Classic Pick: Sherlock Jr. (1924)
The pleasures of silent film are multitudinous and varied. Unfortunately, many contemporary viewers decline to even give something in black and white and with no spoken dialogue a fighting chance. If you are one such viewer, I have a recommendation: watch Buster Keaton. Better yet: watch Sherlock Jr.
Sherlock Jr. is one of the two Buster Keaton films often referenced as his greatest works (the other is The General, which has more plot but less comedy). At a spare 44 minutes, it is accessible to those who resist silent films, and still hugely entertaining for those of us who can’t get enough of Old Stoneface.
Sherlock Jr. tells the story of a movie-theater projectionist who is accused of a theft by his rival in love. Unable to prove his innocence to his sweetheart, the projectionist falls asleep during a film and dreams his way into the movie, eventually “becoming” Sherlock Jr. in a detective story.
The point of any Buster Keaton film are the stunts, and Sherlock Jr. does not shirk its duty in that regard. There are damsels in distress, death-defying chase scenes, a hilarious billiard game, and numerous pratfalls. These are made all the funnier (and more daring) when you realize that it’s Keaton doing all the acrobatics, with limited camera tricks and no wires.
But Sherlock Jr. is also a story about movies, the fantasies that they invoke, and their complex relationship to reality. The projectionist initially dreams about jumping onto the screen, but as scenes shift he falls down holes, stands on moving trains, and does swan dives into the snow. These scenes are sources of humor, yes, but also betray far deeper understanding (and love) of the complexity of the cinematic experience.
Sherlock Jr. is a window into a time when films were made by the seat of the pants, on real streets with real people and real dangers. Keaton and his fellow silent clowns were pioneers in the industry, and films like this still stand up, almost a hundred years after they were made.