Sherlock Jr. (1924)
Overview
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.
Cast
Buster Keaton
Projectionist / Sherlock, Jr.
Kathryn McGuire
Girl
Joe Keaton
Girl's Father / Man on Film Screen
Erwin Connelly
Hired Man / Butler
Ward Crane
Sheik / Villain
Doris Deane
Girl Who Loses Dollar Outside Cinema (uncredited)
George Davis
Conspirator (uncredited)
Kewpie Morgan
Conspirator (uncredited)
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CinemaSerf
What a superbly intricate piece of comedic cinema this is. Keaton is a down-at-heel cinema projectionist who fancies himself as a budding "Sherlock Holmes". When a love-rival manages to frame him for pinching his (rather fickle) girlfriend's father's watch his life seems to have lost all purpose... Only when he returns to his cinema and runs that evening's movie does he doze off and dream his way into the film - this time as a brilliant detective calmly dealing with poison, explosives and dastardly cunning plots as he effortlessly solves the crime - some stolen pearls - and gets the girl! The story flows perfectly; the timing precise, the illusions almost circus-like but sophisticatedly so; no slapstick swinging planks and 8-foot puddles; just some intelligent humour and the odd, clever, use of special effects that create some sympathy for the initially rather pathetic hero! As much as to the imagery, this owes much to the score which the Club Foot Orchestra deliver setting a great pace for the shenanigans on screen.
