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      Sidewalks of New York

      Released Sep 26, 1931 1h 13m Comedy List
      Reviews 31% 100+ Ratings Audience Score Wealthy philanthropist Homer Van Dine Harmon (Buster Keaton) resolves to turn one of his tenement houses into a boys' sporting club after falling for Margie (Anita Page), the sister of young hoodlum Clipper (Norman Phillips Jr.). Unknown to both Margie and Homer, the adult leader of a kids' street gang, Butch (Frank Rowan), employs Clipper to pull off several jobs. When Homer declares his feelings for Margie, she insists that she will marry him only if he can save Clipper from a life of crime. Read More Read Less Watch on Fandango at Home Premiered Nov 25 Buy Now

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      Audience Reviews

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      Audience Member MGM tried to box Keaton in to their formulaic scripts of the day, but Keaton was able to break out and shine. Although the big studios didn't know what to do with Keaton, this film was funny and well above average for the day. Instead of it leading to depression and alcohol, better counsel would have been to adapt even better to the talkies and keep improving. This was an impressive movie, despite all the critics who only saw Keaton as a silent star. The critics are/were wrong. Keaton COULD adapt, although he lived through a barrage of naysayers, who are still around today singing praises of his silent pictures, which no one under 90 will watch. Try to get anyone under 50 to watch black and white -- you'll have a hard time with it. Keaton had great talent and should never have listened to the critics who praised only his silents. His work on this film proved he could still entertain and be funny. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/16/23 Full Review Audience Member Oddly enough, I found the most interesting part of this film to be Norman Phillips, Jr, the 14-year-old who plays the boy being used as a pawn by criminals pretty well. That's pretty damning, since it's got Buster Keaton and Anita Page in it. And of course, Keaton is the only real reason anyone would ever watch it, or at least should watch it. He plays an awkward, rich slumlord, which doesn't fit for several reasons, and while there are a couple of exceptions, doesn't get a chance to truly demonstrate his comedy or his humanity. The humor is too often geared towards mayhem, without enough subtlety, and the script is weak. The film has no focus, shifting from slapstick to romance to gangster to an old episode of The Little Rascals, and does none of them well. It's just not very appealing aesthetically, despite how hard we root for Keaton, or how much we admire his athleticism. If Keaton had directed and not been chafing under the yoke of Jules White, it certainly would have been tighter and funnier. It's stunning to me that this was Keaton's most commercially successful film, a fact that no doubt helped convince MGM that they knew best, when they didn't. Talk about sacrificing art for short-term profit. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 01/13/23 Full Review Audience Member ok B movie fare directed b y Jules White (3 stooges) Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review Audience Member I would guess the secret to watching Keaton's MGM sound comedies is to fast forward whenever people look like they're talking, and resume watching normally when Keaton starts flopping around like an ass. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member An interesting but slightly dull Keaton movie. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/22/23 Full Review Audience Member i wouldnt say keaton was a dim witted slumword...more like a dim witted philanthropist. either way, his sellout period continues. there were maybe two good sequences in thsi film and the rest is just awful. you can see the comedy going in the direction of the marx brothers which didnt fit keaton's style (despite him later being a joke writer for them). either way, keaton tries his best with the medicore material and anita page is definetely a bright spot but pales in comparison to earlier work Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 02/27/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      Sidewalks of New York

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      Critics Reviews

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      Dennis Schwartz Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews Buster Keaton sold his rights to make films his own way to get a big fat contract from MGM, and a garbage pic like this one is what the studio cranked out for him. Rated: C Oct 19, 2011 Full Review Read all reviews

      Movie Info

      Synopsis Wealthy philanthropist Homer Van Dine Harmon (Buster Keaton) resolves to turn one of his tenement houses into a boys' sporting club after falling for Margie (Anita Page), the sister of young hoodlum Clipper (Norman Phillips Jr.). Unknown to both Margie and Homer, the adult leader of a kids' street gang, Butch (Frank Rowan), employs Clipper to pull off several jobs. When Homer declares his feelings for Margie, she insists that she will marry him only if he can save Clipper from a life of crime.
      Director
      Jules White, Zion Myers
      Production Co
      Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
      Genre
      Comedy
      Original Language
      English
      Release Date (Theaters)
      Sep 26, 1931, Limited
      Release Date (Streaming)
      Aug 10, 2016
      Runtime
      1h 13m
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