Sherlock Jr. (1924)

This time around for our featured Letterboxd Lists review we revisit the Letterboxd Top 250. More specifically, we look at number seventy-one on the list (as of May 16th, 2024) …Sherlock Jr. (1924).

Title: Sherlock Jr.

Director: Buster Keaton

Runtime: 45 minutes

Released: April 17, 1924 (United States)

Available to stream on: Kanopy and Tubi

A young projectionist (Buster Keaton) wants nothing more than to be a detective. In fact, while at work in the movie theater, he passes the time by reading a book about how to become a detective.

During his shift, he wanders over to buy chocolate for the woman he loves (Kathryn McGuire) only to find that he is a few dollars short for the larger box of chocolates. He settles for the cheaper box and changes the price on the box with a pencil to reflect four dollars instead of one dollar.

Meanwhile, the “local sheik” (Ward Crane) is also vying for the girl’s love. However, the sheik resorts to theft in his attempt to buy the girl’s love. He steals her father’s watch and pawns it, taking that money to buy the four-dollar box of chocolates.

The father realizes his watch is gone and the projectionist decides to reference his book on how a detective would handle this case. What the projectionist doesn’t realize is that the sheik planted the receipt from the pawn shop in his coat pocket. Everyone is searched and when the receipt is found on the projectionist, he is told to never set foot in the house again.

Absolutely heartbroken and dejected, the projectionist returns to his job at the theater and sets up the next film. While the film is playing, the projectionist dozes off and begins to dream. In his dream he leaves his body in the projection booth and inserts himself into the film in the role of Sherlock Jr.

In the film, Sherlock Jr. is on the case of a stolen pearl necklace. Since it is a dream, the projectionist inserts people from his own life into the roles of the other characters. The girl he loves, the sheik, and even the girl’s father all appear as the main characters.

While the projectionist manages to be the hero of the story in his dream, what about in the story of his real life?

I was surprised to see that the only film with Buster Keaton in it that I had seen up to this point was Sunset Boulevard (1950). Honestly, since that was just a cameo, I’m not even sure that counts. So, I’ll say that Sherlock Jr. (1924) is the first film I’ve seen featuring Buster Keaton in a starring role.

The writing is smart and clever, and Keaton is incredible with physical comedy as well as displaying emotions with only facial expressions. This film is 100 years old this year and there were a few instances where I found myself absolutely bewildered on how they pulled off a stunt.

I’m not sure what all I can say about Sherlock Jr. (1924) that hasn’t already been said a million times before. I will say though, if you’re like me and haven’t seen it at least once, please fix that. You won’t regret it.

Well, now it’s your turn. Have you seen Sherlock Jr. (1924)? If so, what did you think of it?

Let me know in the comments below or by reaching out to me on social media!

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