Keaton’s Mechanized Mayhem
Live music by Wayne Barker
The High Sign (1921), The Electric House (1922), The Goat (1921)
Buster Keaton conceived and executed some of the most astonishing stunts in cinema history as well as being a superb filmmaker. In these three shorts he demonstrates his aptitude for physical comedy and clever effects and his affection for mechanics.
In The High Sign Buster drifts into a job in a shooting gallery where he’s mistaken for an expert marksman and offered side jobs culminating in a madcap chase through a house with secret passages and trap doors. In The Electric House Buster is a student of botany but picks up the wrong diploma (electrical engineering) at graduation and is hired to wire a house for all the modern conveniences. Buster is continually in the wrong place at the wrong time in The Goat and is mistaken for the killer Dead Shot Dan!
Free admittance for children under 12
Live Music by Wayne Barker
Wayne Barker has garnered acclaim both for his original compositions and live performances in the theater, including a Tony nomination for best original score on Peter and the Starcatcher. His numerous credits include piano scores for Beth Henley’s Laugh, an homage to silent-era slapstick; and Joe DiPietro’s Hollywood, centered around the 1922 murder of director William Desmond Taylor. He composed for Dame Edna Everage as well as appeared onstage as Master of the Dame’s Music for six years.
Image Credit: Jim Cox
Details
Runtime
68 min
Country
United States
Print Source
Lobster Films
Format
DCP