OGUNQUIT — Nicknamed “The Great Stone Face” because of his perceived lack of emotion, silent movie legend Buster Keaton dumbfounded audiences in 1925 when he directed and starred in the classic emotional comedy masterpiece “Go West.”

Despite never smiling on film, Keaton rustled up laughter and took America on a nostalgic trip to the frontier in the film, which will be shown Thursday, Aug. 24, at Ogunquit’s Leavitt Theatre.    

Screened with live musical accompaniment, Keaton’s performance in “Go West” was sort of a departure for the comedian, who portrays a down-and-out wanderer who becomes a reluctant hero in the film.

Shot entirely on location in Kingman, Arizona, in scorching temperatures during the summer, “Go West” Keaton heads west to ranch country and encounters romance with a cow that he tries to save from a trip to the livestock yards.

Lesser known today than Keaton classics “The Navigator”(1924) and “The General” (1926), “Go West” endeared itself to generations of silent movie fans and remains a favorite for film buffs and critics alike.

Born Joseph Frank Keaton on Oct. 4, 1895, in Piqua, Kansas, Keaton reportedly was given his nickname by the illusionist Harry Houdini. Traveling in a vaudeville show with his parents, Keaton fell down a flight of stairs at the age of 3 where he was picked up and dusted off by fellow vaudevillian performer Houdini, who said to Keaton’s father Joe, also nearby, that the fall was ‘a buster’ and the nickname stuck.

Showtime for “Go West” will be at 7 p.m. Aug. 24, at Leavitt Theatre, 259 Main St., U.S. Route 1, Ogunquit, and the program will open with a Keaton short comedy.

Admission is $10 per person, general seating.

The movie will be shown with live musical accompaniment by Jeff Rapsis, a New Hampshire-based performer regarded as one of the nation’s leading silent film musicians.

“These films are audience favorites, and people continue to be surprised at how engrossing and exhilarating they can be when shown as they were intended: in a theater, and with live music,” said Rapsis, who accompanies more than 100 screenings each year at venues around the nation.

Rapsis improvises live scores for silent films using a digital synthesizer to recreate the texture of the full orchestra.

“It’s kind of a high wire act,” Rapsis said. “But for me, the energy of live performance is an essential part of the silent film experience.”

Co-starring in ‘Go West’ is a mourn-faced cow named Brown Eyes, with whom Keaton worked extensively prior to the filming. Brown Eyes received a credit in the movie, and even got a salary for her acting — $13 a week.

Keaton’s female co-star in the movie is actress Kathleen Myers, who appeared in 43 silent films from 1920 to 1928. Joe Keaton, the comedian’s father acts briefly in a barbershop scene and it’s rumored that legendary actor Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle also appeared in drag in the film for one scene.

For more information about the “Go West” showing, visit www.leavittheatre.com. 

— Executive Editor Ed Pierce can be reached at 282-1535 ext. 326 or by email at editor@journaltribune.com.