Sherlock Jr. (1924)

User Rating:

8.5/10   

Director:

Buster Keaton

Writers:

Clyde Bruckman (writer)
Jean C. Havez (writer)

Release Date:

21 April 1924 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Action | Comedy | Crime | Fantasy | Mystery

Plot:

A film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meagre skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend's father's pocketwatch.

Plot Keywords:

Projectionist | Film In Film | Explosion | Car In Water | Movie Reality Crossover

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Buster Keaton	...	Sherlock, Jr. / Projectionist
Kathryn McGuire	...	The girl
Joe Keaton	...	Her father
Erwin Connelly	...	The butler / handyman
Ward Crane	...	The sheik / villain

Runtime:

45 min

Country:

USA

Language:

None

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

UK:U | Portugal:M/6 | Finland:S | Spain:T | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Larchmont Blvd. near Beverly Blvd., Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Buster Keaton Productions

Trivia:

This film was selected to the National Film Registry, Library of Congress, in 1991.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: As Buster falls asleep, the film begins unspooling onto the floor. When Buster wakes up, if nobody fixed it, there should be a large pile of film on the floor. And if someone fixed it, why didn't they wake him up?

Quotes:

The sheik: We are lost! He is sending for the world's greatest detective - Sherlock Jr.!

Movie Connections:

Featured in Harley-Davidson: The American Motorcycle (1993)

Astounding Creativity

It's almost impossible to describe the astounding creativity of "Sherlock, Jr". Even for Buster Keaton, this is a tremendous display of comedic and fantasy material. What's so remarkable is not so much any particularly hilarious gag or gags, as the never-ending stream of amazing and entertaining sights - coming faster and faster as the film proceeds - that seem so off-hand and effortlessly inventive, but that must have involved many hours of painstaking work to perfect. The film vs. reality theme is also highly suggestive, and makes this great movie one of the most completely satisfying efforts by Keaton or anyone else.

The film opens slowly and allows the pace to build gradually. Buster operates the movie projector at a theater, while trying to study on his own to be a detective. He is involved in a real-life mystery that involves his girlfriend's family, and which turns out badly for him. He retreats into the fantasy world of a picture showing at his theater, and from then on you just have to see it to appreciate it. The creative comedy, the technical skill, and the subtly expressed themes are all remarkable.

This is a great experience not to be missed.