Synopsis
The Scarecrow (1920) is a Buster Keaton silent short you can watch online on iFILM. In nineteen minutes of pure mechanical slapstick, two farmhands share a one-room house rigged with gadgets — a table on pulleys, a bed that folds into an organ, condiments that slide down a track.
Both men — Keaton and the hulking Joe Roberts — are after the farmer's daughter (Sybil Seely). To shake off his furious rival, Keaton disguises himself as a field scarecrow and sets off a frantic chase across the farm. Co-directed with Edward F. Cline, the film is packed with stunts the star performed himself, no doubles and no safety nets. Its transforming gadget-house gag, where the whole room collapses in one motion, was decades ahead of its time. A great first step into silent comedy. Stream The Scarecrow online on iFILM.
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