The Scarecrow (1920)

A sentimental favorite.  This short is a good romp with fun action, terrific comic touches, and heaps of Bustery ingenuity.  I think that last point is what makes it a real gem.  This isn’t a film you could have gotten from anyone else – it just had to be Buster.

Buster lives in a one of the original tiny houses with a friend of his.  Both work as farmhands, and as luck would have it, both are in love with their boss’s daughter.  Rival attempts at courtship lead to scrapping, which leads to chasing, which leads to fleeing, and so on.  Despite all sorts of mishaps and complications, our hero proves that you can’t keep a good Buster down.

I’ll admit that the plot is pretty thin on the ground.  The story takes its time, meandering with comic detours for the fun of it.  However, most of those detours are quite worthwhile, and in a roundabout way, the plot points lead into one another surprisingly well.  This is one that I at first tended to think of as an entertaining bundle of tenuously-related gags, but having now seen it a handful of times, I can recognize how well it holds together.

The best and probably most well-known element of this short is the wonderful Rube Goldberg house, much of which is based time/labor/space-saving devices that Buster dreamed up as a kid.  The whole house is just a treasure trove of fun, and while parts of it are dubious (I’m skeptical about a piano doubling as a Murphy bed,) a lot of the ideas actually seem workable, which I love; I’m all for a good cartoon gag, but crazy-fun things that really work are even better.  My personal favorites include the record player that can be overlaid onto the stovetop, the bookcase with the icebox inside it, and the plates attached with the removable tabletop, which can be hosed off after meals (granted, I’d throw some soap in there, too, but then, I’m not an early-20^th-century farmhand/unsupervised bachelor.)

Buster himself is a delight here.  I love his exaggerated heartbreak when he thinks he’s lost the girl to his roommate.  His truce with the dog who’s been chasing him ragged is fun and cute.  His scarecrow impression is fantastically legit.  Finally, I love him for walking through a stream on his hands to keep his shoes dry.  Along with Neighbors, this is one of my favorite versions of his little fellow character.

Sybil Seely once again supplies the girl, being generally winning and adorable in an undemanding role (side note – I really like that Buster announces his intention to marry her regardless of “how she votes.”  Since this was made in 1920, the reference to women’s suffrage would have been pretty timely.)  Big Joe Roberts takes on a featured role as Buster’s roommate, and a small gaggle of other past collaborators show up, including Joe Keaton (a.k.a. Buster’s dad) and Fatty Arbuckle alumni Al St. John and Luke the Dog.  Joe displays a bit of patented Keaton high-kicking, and Luke is used to especially good effect.  You don’t see too many dogs that can climb ladders!

Warnings

Some slapstick violence and a bit of drinking.