The Awakening is a 1954 short British TV drama film directed by Michal McCarthy and starring Buster Keaton.[1] The screenplay was by Lawrence B. Marcus based on Nikolai Gogol's short story "The Overcoat". It was part of the Douglas Fairbanks Presents anthology series.
The Man is a first dramatic role of Buster Keaton. Fairbanks says, "It struck me as a beautiful idea as a novel idea as 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".[2]
The original plot of Gogol's story is significantly changed. There are allusions to George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four dystopia in the film.[3]