Buster Keaton's films will always be amusing, but that doesn't mean they are flawless. This is a good short comedy he was making on his way up, and shows he is learning his craft. But the key to this film is a little flaw that is not really resolved until the last shot. The short is really two shorts stitched together. In the first we see Buster playing golf and trying to impress an expert female golfer (Sybil Seeley). The highpoint is a spoof by Keaton of water traps: his ball goes into a stream full of trout and he has to try to locate the trout that swallowed his ball. It works because of the typical Keaton determination to get to the heart of the matter - he goes through several fish before he finds the trout and removes the ball. Probably that would have been the conclusion for most comics, but not Keaton. He tops it with two other jokes (hitting the ball out of the stream back into the fairways; and then paddling his makeshift river raft to shore with his golf club).
Had he stuck to the golf game only the resulting short might have been a "10". Likewise when he goes into the prison section: the prison section could have been a "10" also. But when pushed together that stitching shows, as does it's resolution at the conclusion. Supposedly, while Buster is golfing, a convict flees a nearby prison. Buster manages to knock himself out with his own golf ball. The escapee sees Keaton lying on the ground and exchanges clothes. Buster ends up "Convict 13" in the local prison, and he discovers he is to be hanged soon. He also discovers the girl he likes is the daughter of the warden. He is prepped for his hanging by hangman Eddie Cline (who would be a successful director in Hollywood). One of the best moments in this section is when Buster corners Sybil in the prison yard, puts a handkerchief on the ground, kneels on it announcing how he loves her forever and wants to marry her, and is dragged up by the guards and hustled over to be hanged! Sybil does try to help ruin the hanging by substituting an elasticated rope for the hangman's rope. Cline is left puzzled by Buster bumping up and down in a weird anticipation of bungee chord exercise. Another nice touch in the hanging sequence is that the other prisoners are enjoying the show from bleacher seats.
The final section is dealing with the meanest of the prisoners, Joe Roberts. We see him effortlessly beating up on guards until confronted by Buster (now having switched his prison garb with a guards) and threatening Buster. There is even a repeat of the hanging business, this time varied with Joe being attached to the rope from the wrong end. Buster ends up thwarting a prison break (set at 3:00 P.M.) and being made Assistant Warden.
If you noticed how effortlessly Keaton steps from golf player to prisoner to guard to Assistant Warden, something would tip you off as to what is going on. That comes out in the last moment of the film, when all these crazy switches that everyone accepts are resolved. I won't explain how, but look over the sequence of events and you'll probably figure it out.
It is a very funny comedy, with Keaton using his physical abilities to show he could have had fun with an Argenine bolo if one came his way. It's just the seams that ironically keep it from being one of his best shorts.
Had he stuck to the golf game only the resulting short might have been a "10". Likewise when he goes into the prison section: the prison section could have been a "10" also. But when pushed together that stitching shows, as does it's resolution at the conclusion. Supposedly, while Buster is golfing, a convict flees a nearby prison. Buster manages to knock himself out with his own golf ball. The escapee sees Keaton lying on the ground and exchanges clothes. Buster ends up "Convict 13" in the local prison, and he discovers he is to be hanged soon. He also discovers the girl he likes is the daughter of the warden. He is prepped for his hanging by hangman Eddie Cline (who would be a successful director in Hollywood). One of the best moments in this section is when Buster corners Sybil in the prison yard, puts a handkerchief on the ground, kneels on it announcing how he loves her forever and wants to marry her, and is dragged up by the guards and hustled over to be hanged! Sybil does try to help ruin the hanging by substituting an elasticated rope for the hangman's rope. Cline is left puzzled by Buster bumping up and down in a weird anticipation of bungee chord exercise. Another nice touch in the hanging sequence is that the other prisoners are enjoying the show from bleacher seats.
The final section is dealing with the meanest of the prisoners, Joe Roberts. We see him effortlessly beating up on guards until confronted by Buster (now having switched his prison garb with a guards) and threatening Buster. There is even a repeat of the hanging business, this time varied with Joe being attached to the rope from the wrong end. Buster ends up thwarting a prison break (set at 3:00 P.M.) and being made Assistant Warden.
If you noticed how effortlessly Keaton steps from golf player to prisoner to guard to Assistant Warden, something would tip you off as to what is going on. That comes out in the last moment of the film, when all these crazy switches that everyone accepts are resolved. I won't explain how, but look over the sequence of events and you'll probably figure it out.
It is a very funny comedy, with Keaton using his physical abilities to show he could have had fun with an Argenine bolo if one came his way. It's just the seams that ironically keep it from being one of his best shorts.