Review of Sherlock Jr. (1924) by Michael C — 26 Jan 2012

I was not overly impressed with Buster Keaton after seeing The General, the film hailed by many as his masterpiece. I felt like the pacing was weak, and paled in comparison to the choreography, and emotive acting of Charlie Chaplin's masterworks.

After watching Sherlock Jr., I must revise my statement to say at the very least this film (and likely other Keaton films as this is one of the only 2 I've seen) deserves to be heralded alongside Chaplin's greatest works as one of the best of silent film comedies.

The simple story of a film projectionist who dreams of being a detective after he's framed for a crime is a simple premise that allowed Keaton to do some highly impressive and funny stuntwork that in the days of CGI is even more astonishing, and to make several fourth-wall violating gags well before it was a hip thing to do.

The film is great at commenting on the nature of film and its boundaries by crossing them in the scenes to great comic effect, and Keaton's deadpan delivery with each trial and tribulation is priceless.

This film is far more entertaining than the Civil War picture The General, and I would argue much better written in my opinion, and is a better showcase for Keaton's talents as both director and performer.