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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 153

Speak Easily

193280 minUnited States

Video edition: YouTube
Original language: English
This copy runs: 80:58
Subtitles: English

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Synopsis

A sheltered classics professor is tricked into believing he has inherited a fortune. Encouraged to experience the world, he ventures beyond the university with resources that exist only in the story told to him. His confidence creates opportunities for theatrical chaos and unfamiliar relationships.

Cast

Buster Keaton

Jimmy Durante

Thelma Todd

DirectorsEdward Sedgwick

Inspirations

Clarence Budington Kelland's novel became a pairing of Buster Keaton and Jimmy Durante. Keaton later reused physical comedy devised for the film, extending the life of its routines beyond this production.

Sources and availability

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Wikipedia Internet Archive

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

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Availability checked on September 10, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

Buster Keaton — Unknown author · Public domain
Jimmy Durante — Harry Warnecke · CC0
Thelma Todd — RKO · Public domain

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