Top Five Gags: The Electric House

*Spoilers.*

October 16, 1922—the day The Electric House was released. In terms of comedy, I’d probably put this mid-tier, but in terms of Buster’s inventive imagination, it’s right up there with his best. I will forever love Buster’s devices and mechanical gags, and this short is chock full of them.

 

Runaway Stairs

When Buster is showing off the new escalator stairs, the speed gets set too high and Big Joe Roberts is carried up and catapulted out the window at the top of the stairs. I love Buster getting caught on the stairs himself: racing to try to get back down, losing his footage and repeatedly tumbling up the escalator, etc. My favorite bit is when he tries to jump to the bottom, but every time he stops to hunker down and prepare to jump, the stairs carry him up too high to make it.

 

Playing Pool

 After the end of Buster’s pool cue gets twisted in a bad shot, he’s not ready to give up. Industriously, he shapes the mangled end into a golf club instead and stands on the table to putt the ball into the pocket. Great sight gag, I love it!

 

Stuck in the Door

By this point, the sabotaged electric house has gone thoroughly haywire, and Buster gets stuck when the sliding double doors shut on his neck. I just love Buster’s physical acting here, the way he staggers around the room in a daze afterwards and then collapses into someone’s arms.

 

Doing a Run-Up

Buster has weaponized the speeding escalator against the saboteur, dumping him out the window and into the pool outside. He makes to jump in after him, then thinks better of it. He slides (headfirst!) down the banister and proceeds to ride the stairs back up, assuming a jumping position as he readies himself to make his leap. Again, just a great bit of funny physicality.

 

Goodbye, Cruel World

Okay, so no surprise, but Buster’s fired. In his despair, he ties a rock to himself and prepares to jump into the pool. (Spoiler alert: he’s fine. The daughter pulls the lever to rapidly empty the pool so he doesn’t drown.) This bit is great for one particular moment—after tying the rope to the rock, he then ties it around his neck exactly like a necktie. Such a delightful Bustery flourish.