, 1940 The Villain Still Pursued Her William Dalton —
November 1, 1940 Li'l Abner Lonesome Polecat —
March 26, 1943 Forever and a Day Wilkins —
September 29, 1944 San Diego, I Love You Bus Driver —
June 1, 1945 That's the Spirit L.M., angel —
September 28, 1945 That Night with You Sam —
November 4, 1945 She Went to the Races Bellboy —
March 15, 1946 God's Country Mr. Boone aka Old Tarp —
July 25, 1946 Easy to Wed Yes Uncredited
April 13, 1949 Take Me Out to the Ball Game Yes
May 11, 1949 The Lovable Cheat Goulard —
July 29, 1949 In the Good Old Summertime Yes Hickey —
August 1949 You're My Everything Butler cameo appearance
August 10, 1950 Sunset Boulevard Himself cameo appearance
October 23, 1952 Limelight Calvero's Partner —
June 14, 1953 The Enchanting Enemy Buster —
October 17, 1956 Around the World in 80 Days Train Conductor – San Francisco to Fort Kearney —
August 3, 1960 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Lion Tamer —
November 7, 1963 It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World Jimmy the Crook —
November 11, 1964 Pajama Party Chief Rotten Eagle —
April 14, 1965 Beach Blanket Bingo Buster —
July 14, 1965 How to Stuff a Wild Bikini Bwana —
August 18, 1965 Sergeant Deadhead Airman Blinken —
December 2, 1965 War Italian Style General von Kassler —
October 16, 1966 A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum Erronius Final film role, released posthumously

Television appearances (incomplete)

References

  1. ^ "BFI: The General". bfi.org. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  2. ^ "What's My Line?: EPISODE #378". TV.com.[permanent dead link‍]
  3. ^ Keaton, Buster; Samuels, Charles (1960). My Wonderful World of Slapstick. Doubleday. ISBN 0306801787.