The Scarecrow (1920) Short Film

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Farmhands Keaton and Roberts share a cottage full of mechanical devices for making life easy. They are rivals for the farmer's daughter. Keaton , disguised as a scarecrow, causes troubles for his rival and the farmer. When Keaton stoops to tie his shoe, the girl accepts what she thinks is his kneeling proposal. (imdb)

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Directed By: Buster Keaton, Edward F. Cline

Written By: Buster Keaton, Edward F. Cline

Starring: Buster Keaton, Joe Roberts, Joe Keaton, Sybil Seely

Genres: Comedy, Family/Kids

Country: USA

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The Scarecrow belongs to 10 collections

1. Cinema Discusso Yearly Consensus (2008) (public: PeaceAnarchy - 10 stars)

2. Parents Acting with their Offspring (collaborative: moderated by Dunstan-xxx - 1 star)

3. Masters of Cinema (collaborative: moderated by hristos - 6 stars)

4. Doubling the Canon (2011 update) (collaborative: moderated by MMAlpha - 1 star)

5. Best of criticker: Family/Kids (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr)

6. Best of criticker: Short (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 2 stars)

7. Best of criticker: Comedy (collaborative: moderated by avgcrtckr - 6 stars)

8. Doubling the Canon (2012 update) (collaborative: moderated by Cinephile - 1 star)

9. C-Short (public: cantahta)

10. Best by different standards (public: sesito71 - 6 stars)

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TCI | Percentile | Date Rated | # Stars (Reviews)

Date	User	Rating
Mar 28	NathanBates	80 _77th
A strong short, although I'd be darned if I could tell you how all those parts fit together. I wasn't a fan of the dog sequence, but that house arrangement was a riot.
Mar 13, 2022	Ab-ı Haya	71 _30th
10.15 Erkan
Dec 21, 2021	doyler29	80 _64th
I was pleasantly taken aback by how weird and absurd this one was. It's not really the kind of comedy I associate with Keaton, but it's hilarious. Luke the Dog steals the whole show by chasing Keaton for 5-10 mins culminating in an incredible absurdist gag.
Nov 07, 2020	driscarpin	94 _93rd
O Espantalho estreava há 100 anos nos EUA. Isso tudo é tão deliciosamente insano que nem sei. Só resta saber quem é melhor aqui: Buster ou o cachorro? Box Obras-primas do Cinema Buster Keaton.
May 10, 2020	DougCollins	100 _93rd
Very original and imaginative. Plenty of laughs and the house at beginning is amazing.
Feb 10, 2020	closedmouth	60 _20th
Hmm, yes, there is a fair bit of padding in some of these. The stuff in the house is great, but the Luke the Dog chase goes on too long and there's too much ass-kicking. Picks up again at the end. About on-par with a good Arbuckle short.
Jan 29, 2019	hotsake	66 _65th
This one reminded me of a Three Stooges short only done about twenty years earlier. The dog chase scene was very fun to watch.
Jan 15, 2019	AFlickering	3 _37th
couldn't find a real thematic throughline here, although the way animals are repeatedly the enemy (he is a scarecrow, after all) seems apt for keaton--only once he's riding a machine can he get things done, and the wedding ring gag is a quintessential keaton image. i only really like the first part, though, which may superficially resemble i.e. THE GOLD RUSH but is wholly buster's in how it employs ridiculous, elaborate rube goldberg contraptions to mock the absurd impracticality of modernity.
Apr 03, 2017	karamazov.	60 _80th
Begins with some gags that seem light, amusing, and sort of Chaplin-esque; then, before you know it, they've become insane, turbulently funny deconstructions; and it becomes emphatically clear how Keaton's genius had no peer.
Nov 28, 2016	Monisit	74 _52nd
Pure chaos. It's a cute idea and while the story is lacking and it just seems to go on for far too long. But, it's excellently made.
Apr 19, 2015	backwardsuit	74 _63rd
Exciting, inventive, chaotic, funny. Somewhat rambling and uneven.
Jun 28, 2014	Heliophage	95 _99th
Another Keaton thrill-ride. Right from the start, he already packs so much great new material into 20 minutes, and paces it out without any rushes or lulls. Roberts is a bit of an underwhelming partner here, but Sybil Seely and the dog make up for it.
May 27, 2013	yesistasty	88 _63rd
Even at this early date, Keaton's style was mature and timeless. A rural tale of the transition to mechanical modernity.
Mar 15, 2013	Amadeus	80 _92nd
Rube Goldberg stuff!
Sep 12, 2012	Henrik	75 _69th
Story-wise it is somewhat lacking in substance, but it has some great visual gags and details in the mise-en-scène that almost go unnoticed at first, but help tell the story purely in images.
Mar 11, 2012	Kadrian	50 _34th
Typical Buster Keaton. The routine with the namesake scarecrow is pretty short and not the best. They should have called it "The House".
Mar 10, 2010	Luna6ix	93 _99th
100% unadulterated, full on keaton, this is as good as silent comedy gets. right from the get go the crowd is amused and fully entertained, there are no lulls just pure comedy genius.
Jun 25, 2009	Nathan S	3 _45th
Pretty funny. I especially liked the scene when they eat.
Mar 17, 2009	chemical404	61 _62nd
Pretty fun. If you watch these buster shorts chronologically, you see that original ideas and gags were used in early shorts, and then reused for a few times later.
Jun 08, 2008	joseywales	75 _73rd
Consistently funny, nothing drags. Joe Roberts is no Fatty Arbuckle.
Apr 06, 2008	PeaceAnarchy	82 _67th
Short and pretty amusing.
Jun 25, 2007	Stain	0 _8th
Just not funny
Apr 15, 2007	Kerc	30 _99th
Even ~90 years removed from its time, I'd still love to live that goddamn house.

Average Percentile 67.26% from 310 Ratings