Sherlock Jr. (1924)

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.

Director:

Buster Keaton

Writers:

Jean C. Havez (story), Joseph A. Mitchell (story),

Stars:

Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Buster Keaton	...	Projectionist / Sherlock, Jr.
Kathryn McGuire	...	The Girl
Joe Keaton	...	The Girl's Father / Man on film screen
Erwin Connelly	...	The Hired Man / The Butler
Ward Crane	...	The Local Sheik / The Villain

Storyline

A projectionist is studying to be a detective and is in love with a young lady. When he proposes her, his rival steals the chain watch of her father and incriminates him. The disappointed young projectionist returns to his job and while projecting the film, he dreams on being the detective of the story. Meanwhile, the girl finds the truth and acquits the guilty of the projectionist to her father.

---

Plot Keywords:

projectionist | amateur detective | slapstick comedy | chase | jungle | 

---

Genres:

Comedy | Fantasy

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Release Date:

21 April 1924 (USA)

Also Known As:

Sherlock Holmes jr.

Filming Locations:

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

Company Credits

Production Co:

Buster Keaton Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

45 min 49 min (1924)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Included among the '1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die', edited by Steven Jay Schneider.

---

Goofs

After Sherlock Jr spins the fence around placing his pursuers behind it, he puts a crossbar across the gate to stop them coming back. In the next shot as he leaves the alley, the crossbar is no longer visible on the fence.

---

Quotes

The sheik: [to Sherlock Jr. about a man locked in a tight cage] That's a detective. When he's dead I'll put you in there.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Projectionist (1971)

User Reviews

Intensely Poetic and Creative

Though a lot of older films tend to be neglected, Sherlock Jr. definitely isn't a film that could be called obscure. I imagine most people at least know OF this movie with its famous movie-in-a-movie surrealist scene.

Still, having previously heard over and over again about the brilliance of this film, I never really understood until I saw it myself. It's not just the dream-story and the surreality, it's what Keaton does with it and the importance he places on cinema. This film is even rather unique in using montage in a new way, or showing how much film appeals to the imagination as much as an artistic endeavor.

Thus, this film itself becomes both wildly imaginative and brilliantly artistic... and best of all, it's FUNNY! Thus, it becomes a film for everyone. There's no hard-found artistic conceit that leads to cries of "Pretentious!", but still people can say "It's amazing." There's no comedic conceit that says, "Bah, just simple slapstick, it's low-culture!" because it's rather intelligently done. And it's creative in a way that isn't like an opium-dream. It can appeal to anybody of all ages. It's one very well-done film.

--PolarisDiB