theowinthrop There is a running thread in film comedy that all the great comics are just falling short of the law or on going to jail. Think of that conman's conman W.C.Fields in THE OLD FASHIONED WAY, or the Marx Brothers in A NIGHT AT THE OPERA, or Chaplin in THE ADVENTURER, of Mae West in SHE DONE HIM WRONG. The skirting of the law is inevitable, and when they end up on the side of the law the results are actually still hostile between the forces of law and order and the comic. Think of Lloyd in his first talkie, WELCOME DANGER, trying to "assist" the San Francisco Police Department in the midst of a crime wave, and making police sergeant Edgar Kennedy want to kill him. Think of Laurel and Hardy as ill-fated cops in MIDNIGHT PATROL. I find this type of hostility is so patent in all these giants' (and their peers') comedy that even a fake title for a film deals with it. Think of Jerry Seinfeld in one episode of his series creating a Three Stooges short, SAPPY PAPPIES, where the boys end up being electrocuted for murder.Buster Keaton frequently pulls in the forces of law and order to be his opponents in his comedies. Look at STEAMBOAT BILL, JR., where he tries to spring his dad from a calaboose. But he actually had more conflict from police forces in his shorts. In CONVICT 13 he is dragged back to prison when mistaken for an escaped convict. In COPS (perfect title - if you see it you'd understand) the police force of a large city is repeatedly looking for Keaton, mistaken for a terrorist). And in THE GOAT he is unable to avoid the police for most of the film.Keaton is a tramp just looking for food. But he is totally unlucky. When he sees a stranger throw a lucky horseshoe (which Keaton earlier ignored) over his shoulder, and then find a wallet full of money, Keaton tries the same thing, and hits a cop in the head. The cop gives chase, and Keaton (as luck would have it) runs into another cop, tries to act normal, but ends by throwing the other cop into the path of the first. Soon he has three cops chasing him. Briefly shaking them he walks by a window at the local jail where local murderer "Dead Shot Dan" (Malcolm St. Clair*) is being photographed. Passing in back of the barred windows, Keaton is stupid enough to stop and look straight in. The desperado notes this and ducks as the picture is taken. When Dead Shot flees the police, it is Keaton's face on all the wanted posters.(*St. Clair would eventually be a successful director of silent and early sound comedies, although in his later biography would be a stint at 20th Century Fox where his work with Laurel & Hardy was below par.)Keaton flees to another town by train (disconnecting the passenger cars containing his pursuers from the locomotive and tender). This is the film (by the way) that has two famous Keaton jokes. His arrival on the locomotive is done in a distant shot, with it coming closer and closer, and suddenly the audience sees Keaton sitting on the cowcatcher. The second famous sequence goes later (and may have influenced Chaplin somewhat in the beginning of CITY LIGHTS). Keaton had accidentally knocked out a man who was arguing too violently with a pretty woman with a dog (Virginia Fox). When he sees the poster's calling him a murderer he thinks he killed the man. He is being chased in this town by a suspicious chief of police (Joe Roberts), and momentarily loses Roberts in the park. A statue of "Man-of-War" is being constructed and the sculptor is unveiling a clay model of the horse). Keaton is seen seated on the clay model, trying to maintain his dignity as the clay legs of the horse start collapsing under his weight. Keaton manages to meet the pretty Ms Fox, who invites him home for dinner. Only he doesn't realize her father is Roberts. The last five minutes of the film deal Keaton fleeing and avoiding Roberts while he and Fox get away together.It's a funny comedy, and a wonderful example of Keaton's work at his best.

ccthemovieman-1 Not all, but most of this story is Buster being mistaken for "Dead Shot Dan," a notorious criminal. There really is no story, just a series of adventures to show off Buster's physical talents, which are amazing, and his comedic timing. The 27-minute film is basically one adventure after the other mostly involving someone chasing our hero.Earlier, it's a couple of policemen on their beats racing through the streets after Keaton and later it's "Big Joe" Roberts, a rotund cop - and father a girl Buster is interested in - who chases him. Those latter scenes were the best I thought, with a lot of clever gags involving the hotel elevator where Big Joe and his daughter live. That was Keaton at his best.It's just a madcap half hour that makes little sense, but cares? It's Buster at his slapstick best, or near it, and so it serves its purpose: to entertain us. Just think: 85 years after this film was made there are people (like me) still discovering and enjoying these silent comedy classics! Cool!

MartinHafer This is a wonderful comedy short--one of Keaton's absolute best. Through a long series of silly mistakes, Buster is mistaken for a wanted killer. And, as a result, most of the film consists of him running from the cops and one detective in particular. While generally I am NOT a fan of movies with a lot of chase scenes, this one is the absolute best as far as pure athletic and acrobatic ability. I have seen some that have had wilder stunts, but none where the star was so limber and able to move with amazing grace. In particular, there is a scene where he runs across a table, jumps on a man's shoulders and dives up through the transom as lithely as is humanly possible. Plus so many of the gags are funny and perfectly timed, such as how he really comes to believe that he's actually killed someone. By the way, this film is VERY similar to COPS, also by Keaton, but original enough and with enough energy to make them both worth seeing.This film is brilliant and the only Keaton short I can think of that I probably liked even more was THE PLAYHOUSE--where Buster plays every role at the theater.

bob the moo Having missed out on the bread line, Buster accidentally gets his photograph taken by mistake by a man taking a photo of notorious criminal Dead Shot Dan. When Dan escapes, Buster finds himself mistakenly identified as the dangerous wanted man and even when he flees the police to another town, wanted posters are already ahead of him and he finds his troubles are only beginning.BBC4 has just started a series with Paul Merton on silent comedy heroes and his first subject was Buster Keaton. The programme itself was an interesting mix of clips but the real gold was in the fact that it brought this short film in its entirety to primetime television (albeit on a small digital channel). The short opens with an unlikely setup but quickly gets past it by virtue of the sheer quality inherent in the comedy rather than the story-telling, which, being honest, is what we've come here for. True to form the comedy is creative and slightly surreal with a great mix of slapstick and wit. I found myself laughing out loud even though I wasn't really in the mood for comedy (I was more in the mood for Solaris, which I watched later the same evening).Keaton is on great form and does so much while keeping a straight face; those who dismiss his performances as just falling down simply have no idea what they are talking about and I wish them well as they watch their next crude teen comedy at their multiplex. His support cast are good in regards their physical performances but some of them really overdo their face movements – not so much on the double takes (which need impact) but more on the other aspects where they appear hammy. Of course playing opposite Keaton even Mount Rushmore could be accused of overdoing the facial movements, such is his way.Overall a great little short with an unlikely plot that is more than covered up by a hilarious and inspired onslaught of physical comedy delivered with skill, imagination and wit.