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Steamboat Bill, Jr.
1928 · Film · 70 min
Directed by Charles Reisner, Buster Keaton
The just-out-of-college, effete son of a no-nonsense steamboat captain comes to visit his father whom he's not seen since he was a child.
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2 comments on Hacker News
Thanks for clarification.
The Wikipedia entry implies they're both riffing on the song, not that the cartoon is riffing on the Keaton film.
I guess I'm surprised if it wasn't coincident given only 6 months between releases!
It's also a little confusing how the Lessig refers to the Keaton film as "Steamboat Bill" when it's "Steamboat Bill, Jr." - the song that appears in both is "Steamboat Bill."
You're right that I read it wrong; I'm still not sure if it's correct though.
edit: Having watched them both, they both of course are steamboat themed. Early on, Bill Jr is referred to once as "Willie", and Bill Jr appears to be a musician while Willie is almost entirely musical (using animals as instruments). Those do feel like references. The contents mostly feel unrelated though.
No, it was not a rip-off. There are hardly any similarities between the two films.
Steamboat Bill, Jr https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjl2Fj-_Hg0
Steamboat Willie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BBgghnQF6E4