Joe Roberts

Buster Keaton plays the long-suffering assistant to a monumental blacksmith (Joe Roberts) in this two-reel silent comedy co-directed with Malcolm St. Clair. In twenty minutes Keaton wrecks a Rolls-Royce, mis-shoes a horse, turns the shop's anvil into a weapon, and woos the local girl (Virginia Fox) through escalating disaster. The film is packed with signature Keaton engineering gags — the hinged car body, the horse that lifts a customer skyward — and a nude-statue routine that got the short censored in some territories. Made at the peak of Keaton's shorts period for producer Joseph M. Schenck, a year before he moved into features. Published in 1922, it is in the public domain in the United States.

Comedy · Silent

The Frozen North is a 1922 silent comedy short co-directed by and starring Buster Keaton, with Edward F. Cline. Keaton parodies William S. Hart's Western films, playing a rugged cowboy who arrives in a frozen northern landscape and attempts a series of Western-movie tropes with disastrous results. The short is notable for its surreal humor and self-referential gags, including Keaton breaking the fourth wall. As a 1922 work, the film is in the public domain.

Comedy · Western

The Goat is a 1921 silent comedy short co-directed by and starring Buster Keaton, with Malcolm St. Clair. Through a series of mistaken identities, Keaton becomes wanted as both a criminal and a dead man. The short features some of Keaton's most inventive chase sequences and visual gags, including a memorable scene where Keaton escapes on a motorcycle. As a 1921 work, the film is in the public domain.

Comedy

The Haunted House is a 1921 silent comedy short co-directed by and starring Buster Keaton, with Edward F. Cline. Keaton plays a bank clerk who ends up in a haunted house that is actually a front for a counterfeiting operation. The short features elaborate mechanical gags, including a collapsing staircase and a series of trap doors, as well as a memorable dream sequence where Keaton goes to heaven and hell. As a 1921 work, the film is in the public domain.

Comedy · Horror

The High Sign is a 1921 silent comedy short co-directed by and starring Buster Keaton, with Edward F. Cline. Although made first, Keaton shelved it, considering it too close to his earlier Arbuckle-era style, and it was released later the same year. Keaton plays a drifter who joins a secret society called the Blinking Buzzards and is hired to assassinate a wealthy man, only to end up protecting him instead. The short features Keaton's famous homemade newspaper-reading gag. As a 1921 work, the film is in the public domain.

Comedy · Crime

The Love Nest is a 1923 silent comedy short co-directed by and starring Buster Keaton, with Edward F. Cline. Keaton sets out to sea on a whaling ship to forget his romantic troubles, only to encounter a brutal captain who throws crew members overboard at the slightest provocation. The short features Keaton's inventive physical comedy aboard the ship, including a memorable gag with a hatchet. This was Keaton's last independent two-reel comedy before moving on to feature films. The film is in the public domain.

Comedy

The Paleface is a 1922 silent comedy short co-directed by and starring Buster Keaton, with Edward F. Cline. Keaton plays a butterfly collector who wanders into a Western town and is captured by cannibal Indians. When he discovers their land is being stolen by corrupt oil prospectors, he helps the tribe expose the scheme. The short features Keaton's trademark physical comedy and deadpan reactions in a Western setting. As a 1922 work, the film is in the public domain.

Comedy · Western

The Playhouse is a 1921 silent comedy short co-directed by and starring Buster Keaton, with Edward F. Cline. The film opens with a famous dream sequence in which Keaton plays every role in a theater — the audience, the orchestra, the performers, the stagehands, and even a monkey. The sequence was achieved through multiple exposure, with Keaton filming the same scene dozens of times. After the dream, the film follows Keaton as a stagehand pursuing a romance with an actress. The opening sequence is widely regarded as one of the greatest technical achievements of the silent era. The film is in the public domain.

Comedy

The Scarecrow is a 1920 silent comedy short co-directed by and starring Buster Keaton, with Edward F. Cline. Keaton and Joe Roberts play farmhands sharing a room filled with Rube Goldberg-style space-saving contraptions. When Keaton is chased by Roberts after a misunderstanding involving Roberts' daughter, he disguises himself as a scarecrow. The short features one of Keaton's most celebrated chase sequences and a memorable scene where he runs through a house while it collapses around him. As a 1920 work, the film is in the public domain.

Comedy

Three Ages is a 1923 silent comedy feature co-directed by and starring Buster Keaton, with Edward F. Cline. Keaton's first feature film, it parodies D.W. Griffith's Intolerance by telling three parallel love stories set in the Stone Age, the Roman era, and the modern age. In each segment, Keaton competes with a larger, more formidable rival for the affections of a woman. The film was designed so that the three segments could be released separately as two-reelers if the feature format proved unsuccessful. The film is in the public domain.

Comedy · Romance