The Scarecrow (1920 film)

The Scarecrow
Buster Keaton and Luke
Directed by	Edward F. Cline Buster Keaton
Written by	Edward F. Cline Buster Keaton
Produced by	Joseph M. Schenck
Starring	Buster Keaton Sybil Seely Joe Keaton Joe Roberts
Cinematography	Elgin Lessley
Edited by	Buster Keaton
Distributed by	Metro Pictures
Release date	December 22, 1920 (1920-12-22) [1]
Running time	21 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent (English intertitles)

The Scarecrow is a 1920 American two-reel silent comedy film starring Buster Keaton, and written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline.^[2]

Plot

The Scarecrow

Buster plays a farmhand who competes with his housemate (Roberts) to win the love of the farmer's daughter (Sybil Seely). Running from a dog that he believes is rabid, he races around brick walls, jumps through windows, and falls into a hay thresher that rips off most of his clothes. He is forced to borrow a scarecrow's clothes in a nearby field. He then trips into a kneeling position while tying his shoes, and Sybil believes he is proposing marriage. They speed off on a motorcycle, with Joe and the farmer (played by Buster's father, Joe) in hot pursuit. Scooping up a minister during the chase, they are married on the speeding motorcycle and splash into a stream, where they are pronounced man and wife.

Cast

Buster accidentally proposes to Sybil in The Scarecrow (1920).

• Buster Keaton as Farmhand #1
• Edward F. Cline as Hit-and-Run Truck Driver (uncredited)
• Luke the Dog as The "Mad" Dog (uncredited)
• Joe Keaton as Farmer (uncredited)
• Joe Roberts as Farmhand #2 (uncredited)
• Sybil Seely as Farmer's Daughter (uncredited)
• Al St. John as Man with Motorbike (uncredited)

Music

In 2013, the Dallas Chamber Symphony commissioned composer Brian Satterwhite to write and original musical score for The Scarecrow.^[3] It premiered during a concert screening at Moody Performance Hall on November 19, 2013 with Richard McKay conducting.^[4]

See also

• List of American films of 1920
• Buster Keaton filmography

References

1. "'Leopard Woman' Thrills American Theater Patrons". The Salt Lake Tribune. November 8, 1920. p. 7. "The picture, which yesterday opened a week's run at the American Theatre to capacity business, is a production truly big from a production angle [...] The new Buster Keaton comedy, 'The Scarecrow,' made a real impression upon the audience. It has been aptly termed the best comedy Mr. Keaton ever made and one of the best productions of its kind ever seen on the screen." Retrieved October 30, 2022.
2. Fristoe, Roger. "The Scarecrow." Turner Classic Movies. November 7, 2017.
3. Laughlin, Jamie. "The Dallas Chamber Symphony Lured Us In With Slapstick. Then, it Pulled the Rug Out". Dallas Observer. Retrieved December 12, 2024.
4. Laughlin, Jamie. "The Dallas Chamber Symphony Lured Us In With Slapstick. Then, it Pulled the Rug Out". Dallas Observer. Retrieved December 12, 2024.

External links

• The short film The Scarecrow is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
• The Scarecrow at IMDb
• The Scarecrow on YouTube
• The Scarecrow at the International Buster Keaton Society