People are voting emotionally.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Something like The Saphead isn't what you would expect to be Buster Keaton's feature film debut. The whole thing seems too ordinary, too stagey and melodramatic to be so. This is due to the fact that The Saphead was not a Keaton-helmed project; he was suggested for the role of the rich young man Bertie by Douglas Fairbanks, who had previously played the role on Broadway.Bertie is the first of the spoiled, clueless young man types that Keaton would later return to in The Navigator and Battling Butler. He seeks to impress a sweet young woman named Agnes by coming across as a bad boy, gambling well into the morning hours and having breakfast in the afternoon. His father confronts him about this behavior and has him cut off until he can find a job. Bertie seeks out to do just that, in the meantime winning the hand of his girl-- well, almost. During the ceremony, his sister's slimy husband Mark receives letters from his recently deceased mistress Henrietta, asking him to take care of their illegitimate child. His secret about to be revealed, he presses the letters on Bertie, breaking Agnes' heart and bringing the union to an abrupt end. Fortunately, things manage to pick back up after Bertie unwittingly saves the family stock business.While there are a few Keaton-esque moments every now and then, for the most part The Saphead is just a typical stage to film adaptation of the period. Unlike the films Keaton would later star in and direct, this picture lacks spontaneity and laughs. The action on screen never comes alive until the climax, when Keaton finally gets to jump and be thrown around as he dashes through the trading floor and saves the day. The entire movie isn't a bore, however, and there are a few humorous inter-titles and gags, but it's just doesn't have a story that seems to suit the particular talents of its main star.

The Saphead was Buster Keaton's first feature length film, but is usually ignored as it is not a true comedy. In this film Buster plays Bertie van Alstyne (who was played by Douglas Fairbanks in an earlier version) and the film is a transfer of a Broadway production called the "New Henrietta". By watching the opening sequences you can tell that the film will not be a true comedy and Buster does not appear in the early parts of the film. The Saphead begins with us finding out that a character named Mark Turner has had an affair with a now dying woman, who wishes to break up his marriage. Finally now we get to see Buster in a scene with some subtle comedy. We discover that he is in love in a woman called Agnes, who is coming home that evening by train, Buster does not see her at the station and she travels home alone. Eventually they are to get married when during the ceremony Mark Turner's affair is discovered, but he manages to force it upon Buster who is sent away. This film may sound boring, but the last 20 minutes are funnier than any Keaton film I've seen (most of them). Buster visits the stock exchange only to get confused and...you have to watch it for yourself to find it truly funny. Overall I found it to be a very good film with its mix of melodrama and comedy.

This movie is a very successful transfer of a hit Broadway play to a feature film. It gives us a chance to step back to the time of 1920 and enjoy the theatrical experience of attending a very popular Broadway play. The actors are splendid . The film is an adaption of the play :The New Henrietta " and it was originally filmed as "The Lamb" starring Douglas Fairbanks and it helped establish him as atop movie star. The print is excellent. I totally enjoyed it as a Silent movie and would very much doubt that it would be improved as a Talkie Enjoy...From personal experience, I have found that I need conditioning for satisfactory enjoyment of Silent films. I usually begin by viewing a short silent comedy such as a Chaplin, etc and thus distance myself from the talkie movie attitude.

Buying? Selling? No, I'm waiting for the crash----7/10 Although somewhat maligned by the multiple story lines and slow paced drama of the film, 'The Saphead' is saved from its own mediocrity by an incredible ending sequence that has Buster running, jumping and practically flying around the New York Stock Exchange. In defense of the film, the part that Buster plays, Bertie 'The Lamb' Van Alstyne, was not written with Buster, or his brand of comedy in mind. The Saphead is a remake of the Douglas Fairbanks film 'The Lamb', which was released roughly five years before. Having Buster come in to do 'his thing' makes this film unforgettable, but in no way nearly as good as the films he would go on to make independently.Besides the wonderful ending, the opening credits were very creative. But 'The Saphead' turns out to be nothing more than two bookends holding up some dated and dusty romance novels.7/10. Clark Richards