FILM · 1924 · USA
Sherlock Jr.
- Directed by
- Buster Keaton
- Runtime
- 45 min
- Studio
- Metro Pictures Corporation, Buster Keaton Productions
26 archived facts 2 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
A film projectionist longs to be a detective, and puts his meager skills to work when he is framed by a rival for stealing his girlfriend's father's pocketwatch.
Summary: TMDB
All facts (26)
- #001
While running along the roofs of the moving freight train cars, Buster Keaton reaches the last one, jumps, and grabs a tube attached to a water tower. His weight caused the tube to descend, and as it did the water poured out and swept him forcefully along the track, nearly breaking his neck. The footage appears in the released film. Years later Keaton suffered from blinding migraine pain and was unaware of its cause until a doctor diagnosed it in the 1930s.
- #002
Buster Keaton practiced for four months, working with a billiards expert to learn all the trick shots he performs during the billiards game in Sherlock Jr. It still took him five days to film all the trick shots and get them right. When he finished, all the best trick shots he had filmed were assembled so that Sherlock Jr. appears to play one continuous game of billiards.
- #003
Sherlock Jr.'s assistant, Gillette, takes his name from William Gillette, the first actor to play Sherlock Holmes on stage.
- #004
Joe Keaton (the Girl's Father) was the father of star and director Buster Keaton (the Projectionist).
- #005
Buster Keaton doubled for Ford West, the actor playing Gillette, when the motorcycle he was riding (with Keaton at the handlebars) hit a deep ditch and threw him onto his backside.
- #006
Many filmographies list Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle as co-director of this film. Whether this is true is uncertain. Buster Keaton says he initially hoped Arbuckle would work as assistant director, but claims Arbuckle was still too depressed over the scandal that had nearly ended his career two years earlier and had made him difficult to work with. Keaton then became the film's sole director. Arbuckle's second wife, Doris Deane, later claimed Arbuckle directed the entire film. Historians disagree on how much Arbuckle may have directed, with estimates ranging from nothing to half.
- #007
It ranked 61st on the list of the best-edited films of all time, selected by members of the Motion Picture Editors Guild in 2012.
- #008
It is the shortest film on the IMDB Top 250 list.
- #009
According to the book Buster Keaton reads, the seven rules of being a detective are: "1. Search everybody. 2. Look for clues. 3. Examine all windows. 4. Look for fingerprints. 5. Shadow your man closely. 6. Notify the police. 7. Keep cool." Buster actually uses only rules 1 and 5 in the film.
- #010
This was Metro Pictures Corporation's final release.
- #011
A 1997 biography of Buster Keaton states that this film had a major influence on Woody Allen when he made The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985).
- #012
The scene in which Keaton rides on the motorcycle's handlebars was shot on real streets with no camera tricks or safety measures.
- #013
The production, produced by Lobster Films with the support of Blackhawk Films and The Academy Film Archive, underwent restoration in 2020.
- #014
In 2005, Time magazine named this film one of the 100 Films of All Time.
- #015
During the car chase, the dark-colored car is a 1924 Buick Model 24-45 Touring, the light-colored car is a 1923 Dorris Model 6-80 Dual-Cowl Phaeton, and the motorcycle is an early 1920s Harley-Davidson Model F.
- #016
It ranked 62nd on the American Film Institute's 2000 list of the 100 Funniest American Films.
- #017
A 14" x 36" poster for Rex Ingram's Scaramouche (1923) is prominently displayed outside the theater.
- #018
Buster Keaton performed all his own stunts, including the motorcycle chase.
- #019
It was the first of two Buster Keaton films with "Jr." in the title (the second was "Steamboat Bill, Jr.").
- #020
The "screen jump" effect in the dream sequence is considered one of the most innovative visual tricks of the silent era.
- #021
Although the film was not successful at the box office at the time, it later became one of Keaton's most famous works.
- #022
The film received an 86% approval rating from 43 critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
- #023
The film is included among the Top 250 Narrative Feature Films on Letterboxd.
- #024
The technical editing used for the position changes during the dream sequence was considered groundbreaking for 1924.
- #025
The American Film Institute later ranked Sherlock Jr. among the greatest comedies and the best silent films ever made.
- #026
During a performance, Keaton broke his neck without realizing it, and he only discovered the injury years later in an X-ray.
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