Our Hospitality
Featuring a live, original score composed and performed Jeff Rapsis!
This lovingly detailed parody of the legendary feud between the Hatfields of West Virginia and McCoys of Kentucky was Buster Keaton’s first attempt at rendering the simultaneously nostalgic and unsentimental image of America’s pioneer past with which his screen presence has become so closely associated. When young Willie McKay (Keaton) returns to his southern home to reclaim his birthright, he quickly falls in love with a young girl (Talmadge) who, unbeknownst to him, is the daughter of his late father’s bitter rival.
Filled with perfectly timed sight gags that culminate in one of Keaton’s literally death-defying set pieces, Our Hospitality is a slapstick comedy essential.
ABOUT JEFF RAPSIS
Jeff Rapsis is a writer/editor, educator, and also a composer and performer who specializes in creating live musical scores for silent film screenings. He does other things, too. Specific talents include an ability to place coins on either elbow and then catch them in the same hand before they hit the floor, though sometimes he misses and the coins go flying just everywhere. He's also an award-winning journalist, newspaper publisher, and owner of multiple dogs. Visit his website here.
