Pop Cullture 101 - STEAMBOAT BILL, JR.

The concept of a "Steamboat Bill" archetype had existed for several years before Keaton's film. In fact, the name was used as a title for a popular song in 1910, which was itself a re-write of Slim Webb's popular tune about the railroad engineer archetype, "Casey Jones." The steamboat version of the song was written for the vaudeville act the Leighton Brothers and was a great money-maker and well-known beyond the stage, judging by sales of sheet music. The title of Keaton's film, then, would have painted an instant picture for 1928 audiences - that of the offspring of a larger-than-life figure.

Against all probability, Keaton's film is NOT the most famous film released in 1928 to have the word "Steamboat" in the title. That distinction belongs to the Walt Disney cartoon Steamboat Willie, which was the 2nd Mickey Mouse cartoon produced (after 1927's Plane Crazy) and the first Disney cartoon to have a fully synchronized soundtrack. It has long been assumed, and often written, that Steamboat Willie is a parody of the Keaton film. A simple viewing of the two films does not bear this out, since Mickey's antics revolve largely around playing various farm animals as musical instruments! Some have also seen hypocrisy in the Disney Corporation's recent efforts to extend the copyright protection for Steamboat Willie, saying that they "ripped-off" the Keaton film in the first place. In truth, Disney was playing off the same "Steamboat Bill" archetype that predated the Keaton movie in story and song. However, it is highly probable that Walt Disney and his entire animation staff, beginning with the primary architect of Steamboat Willie, Ub Iwerks, were Keaton fans. Who was a more "animated" silent star than Keaton? He is still admired by modern animators. Steamboat Willie premiered late in the year, on November 18th. Keaton's feature premiered earlier that year in May, so it is likely that Disney's staff did find some inspiration for their cartoon in Buster's newest effort.

by John Miller