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.
An allegorical tale about a man fighting the good and evil within him. Both sides are made flesh - one a sophisticated woman he is attracted to and the other his wife.
Director:
F.W. Murnau
Stars:
George O'Brien,
Janet Gaynor,
Margaret Livingston
In 1431, Jeanne d'Arc is placed on trial on charges of heresy. The ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.
Director:
Carl Theodor Dreyer
Stars:
Maria Falconetti,
Eugene Silvain,
André Berley
A man returns to his Appalachian homestead. On the trip, he falls for a young woman. The only problem is her family has vowed to kill every member of his family.
Directors:
John G. Blystone,
Buster Keaton
Stars:
Buster Keaton,
Natalie Talmadge,
Joe Keaton
With little luck at keeping a job in the city a New Yorker tries work in the country and eventually finds his way leading a herd of cattle to the West Coast.
Director:
Buster Keaton
Stars:
Buster Keaton,
Howard Truesdale,
Kathleen Myers
During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership.
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
Director:
Fritz Lang
Stars:
Brigitte Helm,
Alfred Abel,
Gustav Fröhlich
A naive man is appointed to fill a vacancy in the United States Senate. His plans promptly collide with political corruption, but he doesn't back down.
A meek and mild projectionist, who also cleans up after screenings, would like nothing better than to be a private detective. He becomes engaged to a pretty girl but a ladies man known as the Sheik vies for her affection. He gets rid of the projectionist by stealing a pocket watch belonging to the girl's father - which he pawns to buy her an expensive box of candy. He then slips the pawn ticket into the projectionist's pocket and subsequently is found by the police. He doesn't have much luck but in his dreams, he the debonair and renowned detective Sherlock Jr. who faces danger and solves the crime. In real life, the girl solves crimes quickly.Written by
garykmcd
For the sequence in which Buster Keaton's "dream-self" enters the "movie within a movie," Keaton employed the power of suggestion. He shot an actual movie featuring Ward Crane and Kathryn McGuire in a living room setting. As the sequence begins, the movie is playing on the theater movie screen. The film cuts back and forth between Buster sleeping in the projection booth, and his "dream-self" climbing on stage as the movie is showing. In the scene where Buster's "dream-self" steps through the movie screen and into the movie, the living room setting was re-created on the theater stage, and a large hole was cut in the movie screen for Keaton to step through. The actors were placed in the living room setting, creating the illusion that Buster stepped inside the movie screen to join them. See more »
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. See more »
Quotes
Projectionist:
[as Sherlock Jr., riding on the handlebars of a motorcycle, unaware the driver fell off]
Be careful or one of us will get hurt.
See more »
Alternate Versions
In 1999, Kino Video distributed a 45-minute version of this film, with a music score composed by and performed by the Club Foot Orchestra. See more »
As I sat reading the other reviewers comments I wondered what I could add. Oddly enough I watched Sherlock jr only this afternoon, after so many viewings it still amazes me how far ahead of his time Buster Keaton was, often copied, rarely equalled never surpassed. I would hate to be the kind of movie fan who never watches silent or black and white movies (you'd be surprised how many there are). So if you are like that do yourself a favour, get hold of a copy of this movie and enjoy, it shocks me that films such as 'Something about Mary' are rated higher than this masterpiece of comedy, there is nothing wrong with 'SaM' even I laughed at it, but, watching it once was enough, however I watch Sherlock jr again and again in pure amazement at Buster Keaton and his cameraman, Elgin Lessley's achievements without the aid of modern technology, like most other's the scene where he dives through a window to reappear as a little old lady gobsmacks me, how did he do it? Keaton can only be described in one word, genius. I have to add that I have the Kino version on DVD with the appalling soundtrack, but, luckily I also have it with a more appropriate soundtrack, which is far superior and adds extra enjoyment to an already fabulous movie.
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As I sat reading the other reviewers comments I wondered what I could add. Oddly enough I watched Sherlock jr only this afternoon, after so many viewings it still amazes me how far ahead of his time Buster Keaton was, often copied, rarely equalled never surpassed. I would hate to be the kind of movie fan who never watches silent or black and white movies (you'd be surprised how many there are). So if you are like that do yourself a favour, get hold of a copy of this movie and enjoy, it shocks me that films such as 'Something about Mary' are rated higher than this masterpiece of comedy, there is nothing wrong with 'SaM' even I laughed at it, but, watching it once was enough, however I watch Sherlock jr again and again in pure amazement at Buster Keaton and his cameraman, Elgin Lessley's achievements without the aid of modern technology, like most other's the scene where he dives through a window to reappear as a little old lady gobsmacks me, how did he do it? Keaton can only be described in one word, genius. I have to add that I have the Kino version on DVD with the appalling soundtrack, but, luckily I also have it with a more appropriate soundtrack, which is far superior and adds extra enjoyment to an already fabulous movie.