The Blacksmith
- 1922
- 21m
IMDb RATING
6.8/10
3.1K
YOUR RATING
Buster Keaton shoes horses and repairs cars, with mixed results.Buster Keaton shoes horses and repairs cars, with mixed results.Buster Keaton shoes horses and repairs cars, with mixed results.
- Awards
- 1 nomination
Buster Keaton
- Blacksmith's Assistant
- (as 'Buster' Keaton)
Virginia Fox
- Horsewoman
- (uncredited)
Joe Roberts
- Blacksmith
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe gleaming Rolls-Royce destroyed in the film was reportedly a wedding present given to Buster Keaton by his in-laws. By the time this film was made, relations with them had soured considerably.
- Alternate versionsIn June 2013, Argentine film collector, curator and historian Fernando Martín Peña (who had previously unearthed the complete version of Metropolis) discovered an alternate version of this film, a sort of remake whose last reel differs completely from the previously known version. Film historians have since found evidence that the version of The Blacksmith Peña uncovered was a substantial reshoot undertaken months after completion of principal photography and a preview screening in New York. They now believe the rediscovered version was Keaton's final cut intended for wide distribution. Following Peña's discovery, a third version of the film, featuring at least one scene which doesn't occur in either of the other two, was found in the collection of former film distributor Blackhawk Films.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Biography: Darryl F. Zanuck: 20th Century Filmmaker (1995)
Featured review
The movie felt a little "claustrophobic"
My above comment is alluding to the fact that almost all the action in the film takes place in and immediately around the blacksmith shop. As a result, except at the very end, the film tends to feel a bit restrained. And, in general, the jokes are not very typical of Keaton's shorts from the 20s, as instead of odd situations and pratfalls, the emphasis is definitely more on Buster breaking things.
Buster is the blacksmith's assistant and as the film begins, his boss is taken to jail--leaving the inexperienced and pretty stupid Buster to run the shop. Again and again, he screws up in so many ways and just seems pretty forced compared to his character in most other films. Smashing a car, getting oil all over a horse's coat and accidentally sitting on a red-hot horseshoe is about the speed of the film. While these are funny, the laughs never seem to get that strong--with only minor chuckles here and there. Not one of Keaton's better shorts in the decade, but still an improvement over the type shorts he did for Keystone in the 1910s.
Buster is the blacksmith's assistant and as the film begins, his boss is taken to jail--leaving the inexperienced and pretty stupid Buster to run the shop. Again and again, he screws up in so many ways and just seems pretty forced compared to his character in most other films. Smashing a car, getting oil all over a horse's coat and accidentally sitting on a red-hot horseshoe is about the speed of the film. While these are funny, the laughs never seem to get that strong--with only minor chuckles here and there. Not one of Keaton's better shorts in the decade, but still an improvement over the type shorts he did for Keystone in the 1910s.
helpful•36
- planktonrules
- Jul 24, 2006
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- El herrero
- Filming locations
- Melrose Avenue, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA(shock absorbers horse ride)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime21 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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