It just occurred to me that the showing of The Balloonatic was the equivalent of showing a short animated film before the slightly longer running time so it makes the £13 you’ve spent on one ticket worth it. I wasn't expecting it but I do appreciate it. As Sherlock Jr was the ‘main event’, it got the intro treatment which really wasn’t worth it but I suppose if you didn’t see Radiohead X Nosferatu then it wouldn’t have been as much of an issue.
The film starts off with Buster Keaton sitting in a theatre and reading a book about how to be a Detective and from pretty much that moment the good stuff happens. There is a bit where he is sweeping up outside and one women claims she has lost a dollar and Keaton gives it too her, then a moment later the same thing happens and he does the same thing. Then there is a man that comes along and as Keaton goes to give him the dollar, the man hands it back and it was a moment where you think he is being reward for his generosity but then hilariously the man rummages through the rubbish to find his wallet with what is most likely a lot more money.
The story then moves to a house where Keaton is trying to woo a lady but someone also has eyes on her and frames him for stealing a pocket watch. In an attempt to try and solve the mystery and prove his innocence, Keaton follows the man but then is ultimately unsuccessful. He returns to the cinema where whilst asleep he seemingly solves the mystery of who took the watch. By the end of the film the woman has been told by her father that they made a mistake and they end up happily ever after.
I had seen this film before (a few years ago) and I didn’t appreciate the technical feat that the film pulls off which is made even more crazy when you realise it was made 102 years ago. The use of colours is achieve much better than in Nosferatu although that might be because of the quality of the film. The billiard ball effect was really good and not only looked good but highlighted to us in a black and white film which ball was the one we needed to focus on. Another great effect was the use of the double buster in the projection room. That must have taken so much time to figure out and even now it looks like a good effect. The stand out effect was of him jumping through the hole in the women and then she walks away on the same shot showing there was no hole in the wall which is a mind blowing effect in 2026 let alone 1924.
The whole faux Sherlock adventure at the house with Keaton as Sherlock was clearly the best part and it was fun owners films were over a century ago. The thief and his butler trying to kill Sherlock Jr with an exploding billiard ball and only in a silent film could an example of an exploding billiard ball go off and no one in the house notices.
Second time this year I have been in a film where people have walked out. They were an older couple so clearly not a fan of R.E.M or hadn’t seen the Nosferatu X Radiohead film but it was nearly forty minutes into the double feature and I would love to have gone out with them to see what was the breaking point for them.
Like in The Balloonatic, the song’s transitions were done better. There were a couple of moments where the songs ended mid-scene but the gap didn’t seem to be as long as before. Still not convinced by using more modern music. I think you could give this to a composer today and the could come up with music that would appeal to a modern audience but crucially work better than R.E.M or any band really.
I enjoyed this film very much. I think that it again proves why Buster Keaton in my eyes was the better star of silent cinema over Charlie Chaplin. The story was good, the action scenes were well done and show how insane Keaton was for trying to do them in an age before stunt doubles were a thing and the humour was there and again better than what Chaplin did most of the time. Sherlock Jr. is definitely one of the best Buster Keaton films and if you are looking to get into silent films then this is one of the ones to start with.