''The High Sign'' is a 1921
two-reel
A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...
silent comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
starring
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
, and written and directed by Keaton and
Edward F. Cline. Its runtime is 21 minutes. Although ''
One Week One Week may refer to:
* One Week (1920 film), ''One Week'' (1920 film), a short film starring and co-directed by Buster Keaton
* One Week (2008 film), ''One Week'' (2008 film), a Canadian feature film directed by Michael McGowan
* One Week (song), ...
'' (1920) was Keaton's first independent film short released, ''The High Sign'' was the first one made. Disappointed with the result, Keaton shelved it and the film wasn't released until the following year. The title refers to the secret hand signal used by the film's underworld gang.
Plot
Keaton plays a drifter who cons his way into working at an amusement park shooting gallery. Believing Keaton is an expert marksman, both the murderous gang the Blinking Buzzards and the man they want to kill end up hiring him. The film ends with a wild chase through a house filled with secret passages and trap doors.
Cast
*
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...
- Our Hero (as 'Buster' Keaton)
*
Bartine Burkett
Bartine Burkett Zane (February 9, 1898 – May 20, 1994) was an American film actress.
Burkett was born in Robeline, Louisiana to John Norvel Burkett and Bana G. (Howe) Burkett. She had a brother, Arthur. She gained acting experience in pr ...
- Miss Nickelnurser (uncredited)
* Ingram B. Pickett - Tiny Tim (tall villain) (uncredited)
*
Charles Dorety
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...
- Drunk (uncredited)
*
Al St. John
Al St. John (also credited as Al Saint John and "Fuzzy" St. John; September 10, 1892 – January 21, 1963) was an early American motion-picture comedian. He was a nephew of silent film star Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, with whom he often performed on ...
- Man in target practice (uncredited)
Production
![Bartine Burkett in the High Sign](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/26/Bartine_Burkett_in_the_High_Sign.jpg)
''The High Sign'' was Keaton's first independent production. In contrast to the "violent slapstick" of the films he had made with
Fatty Arbuckle
Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked w ...
, this short film evinces the "dry and quiet comedy style" which would become Keaton's trademark.
The climactic chase scenes inside the house take place on a split-level, cutaway set with revolving wall panels, trap doors, and hidden corridors in all the rooms. Filming took place at the studios of the
Comique Film Corporation recently vacated by Arbuckle.
Keaton also began working with Arbuckle's former cinematographer
Elgin Lessley and technical director
Fred Gabourie
Fred Gabourie (September 19, 1881 - March 1, 1951) was a technical director and department head.
Gabourie was born in Tweed, Ontario, Canada. He was a member of the Seneca Indian tribe. He served in the Spanish–American War.
He worked prim ...
, who remained with him until he signed with
MGM
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...
in 1929.
[
]
Release
Though Keaton completed ''The High Sign'' a year earlier, he delayed its release because he felt it too closely mimicked Arbuckle's style; he also "thought the gags were too ridiculous and clever for their own sake". ''The High Sign'' was released April 4, 1921. At that time, Keaton had broken his ankle while filming the first version of ''The Electric House
''The Electric House'' is a 1922 American short comedy film co-directed by and starring Buster Keaton.
Plot
Three graduating students drop their degree certificates, but each picks up the wrong ones off the floor. Keaton plays a botany studen ...
'' and his company needed to market a new film.
Contemporary soundtracks
Guitarist Bill Frisell
William Richard Frisell (born March 18, 1951) is an American jazz guitarist, composer and arranger. Frisell first came to prominence at ECM Records in the 1980s, as both a session player and a leader. He went on to work in a variety of contexts ...
released a soundtrack to the film in 1995 on his album '' The High Sign/One Week''. The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra premiered its new score for the film in 2008. Carl Davis
Carl Davis, (born October 28, 1936) is an American-born conductor and composer who has lived in the United Kingdom since 1961.
He has written music for more than 100 television programmes, but is best known for creating music to accompany si ...
composed an original score in 2017.
See also
* List of American films of 1921
A list of American films released in 1921. In the years before, during and since World War I several major studios based in Hollywood had come to dominate American film production including Paramount, Fox, Universal, Vitagraph, Goldwyn, ...
* Buster Keaton filmography
This is a list of films by the American actor, comedian, and filmmaker Buster Keaton.
Short films
Starring Roscoe Arbuckle, featuring Buster Keaton
Starring Buster Keaton under Buster Keaton Productions
Starring Buster Keaton for ...
References
Sources
*
External links
Senses of Cinema article on ''The High Sign''
*
''The 'High Sign
on YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
''The High Sign''
at the International Buster Keaton Society The International Buster Keaton Society Inc.— a.k.a. "The Damfinos"—is the official educational organization dedicated to comedy film producer-director-writer-actor-stuntman Buster Keaton.
Mission
According to the Damfinos, their mission is "t ...
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:High Sign, The
1921 films
Films directed by Buster Keaton
Films directed by Edward F. Cline
American silent short films
American black-and-white films
1921 comedy films
1921 short films
Silent American comedy films
Films produced by Joseph M. Schenck
Films with screenplays by Buster Keaton
Articles containing video clips
1920s American films