Captain William “Steamboat Bill” Canfield is the proud owner of an aging paddle steamer on the Mississippi River. He eagerly awaits the arrival of his son, whom he hasn’t seen since infancy, hoping for a strong, strapping man to help him battle a rival businessman and his sleek new riverboat. Instead, he’s met with a skinny, awkward college boy—sporting a beret, a ukulele, and a thin pencil moustache. Things get worse when it turns out the boy is in love with Kitty, the daughter of his father’s biggest enemy. Both fathers are determined to put an end to the romance.

Steamboat Bill, Jr. was the last film Buster Keaton made for United Artists, before moving to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Though he retained some creative control in his next film (The Cameraman), this comedy symbolically marks the end of his golden age of artistic freedom.

Upon its release, the film was a box office flop and received mixed critical reactions. Yet Variety called it “a pip of a comedy” and “one of Keaton’s best,” while The Film Spectator even named it “perhaps the best comedy of the year so far.” Decades later, critics and audiences alike have come to recognize the film as a masterpiece of silent cinema, with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a place in 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die.

The film’s legendary third act—set during a hurricane—features some of the most breathtaking stunts in film history. In one iconic moment, an entire house facade crashes down on Keaton, who survives by standing precisely where a window opening lands. No tricks, no CGI—Keaton risked his life for the shot, which has since become one of the most famous gags ever captured on film.

Despite its initial underperformance, Steamboat Bill, Jr. had a lasting cultural impact. Walt Disney’s Steamboat Willie—the debut of Mickey Mouse—was released just six months later, borrowing its title from Keaton’s film. The falling house gag has since been re-created many times in film and television, albeit with modern safety measures.

Today, the film is praised for blending high-stakes physical comedy with a tender story about love, identity, and intergenerational reconciliation.

Over the years, “Steamboat Bill, Jr.” has become regarded as a masterpiece of its era.  

Trivia

• The iconic falling house stunt is so precise that if Keaton had moved just a few inches, he would have been seriously injured—or worse. Crew members were reportedly too afraid to watch as the shot was filmed.

• The hurricane sequence was created using massive airplane propellers, real wooden debris, and torrents of water. No miniatures or visual effects—everything was done full scale.

• The name Steamboat Bill was inspired by a popular 1910 folk song, which had been widely performed in vaudeville shows.

• Though a box office failure at the time, the film was rediscovered by film archivists and cinephiles in the 1960s and 70s, becoming a silent film classic.

• In 2016, the MythBusters TV show recreated the falling house stunt… and confirmed that Keaton really was risking his life for the gag!

The Soundtrack

Like other soundtracks written by Brais González for Buster Keaton's films, Caspervek's music for "Steamboat Bill Jr." is based on the sounds of swing, Dixieland and vintage jazz. The original version for violin, piano and percussion was followed by a second version with clarinet, premiered at the IKFEM Festival in 2020.