March 14th, 1921 – the day Hard Luck was released. Its ending was famously lost for years, but a muddy archive print of the final gag was discovered a few years ago. Kind of a middling Buster Keaton short, if only because it’s not as tight or cohesive as some of his best. But even if the various meandering directions it takes don’t all quite hang together, there are still some spectacular gags here (spoilers.)
Hanging Fail
The series of failed suicide attempts in the first part of the short are some of my favorite bits in this one. I get a kick out of Buster using the noose he’s made to hoist himself up to the tree branch like a pulley, and his “goodbye, cruel world” blown kiss winds up being for naught when he realizes he never actually tied the rope to the branch. Whoops!
Car Fail
Another failed suicide attempt. This is a great sight gag – seeing headlights approaching in the darkness, Buster runs out into the road, but it turns out to be, not a car, but two motorcycles, who naturally swerve around at either side of him.
Going After Big Fish
This one’s a classic. Buster goes fishing, putting each fish he catches back on his hook as bait for an even bigger one, until he inevitably hooks something too big and it drags him into the water before breaking his line. The penultimate fish is so absurdly enormous, and the extra little business of Buster tenaciously trying to find the time to roll and light a cigarette between reels puts it over the top.
The Uncooperative Stirrup
Roped into an unexpected fox hunt, Buster struggles with his horse, whose stirrup is made of some kind of stretchy material that won’t give Buster any leverage for a leg up. Ever resourceful, Buster finds a number of creative ways to mount his horse over the ensuing sequence. I especially like him hooking the stirrup onto his foot from the ground level and “riding” it up to the saddle (I can’t describe it – it has to be seen,) as well as clambering up the horse’s neck while it’s bending down to eat grass. Bonus points for producing a saltshaker out of his pocket (of course) to season the grass first!
Rigging the Shotgun
When the unsavory Big Joe Roberts and his gang take over the country club and kidnap Virginia Fox (there’s always gotta be some kind of peril,) Buster uses his ingenuity to try and save the day. Unable to get a clear shot at Big Joe without hitting Virginia, he mounts the gun onto the wall, rigs up a rope system to the trigger, and then goads Big Joe into stepping into the line of fire. Unfortunately for Buster, tugging on the rope isn’t enough to make the gun go off – and that’s including when Big Joe unwittingly tries to do it too! It doesn’t defeat the bad guys, but it’s still very funny. I also love Buster’s attempt to casually stroll away when he realizes it’s not working. Total Buster move.
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