← Back to Reviews
in
#130 - Sherlock, Jr.
Buster Keaton, 1924
A movie theatre employee wants to try his hand at being a detective.
So this makes the second full Keaton film I've ever seen (after The General) and of course it's easy to think it's not as good, but it is interesting in its own way. A brief yet novel take on the detective genre that uses the narrative excuse of a dream sequence in order to deliver some innovative silent-film visuals (just check the start of the dream sequence where Keaton's character ends up on the cinema screen and is constantly flitting through different backdrops to comical effect) to cover for its admittedly basic real-world plot where Keaton's amateur gumshoe is actually framed for theft by his would-be love interest's much more caddish acquaintance. The film is fortunately short enough to accommodate its thin plot and fills it out with some interesting visuals, though I'm a little disappointed that it's not quite as hilarious as I'd expected it to be (but I can definitely respect the lengths Keaton will go to in terms of stuntwork).
Buster Keaton, 1924
A movie theatre employee wants to try his hand at being a detective.
So this makes the second full Keaton film I've ever seen (after The General) and of course it's easy to think it's not as good, but it is interesting in its own way. A brief yet novel take on the detective genre that uses the narrative excuse of a dream sequence in order to deliver some innovative silent-film visuals (just check the start of the dream sequence where Keaton's character ends up on the cinema screen and is constantly flitting through different backdrops to comical effect) to cover for its admittedly basic real-world plot where Keaton's amateur gumshoe is actually framed for theft by his would-be love interest's much more caddish acquaintance. The film is fortunately short enough to accommodate its thin plot and fills it out with some interesting visuals, though I'm a little disappointed that it's not quite as hilarious as I'd expected it to be (but I can definitely respect the lengths Keaton will go to in terms of stuntwork).