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Les ruses de Malec

Original title: The Scarecrow
  • 1920
  • Not Rated
  • 19m
IMDb RATING
7.8/10
5.1K
YOUR RATING
Buster Keaton in Les ruses de Malec (1920)
SlapstickComedyFamilyShort

Two inventive farmhands compete for the hand of the same girl.Two inventive farmhands compete for the hand of the same girl.Two inventive farmhands compete for the hand of the same girl.

  • Directors
    • Edward F. Cline
    • Buster Keaton
  • Writers
    • Buster Keaton
    • Edward F. Cline
  • Stars
    • Buster Keaton
    • Edward F. Cline
    • Luke the Dog
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.8/10
    5.1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Edward F. Cline
      • Buster Keaton
    • Writers
      • Buster Keaton
      • Edward F. Cline
    • Stars
      • Buster Keaton
      • Edward F. Cline
      • Luke the Dog
    • 28User reviews
    • 21Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Photos49

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    Top cast7

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    Buster Keaton
    Buster Keaton
    • Farmhand
    • (as 'Buster' Keaton)
    Edward F. Cline
    Edward F. Cline
    • Hit-and-Run Truck Driver
    • (uncredited)
    Luke the Dog
    Luke the Dog
    • The Dog
    • (uncredited)
    Joe Keaton
    Joe Keaton
    • Farmer
    • (uncredited)
    Joe Roberts
    Joe Roberts
    • Farmhand
    • (uncredited)
    Sybil Seely
    Sybil Seely
    • Farmer's Daughter
    • (uncredited)
    Al St. John
    Al St. John
    • Man with Motorbike
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Edward F. Cline
      • Buster Keaton
    • Writers
      • Buster Keaton
      • Edward F. Cline
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews28

    7.85K
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    Featured reviews

    9Mike-764

    This Scarecrow had the smarts.

    Story of two farmhand roommates, living in a flat that only Rube Goldberg could have come up with, who are vying for the attention of the farmer's daughter, while Buster's character has to fend off his roommate (Joe Roberts looking very much like Fatty Arbuckle), the girl's father, and father's dog (which actually belonged to Arbuckle). That's pretty much the plot, but the sightgags are what make the short really work. The breakfast scene, with the aforementioned Goldberg setting, is pure genius. A very good production all around and ranks as one of Keaton's best. Rating, based on shorts, 10.
    10dhoffman

    A near perfect work.

    This is a marvelous work of comedy, perhaps one of the very finest of all short comedic films. The ingenuity of Keaton is endless as we see him and his roommate eating breakfast. The dual function of common household objects is incredible. Other stand-out scenes are those with the dog and Keaton as the scarecrow. Although this short work consists of a series of segmented scenes, there is still a fluidity that is quite pleasing. I introduced this work to a couple of teenagers. No complaints about black and white, no objections to its lack of talking. Just laughter and more laughter. `The Scarecrow' is a masterpiece.
    8MissSimonetta

    Buster and Sybil on the farm

    One of Buster Keaton's early short films, The Scarecrow (1920) is brimming with youthful energy and silly fun. Keaton shares the screen with Big Joe Roberts and Sybil Seely.

    Seely was nothing less than Keaton's finest leading lady, charming and spunky. She was a comic partner, not a "breathing prop" as Keaton's female co-stars are often stereotyped as being. It's a shame she and Keaton never starred in a feature film together, but at least we've got four shorts of them, so I won't complain. (Not too much anyway, ha!) But yeah, lots of cute stuff, like the rigged hut Buster and Joe share, or the wedding held on the motorcycle. For those who encounter pseudo-intellectuals who think Buster Keaton was all solemn and bleak and Kafka-esque, the sunshine of The Scarecrow should shut them up quickly. The man was plain funny.
    10ccthemovieman-1

    So Far, My Favorite Keaton 'Short'

    If you love chase scenes, this Buster Keaton short is for you! Before any chases, however, we see Buster and his roommate, Big Joe Roberts, as they get ready for breakfast, eat it with the aid of a very clever pulley system (you have to see this to believe it) and then clean up. The big one-room house is nothing but gadgets and they are all fun to see.

    Then Buster thinks a small "mad dog" is chasing him and the two go round and round both outside and inside the house, and even around the tops of a brick wall. It's clever and fast-moving slapstick.

    Buster then winds up being chased by the father of the female (Sybil Sealey) that both he and Joe are enamored with. After that short chase, in which Buster disguises himself as a scarecrow, he winds up getting Joe and the father fighting each other. When they discover Buster is the culprit behind that, they both take out after Keaton....and on and on it goes, with Sybil joining in......overall, a tremendous 19 minutes of sight gags, slapstick and general mayhem.

    I'd have to rank this as one of the most entertaining, if not THE most entertaining silent movie short subjects I have ever watched....at least to this point. I still have more to see.
    8AlsExGal

    This largely has nothing to do with a scarecrow...

    ... as the scarecrow gag is just one gag in a two reel short that is full of them.

    Buster and Big Joe Roberts are roommates and fellow farm hands. Probably the best part of this short are all of the gadget related gags at the beginning as the two farmhands eat breakfast and prepare to meet the workday. As the pair get ready to leave the house, one bed becomes a piano, the other a couch, and a phonograph doubles as a stove. Keaton always said he would have been an engineer if he hadn't become a comic and his mechanical bent shows in this short.

    Keaton seldom used captions as he tended to show you not tell you what's going on. But there's one line here that is odd for a Keaton comedy - "I don't care how she votes - I'm going to marry her." This short was made the first year that women had the Constitutional right to vote. Also Prohibition went into effect this year. Thus the line ""My stomach's as empty as a saloon." It's rare that you need to know something about history to appreciate Keaton, after all, he was not Alice Guy-Blache.

    Storyline

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    Did you know

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    • Trivia
      Buster Keaton's father Joe Keaton plays the role of the farmer.
    • Goofs
      Keaton, being chased by a dog, jumps into a large pile of straw. Shortly after that, there's a noticeable cut because a substantial amount of straw is missing from the middle after the edit.
    • Quotes

      Farmhand: I don't care how she votes - I'm going to marry her.

    • Connections
      Edited into The Golden Age of Buster Keaton (1979)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • December 22, 1920 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • None
      • English
    • Also known as
      • L'épouvantail
    • Filming locations
      • 618 Beverly Drive, Beverly Hills, California, USA(motorcycle with sidecar scenes)
    • Production company
      • Joseph M. Schenck Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 19m
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.37 : 1

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