The Awakening (1954 film)

The Awakening is a 1954 short drama film of Douglas Fairbanks Presents anthology series based on Nikolai Gogol's short story "The Overcoat".

The Man is a first dramatic role of Buster Keaton. Fairbanks says, "It struck me as a beautiful idea — a novel idea — to put him in a straight part, because he was such a beautiful actor and a great talent. It worked out very well; he gave a marvelous performance".

The original plot of Gogol's story is significantly changed. There are allusions to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four dystopia in the film.

Cast

 * Buster Keaton — The Man
 * James Hayter — The Chief
 * Carl Jaffe — The Tailor
 * Lynne Cole — The Girl
 * Geoffrey Keen — The Supervisor
 * Christopher Lee — The Thief
 * Douglas Fairbanks Jr. — Himself - Host
 * Lily Kann - The Landlady - (uncredited)