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Sherlock, Jr. Photos

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Movie Info

A kindly movie projectionist (Buster Keaton) longs to be a detective. When his fiancée (Kathryn McGuire) is robbed by a local thief (Ward Crane), the poor projectionist is framed for the crime. Using his amateur detective skills, the projectionist follows the thief to the train station -- only to find himself locked in a train car. Disheartened, he returns to his movie theater, where he falls asleep and dreams that he is the great Sherlock Holmes.

Genre:

drama, comedy
Director:

Buster Keaton
Producer:

Joseph M. Schenck, Buster Keaton
Writer:

Clyde Bruckman, Jean Havez, Joseph A. Mitchell
Release Date (Streaming):

Jul 9, 2019
Runtime:

48m
Production Co:

Buster Keaton Productions Inc. [us]

Cast & Crew

Buster Keaton
Sherlock, Jr., Projectionist

Kathryn McGuire
The Girl

Ward Crane
The Sheik, The Villain

Joe Keaton
The Girl's Father, Man on Film Screen

Erwin Connelly
The Hired Man, The Butler

Kewpie Morgan
Conspirator (uncredited)

Show all Cast & Crew

Critic Reviews for Sherlock, Jr.

All Critics (23) | Top Critics (8) | Fresh (22) | Rotten (1)

Keaton's appreciation of the formal paradoxes of the medium is astounding; his observations on the relationship between film and the subconscious are groundbreaking and profound. And it's a laugh riot, too.

May 29, 2015 | Full Review…

Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Keaton's third feature under his own steam is an incredible technical accomplishment, but also an almost Pirandellian exploration of the nature of cinematic reality.

May 29, 2015 | Full Review…

Tom Milne
Time Out
Buster Keaton's third and shortest feature ranks among his best.

May 29, 2015 | Rating: 5/5 | Full Review…

David Parkinson
Empire Magazine
A master of movement and stillness, Keaton developed a comedy style that was as intellectual as it was physical, and this small gem shows us why he's as purely American a film genius as the motion pictures have produced.

May 29, 2015 | Full Review…

Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
The unexpected, fantastic dream situations lend themselves to some remarkable trick effects, including one in which Buster walks right out of an audience and into a picture on the screen.

May 29, 2015 | Full Review…

TIME Magazine
Sherlock Jr. is notable for a series of scintillating, near-inexplicable stunts, Keaton's characteristically dexterous and deadpan performance, as well as for its fat-free rattling-good storytelling and witty intertitles.

May 29, 2015

Emma Simmonds
Little White Lies
An essential and important part of the evolution of silent comedy, renowned for its technical achievements and careful approach to storytelling.

July 30, 2020 | Rating: 10/10 | Full Review…

Mike Massie
Gone With The Twins
Self-referentiality, impeccable stunts and eye-popping cinematography: Keaton's grace and visual wit are unmatched even today.

April 12, 2020 | Full Review…

Tom Shone
Sunday Times (UK)
Sherlock Jr. (1924) is stone-faced director/producer Buster Keaton's marvelously inventive, short silent film era, comic fantasy - his third and shortest feature film. It was filled with the comedian's trademark physical gags...

October 4, 2019 | Rating: A+ | Full Review…

Tim Dirks
Filmsite
Buster Keaton's masterpiece and one of the greatest silent-era comedies-a clockwork marvel of visual invention and meta-cinematic reflection

September 26, 2019 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…

James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
Fans of The General will disagree, but this absolutely dazzling comedy is perhaps the best of all Keaton features.

August 10, 2019 | Rating: 4/4 | Full Review…

Matt Brunson
Film Frenzy
Sherlock Jr. is a remarkable film, which captures the medium of cinema in unique and passionate ways, while maintaining a truth in its characters.

August 1, 2019 | Full Review…

Amanda Mazzillo
Film Inquiry

View All Critic Reviews (23)

Audience Reviews for Sherlock, Jr.

Aug 31, 2018

Simply a marvel of ideas and execution, Keaton's imagination alone is a bullet ride across The Twilight Zone and The Wizard Of Oz at the same time. Breathtaking work. That it's a comedy is only the cherry on top. A regular guy, a movie projectionist, dreams of being super detective and winning the girl, but the scope of his dreams...!

Kevin M. W Super Reviewer
Jul 18, 2014

A great movie all the more remarkable due to the technique employed and how Keaton could pull off a number of risky stunts without getting killed - and his huge care is evident in a hilarious billiard scene and a fabulous moment in which he dodges many dangers on a motorcycle.

Carlos M Super Reviewer
Apr 28, 2014

Sherlock Jr. is only the third silent film I've seen and the first from Buster Keaton. All that's going to change though because this movie has made me see the different types of humor that the silence offers, as well as other cool things that can be done when talking isn't involved. A young projectionist, who is also studying to be a detective is accused of stealing from the family of the girl he is trying to marry when a rival suitor frames him. He falls asleep while running a movie and dreams himself onto the screen where he becomes Sherlock Jr., the greatest detective in the world. I loved pretty much everything about this movie and the influence it had over future movies is almost unparalleled. It was one of the first films ever to employ the usage of multiple story lines and also introduced the notion of escaping from ones life into the movies. A story which has been used many times over the years. Sherlock Jr. is a masterpiece of early filmmaking from one of the most revered silent comedian and director of the silent era. The technical concepts he uses in this film are quite astounding for his time and watching them now, over 90 years later, it astounds me to see a masterpiece like Sherlock Jr.

Melvin W Super Reviewer
Sep 07, 2013

Incredible film that is still impressive 80 years on.

Marcus W Super Reviewer