RELEASED 1920
DIRECTORS Buster Keaton, Eddie Cline
CAST Buster Keaton, Virginia Fox
SCREENWRITER Buster Keaton
RUNNING TIME 18 minutes
PLOT A guy (Keaton) is in love with his neighbor (Fox), but, since their families hate each other, they only way they can communicate through the fence is by using cards. The police tries to arrest the guy. He always manages to run away, until the court decides that they have the right to get married.
A CIRCUS WOULD BE LESS AGITATED THAN THIS LITTLE TOWN. IN FACT, IN pure slapstick comedy style, the cast is made of acrobats. And in charge of them all there is Buster Keaton. He is wearing his signature baggy clothes and kind-of-neutral facial expression, that some millenials might classify as a resting bitch face. The acting is as usual exaggerated and very physical. As in any other silent film there are intertitles to explain the story more in detail.
It is a classic sweet rom-com, in Romeo and Juliet style, with a happy ending despite all of the misadventures the protagonists have to go through. They make the most out of them though, each unfortunate event is the perfect excuse to make the audience laugh and appreciate Keaton’s and his costars abilities.
VERDICT Joyful, entertaining and evergreen, no matter how much time has passed since its making.
Frame by Frame 