Our Hospitality is a 1923 silent comedy film directed by and starring Buster Keaton. Released by Metro Pictures Corporation, the film uses slapstick and situational comedy to tell the story of Willie McKay, who gets caught in the middle of the infamous “Canfield”–”McKay” feud, an obvious satire of the real-life Hatfield–McCoy feud.
It was a groundbreaking work for the comedy film genre, as Keaton included “careful integration of gags into a dramatically coherent storyline”, “meticulous attention to period detail” and “beautiful cinematography and extensive location shooting”. This was a contrast to the usual slapstick comedies of this era. Turner Classic Movies describes Our Hospitality as a “silent film for which no apologies need be made to modern viewers” and Roger Ebert considered it Keaton’s first masterpiece.
Our Hospitality is one of many works from 1923 that will enter the public domain in the United States in 2019.
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