Keaton's rendition of Intolerance follows Buster's trials of manhood from the Stone Age, to the Roman Forum, to the Roaring '20s ("the age of speed, need, and greed")-and back again. Three sets, three stories-three two-reelers, essentially-are ingeniously interwoven into a first feature for Keaton. In each, Buster is pitted against the larger, craftier, more sophisticated Wallace Beery for the love of the beauteous Margaret Leahy. Comic anachronism reigns (as opposed to the poetic period realism of his very next film, Our Hospitality). Love will always out, but no matter what the age, or the film, a guy like Buster first has to massage the lion's paws.