IMDb RATING
8.1/10
63K
YOUR RATING
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.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.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
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 2 wins total
Jane Connelly
- The Mother
- (uncredited)
George Davis
- Conspirator
- (uncredited)
Doris Deane
- Girl Who Loses Dollar Outside Cinema
- (uncredited)
Christine Francis
- Candy Store Girl
- (uncredited)
Betsy Ann Hisle
- Little Girl
- (uncredited)
Kewpie Morgan
- Conspirator
- (uncredited)
Steve Murphy
- Conspirator
- (uncredited)
John Patrick
- Conspirator
- (uncredited)
Ford West
- Theatre Manager
- (uncredited)
- …
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Summary
Reviewers say 'Sherlock Jr.' is celebrated for its innovative special effects, clever editing, and groundbreaking stunts performed by Buster Keaton. The film is praised for its physical comedy, inventive plot, and unique dream sequence. Critics highlight its sophisticated humor, contrasting it with other silent comedies. Despite some finding it slow or predictable, many appreciate its historical significance and influence on future filmmakers. The blend of action, romance, and comedy, along with Keaton's performance, is frequently noted as a highlight.
Featured reviews
Sherlock, Jr. arguably exceeds The General as Buster Keaton's greatest achievement -- it is certainly more magical in its use of extraordinary special effects and unconventionally humorous situations. Movies about movies are a dime a dozen, but rather difficult to do well. Keaton's brilliant structuring of the story -- a fantastic treat for audiences when his pathetic projectionist becomes the genius detective through a literal entering of the movie screen -- has been imitated dozens of times, but I always come back to this unsurpassable rendering. Watching Keaton play the scene where he studies how to go about kissing his best girl by peeking at a movie version of the same event always reduces me to simultaneous jags of tears and laughter.
10up2u
Not only is this Buster Keaton's best film, but it is among the greatest achievements in the history of cinema, period. While it is not a feature-length film--and thus barred from most critics' lists of great films--it invented just about every single basic special effect known to movies (except for morphing). The story itself, about a film projectionist who desires to become part of the movies, and then does, by walking right onto the screen, made palpable the desire that we all have to be in the movies: To get the girl, to be an action hero, to outsmart the bad guys. Keaton invented meta-cinema before anyone even had a phrase for it.
This movie has entered our dreams.
This movie has entered our dreams.
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
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
It's almost impossible to describe the astounding creativity of "Sherlock, Jr". Even for Buster Keaton, this is a tremendous display of comedic and fantasy material. What's so remarkable is not so much any particularly hilarious gag or gags, as the never-ending stream of amazing and entertaining sights - coming faster and faster as the film proceeds - that seem so off-hand and effortlessly inventive, but that must have involved many hours of painstaking work to perfect. The film vs. reality theme is also highly suggestive, and makes this great movie one of the most completely satisfying efforts by Keaton or anyone else.
The film opens slowly and allows the pace to build gradually. Buster operates the movie projector at a theater, while trying to study on his own to be a detective. He is involved in a real-life mystery that involves his girlfriend's family, and which turns out badly for him. He retreats into the fantasy world of a picture showing at his theater, and from then on you just have to see it to appreciate it. The creative comedy, the technical skill, and the subtly expressed themes are all remarkable.
This is a great experience not to be missed.
The film opens slowly and allows the pace to build gradually. Buster operates the movie projector at a theater, while trying to study on his own to be a detective. He is involved in a real-life mystery that involves his girlfriend's family, and which turns out badly for him. He retreats into the fantasy world of a picture showing at his theater, and from then on you just have to see it to appreciate it. The creative comedy, the technical skill, and the subtly expressed themes are all remarkable.
This is a great experience not to be missed.
My second silent film for the class that I viewed for my class was just as entertaining as the first, which was Charlie Chaplin's The Circus. Buster Keaton playing the role of the movie projectionist Sherlock Jr. was very entertaining. The story is simple, yet interesting and fun, and the movie comes in at much less than one hour, 44 minutes to be exact. While there are a few points in the movie that are disjointed and not as fun, overall you can stay engrossed enough until you get to some really cool and innovative special effects, which given the technological limitations when this was filmed in the 1920's are simply amazing.
Did you know
- TriviaWhen Buster Keaton is running along the roofs of the moving freight train cars, he comes to the last one and jumps and grabs the tube connected to a water tower. His weight caused the tube to descend and, as it did so, water poured out and washed him on to the track with force, fracturing his neck nearly to the point of breaking it. This footage appears in the released film. Keaton suffered from blinding migraines for years afterwards and was unaware of the reason, until a doctor diagnosed him in the 1930s.
- GoofsAfter Sherlock Jr. spins the fence around, placing his pursuers behind it, he puts a crossbar across the gate to stop them from coming back. In the next shot, as he leaves the alley, the crossbar is no longer visible on the fence.
- 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.
- Alternate versionsIn 1995, Film Preservation Associates, Inc. copyrighted a 45-minute version of this film, with a music score performed by Vince Giordano and The Nighthawks.
- ConnectionsEdited into Quand le rire était roi (1960)
- How long is Sherlock Jr.?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official site
- Languages
- Also known as
- Sherlock Jr.
- Filming locations
- 3630 Pasadena Ave, Los Angeles, California, USA(Northleaf Grocery)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $399
- Runtime
- 45m
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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