The High Sign (Buster Keaton, 1921) is an American slapstick silent film starring and directed by Buster Keaton. Being a ‘two-reeler’, the film was shot using two reels of film and thus has a relatively short duration of 21 minutes. The film was actually Keaton’s first effort, but due to his disappointment with the final product, it was not released until a year after its completion.
Within the film, Keaton plays a nameless drifter who lands a job in a shooting gallery. We are then introduced to a gang known as the Blinking Buzzards who wish to kill a man named August Nickelnurser. Keaton is then employed by both the gang as an assassin, as well by Nickelnurser as his personal bodyguard. This results in an hyperbolically humorous ‘double-agent’ storyline.
The film features a more complex storyline than both One Week and The Scarecrow, incorporating much more realism than expressionism throughout. Although the story is much more authentic and grounded in reality, Keaton’s trademark use of fast motion, slapstick humour and elaborate sets are still ever present. For example, an array of revolving wall panels, trapdoors and hidden corridors are utilised by Keaton to grand comedic effect. To demonstrate this, Keaton utilises an unusual wide shot at one point in the film, exhibiting the four rooms of the funhouse simultaneously. Through this, the comedic pandemonium is displayed in a creatively unique way.
The appearance of the Blinking Buzzard gang in this film is also an accurate portrayal of the 1920s time period, during which many ex-soldiers led a life of violence and corruption after the war.
I thoroughly enjoyed The High Sign and preferred it to both One Week and The Scarecrow. I found the double-agent storyline to be Keaton’s most engaging work thus far and found the ending to be extremely fulfilling.
Overall, I would rate The High Sign ★★★★.
Otis Morley’s A-Level Film Studies Blog 