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Malec champion de tir

Original title: The High Sign
  • 1921
  • Not Rated
  • 20m
IMDb RATING
7.6/10
3.9K
YOUR RATING
Buster Keaton in Malec champion de tir (1921)
SlapstickActionComedyShort

A drifter at an amusement park finds himself both the bodyguard and hit man of a man targeted by a criminal gang.A drifter at an amusement park finds himself both the bodyguard and hit man of a man targeted by a criminal gang.A drifter at an amusement park finds himself both the bodyguard and hit man of a man targeted by a criminal gang.

  • Directors
    • Edward F. Cline
    • Buster Keaton
  • Writers
    • Edward F. Cline
    • Buster Keaton
  • Stars
    • Buster Keaton
    • Bartine Burkett
    • Charles Dorety
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.6/10
    3.9K
    YOUR RATING
    • Directors
      • Edward F. Cline
      • Buster Keaton
    • Writers
      • Edward F. Cline
      • Buster Keaton
    • Stars
      • Buster Keaton
      • Bartine Burkett
      • Charles Dorety
    • 22User reviews
    • 13Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 nomination total

    Photos80

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    Top cast6

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    Buster Keaton
    Buster Keaton
    • Our Hero
    • (as 'Buster' Keaton)
    Bartine Burkett
    • Miss Nickelnurser
    • (uncredited)
    Charles Dorety
    Charles Dorety
    • Gang Member
    • (uncredited)
    Ingram B. Pickett
    • Tiny Tim
    • (uncredited)
    Joe Roberts
    Joe Roberts
    • Leader of Buzzards
    • (uncredited)
    Al St. John
    Al St. John
    • Man on Beach During Target Practice
    • (uncredited)
    • Directors
      • Edward F. Cline
      • Buster Keaton
    • Writers
      • Edward F. Cline
      • Buster Keaton
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews22

    7.63.8K
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    Featured reviews

    9Igenlode Wordsmith

    A Star Was Born

    Some people -- to paraphrase Mel Brooks -- call Buster Keaton a genius. But that's both too little and too much to give him credit; Einstein was a genius, Keaton... is incredible.

    In the Fatty Arbuckle films he's amusing in what we tend to put down as a 'silent-comedy' way, a {by and large} straight-faced clown in a world of food fights, cross-dressing, clumsy cops and general anarchy. After exposure to a few hours of these I was, frankly, ready to write Keaton off as simply another sub-Laurel-and-Hardy slapstick act -- in the Arbuckle shorts he's reasonably funny but nothing to rave over. And then, suddenly, in the middle of the programme, came "The High Sign"... and it knocked me for six here, there, and into the middle of next week.

    As a solo debut it's nothing short of astounding. It's the spectacle of a great talent emerging fully-formed and all at once into unique existence, like Athena from the head of Zeus. From the opening scene, the style, the humour, the devices, the sheer *intelligence* are instantly, blazingly original: this isn't just 'silent comedy' to be laughed at and over by the modern public with an air of faint condescension, it's surreal and hilarious and utterly gifted to side-splitting effect by anyone's standard. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before. And the audience reaction -- from the former good-natured 'look-he's-dipped-the-bouquet-in-the-dirty-oil' laughter to the sudden roar of genuine surprise and delight -- was instant and electric. Suddenly, it was we who were eighty years behind the times, belated recipients of a moment of magic. Director, acrobat, actor, gag-writer, cinematographer, stuntman... for the first time Buster Keaton was set free into the universe of his own imagination, with confidence, grace and meticulous inventive brilliance, and before our eyes -- how could we not know it? -- a star was born.

    Even more incredible to learn, and yet true, is the fact that Keaton himself rejected and suppressed this first film as insufficiently original, holding up release for a year: no-one ever saw it at the time. He knew he could do better and, unbelievably, he was right. But that's another story...
    10mmallon4

    Keaton Komedy Klassic

    The 'High Sign' has to be my favourite Buster Keaton short and it just so happens to be the first independent film Keaton produced, giving birth to his iconic unnamed character. However, Keaton was reportedly disappointed with the short and didn't release it until the following year, instead making One Week his first solo short. I question why though as I feel the premise of The 'High Sign' is one of Keaton's most inspired and even worthy of being used as the set-up for a feature - it's true what they say, the artist is often wrong about their own work. The opening prologue of The High Sign states "Our hero came from Nowhere- he wasn't going Anywhere and got kicked off Somewhere"; and considering his superhuman stunts, Keaton is like an alien who just landed on Earth. This opening prologue reminds me of a statement Roger Ebert made in his review of The General; "(Keaton) seems like a modern visitor to the world of silent clowns".

    The 'High Sign' packs in so much gags and material into its 21-minute runtime, chocked full of blink-and-you-miss-it moments in the story of a wannabe gangster who also becomes a bodyguard for the man he is assigned to kill. The gag involving Keaton's set-up with the dog, the meat and the string (it's hard to explain) is reminiscent of something Mr. Bean would conjure while the short also features the earliest example I've seen in a film of a recurring gag with the high sign itself, a secret signal between the members of a gang known as The Blinking Buzzards. Keaton even messes with the audience's expectation for comic effect by walking past a banana peel on the ground only to not slip on it. Furthermore, the short's finale is a real "How did they do that?" sequence. The house with its traps and secret hatches is an astounding piece of set design and when four rooms on duel levels appear in the frame at once in which Keaton jumps back and forth between them, it reminds me of a 2D platform video game. I was laughing, in awe and was even shocked (when the gangster's neck is closed on the door) all at once. All of this takes place within a nostalgic, Coney Island-like setting (filmed at Venice Pier in Los Angeles) and even features the appearance of a man at the 11 minutes mark who bears quite a resemblance to that other great silent comic, Charlie Chaplin (intentional or not?). I'll say it now and I'll say it again; the genius of Buster Keaton will never cease to amaze me.
    7captnemo

    More proof that Keaton was better than Chaplin

    This little gem of a movie is chock full of inventive gags that will keep you laughing. There are the usual physical ones, such as the house and its many entrances/exits. What had me intrigued were some of the sight gags as well. The dog and the bell was amazing to watch. Each and every corner in Keaton's world has something wondrous around it. The man was an amazing athlete, and it shows here. Watch for the weird guns throughout the film. They don't make sense but then again they don't have to.
    Snow Leopard

    Pleasantly Silly & Very Funny

    This is the kind of pleasantly silly and very funny film that typifies the very best of these old silent short slapstick comedies. It's fast-paced and filled with clever gags, and a couple of especially hilarious scenes. It starts when Buster tricks everyone into thinking that he is a crack shot, and thus finds himself hired by a rich miser to be his bodyguard, while also being recruited by a gang of criminals (the 'Blinking Buzzards', who go around saluting each other with the 'High Sign') to assassinate the same man. There's not much else to the plot, which is mostly a setup for a lot of zany antics. It's funny all the way through, and there is some especially good use of props and settings in this one. It's just slapstick fun, nothing to take seriously, but slapstick doesn't come much better. This is highly recommended for fans of silent short comedies.
    9Tetsel

    Highly entertaining bit of comedy

    Although "The High Sign" is a short film and not very well known, in many ways it is one of Keaton's best. It is non-stop entertainment, especially because the plot is very nearly irrelevant and the gags are so constant. What makes this so special in the development of movie comedy are the shooting gallery scene and the trapdoor house. These are examples of quintessential American slapstick, and they have been copied hundreds of time since 1921. There is also one small special effect in the midst of all the comedy that really caught my eye: Someone spikes Keaton's drink with either alcohol/poison (we are not told) and Keaton sips it. He can tell it is spiked, and looks into the cup, and we see in the drink the image of the rear of a horse kicking it's hind legs. This obvious allusion to the 'drink with a kick' is not only funny, but it is the essence of cinema: show not tell. I highly recommend this one for anyone looking for a short, innovative, hilarious comedy.

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    Related interests

    Leslie Nielsen in Y a-t-il un flic pour sauver la reine ? (1988)
    Slapstick
    Bruce Willis in Piège de cristal (1988)
    Action
    Will Ferrell in Présentateur vedette: La légende de Ron Burgundy (2004)
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    Short

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Included in "Buster Keaton: The Shorts Collection" blu-ray set, released by Kino.
    • Goofs
      When Buster comes back from the gang's room to the shooting gallery (9:45 min), there is nothing on the wall between the two posters. But after he climbs over the counter, his coat is now hanging on the wall.
    • Quotes

      Narration Card: The brutal bungalow of the Blinking Buzzards, a bold bad bunch of blood-thirsty bandits who would break into a bank, blow a battleship to bits or beat up a blue eyed baby blonde.

    • Alternate versions
      Film Preservation Associates copyrighted a version in 1995 containing a music score and sound effects, with a running time of 21 minutes.
    • Connections
      Featured in Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow (1987)

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • April 18, 1921 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • None
      • English
    • Also known as
      • The 'High Sign'
    • Filming locations
      • Venice Pier, Ocean Walk Front at Washington Boulevard, Venice, Los Angeles, California, USA
    • Production company
      • Joseph M. Schenck Productions
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 20m
    • Color
      • Black and White
    • Sound mix
      • Silent
    • Aspect ratio
      • 1.33 : 1

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