Sherlock Jr. + One Week

One Week (1920)
Dirs. Buster Keaton & Edward F. Cline
With Keaton, Joe Roberts, Sybil Seely
19min; DCP

Keaton’s first film production released on his own, One Week marked a watershed moment in the revolutionary actor’s development of his distinct physical comedy and meticulously executed stunts. The story, a simple tale of Buster attempting to build a house for his new bride, is rife with Keaton’s now-iconic ladder gags, and originated the oft-reused gag of him emerging unscathed in the aftermath of a building collapse.

Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
Dir. Buster Keaton
With Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Ward Crane, Joe Keaton
45min; DCP

Longer and more narratively intricate than One Week, Keaton’s 1924 tale of a projectionist daydreaming himself directly into the movies (especially as Conan Doyle’s master detective) may have not delivered the same level of kneeslapping as his previous work, but instead established him as a more philosophically-complex auteur.

Restored by Cineteca di Bologna at L'Immagine Ritrovata Laboratory in association with Cohen Film Collection.