Sherlock Jr (1924)

Directed by: Buster Keaton

Written by: Jean C Havez, Joseph A Mitchell

Starring: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton

Buster Keaton has quite the legacy. I know of his work because of my affection for the 80s Hong Kong films of Jackie Chan. Chan was not only influenced by the silent film star, but lifted or paid homage to many of Keaton's stunts throughout his work. Sherlock Jr is the first Buster Keaton film I've seen. I've seen clips before. Even from Sherlock Jr. The scene where Keaton is stuck on the roof and uses a crossing guard to lower himself into the backseat of a car I've seen before. Even so, this film was an absolute delight.

A couple of months back I watched Charlie Chaplin's "Easy Street". I wasn't able to get enough of my thoughts about the movie onto the page so I scrapped the writing. The one thing that struck me about the Chaplin film was how it was like watching a live action Bugs Bunny cartoon. Obviously the films of Chaplin, Keaton, and the Marx Brothers influenced Warner Brothers and their smart alec rabbit, but I couldn't ignore the parallels. Sherlock Jr uses cartoon logic.

What makes it all the more spectacular though is that we're not dealing with a cartoon. Something about seeing such flagrant disregard for the laws of our universe on screen is breathtaking. There's small gags like using the rain cover of a car in the water for a sail, but there are two logic defying acts that had me gobsmacked. Considering the film was released in 1924, these two scenes feel like actual cinema magic.

There's the sequence when Keaton as the projectionist starts dreaming. He walks into the cinema showing a film on screen. He then walks through the screen into the scene. From there we have a bunch of sight gags as the genre of film changes, usually resulting in a pratfall, but that initial walking into the frame really stuck with me. The second and more remarkable shot is when Keaton as Sherlock Jr is fleeing from the bad guys. He gets trapped in an alley with a salesman. The salesman has his suitcase open, his back against the brick wall. Sherlock Jr is trapped. He runs at the salesman, and dives through his suitcase, disappearing. The goons test the wall, which spins around trapping them on the other side. I'd have to go watch the scene again to see if any jump cuts are obvious, because otherwise I have no idea how Keaton pulled this stunt off. This is what I mean by cinema magic.

So much of the film had me smiling, and I even laughed out loud a few times. I marveled how effortlessly information was conveyed through the acting and the composition rather than relying on the text cards. Keaton is a magnetic screen presence, not only for his physical feats but how he carries himself. I was rooting for him to overcome the villain who framed him. What's interesting is that the villain never receives his comeuppance. In the projectionist's dream he is done in by an exploding billiard ball, but back in reality there is no punishment. Just the girl realising that the projectionist did not commit the crime he was framed for. The film ends with the two awkwardly kissing.

At 45 minutes, I recommend everyone check this out. The jokes land, you feel for the projectionist, and the stunts are still spectacular. The version I watched can be found here.

Personal enjoyment: ★★★★★