The Scarecrow by Gardner
The Scarecrow (1920) is a short film comedy that was written, directed, and performed by Buster Keaton along with Edward F. Cline.[1] An amusing romance, this 19-minute film is reminiscent of the vaudeville humor so common in Keaton films as one of the lead roles is played by Luke the Dog.[2]
Plot
Two farmhands (Buster Keaton and Joe Roberts) live in a one-room house resembling a Rube Goldberg invention. The house contains pulleys and levers that flip the room from bedroom to kitchen and back again. In the early minutes of the film, Roberts has to help Keaton remove a sore tooth. He does this by tying a string from the tooth to a doorknob and then slamming the door to yank the tooth out. After eating a meal together, the met set out to fight over the woman they love.
Both men work on the same farm and share the same love interest: the farmer's daughter (Sybil Seely). Both men attempt to win her love by various competitions resulting in broken limbs and soaked clothing. While running from a seemingly rabid dog (Luke the Dog), Keaton loses most of his clothes in a haystack and is forced to borrow clothes from a scarecrow in the farmer's field. He trips to his knees as the farmer's daughter appears, and she takes it as a marriage proposal. The two run off together with the farmer, (Joe Keaton) in hot pursuit. The happy couple picks up a pastor as they make their escape and are declared man and wife in the last scene - in the middle of a muddy stream.[3]
Cast
Buster Keaton, First Farmhand
Joe Roberts, Second Farmhand
Edward F. Cline, Truck Driver
Luke the Dog, Dog
Joe Keaton, Farmer
Sybil Seely, Farmer's Daughter
Al St. John, Motorcyclist
Mary Astor,
See Also
References
External Links
- The Scarecrow on YouTube
- The Scarecrow on Imdb
