Horst in Translation ([email protected]) This is a 1922 movie which also runs for roughly 22 minutes. Buster was in his mid-20s here and this was already at the end of his silent short film career. Once again he collaborated with Eddie Cline and was director, writer and lead actor. The supporting actors are Joe are Virginia Fox and Joe Roberts. These two worked with Leaton on several occasions as well. just like these several family members that Keaton cast in very minor roles.Our hero is instructed to install new electrical equipment in a millionaire's house while he isn't on holidays. When he returns, everything is ready, but basically nothing is working properly. Almost all the jokes here deal with malfunctions of mechanical applications, such as a swimming pool, an escalator, a model railway etc. But it wasn't really funny and some of it also became a bit repetitive such as the escalator scenes. The only really funny moment I thought was at the end when the millionaire's daughter lets out the water and the millionaire is so angry that he lets it in again. Oh yeah.. the daughter in here delivers the romance aspect, but it's almost non-existent in this film compared to other silent classics. The (attempted) suicide scene is a fine example of what Keaton made different from other silent film stars. There is always some real tragedy to his characters, even if it's still somewhat funny. It's good. It fits his physical appearance I would say. All in all, however, I would not recommend watching this one. Not one of Stoneface's finest.

calvinnme Graduation day at P.U. finds Buster Keaton's character graduating with a degree in botany. He is seated next to a girl graduating with a degree in cosmetology and a man with a degree in electrical engineering. The dean (Big Joe Roberts) asks for someone to take on the job of wiring his house for electricity while he is away on vacation. Just prior to this the diplomas get scrambled and Keaton winds up with the engineering one. Thus, the job winds up going to him. The dean drives away from his home with Keaton sitting at the curb diligently reading "Electricity Made Easy". When the dean returns Keaton has wired the house in only a way that Buster could devise making heavy use of automated trains - Keaton's favorite prop. The plot is complicated when the guy with the actual engineering degree shows up at the dean's house in search of revenge.Buster always said that if he hadn't been a comedian he would have liked to have been an engineer, and shorts like this one show he had a real talent for both. Highly recommended.

MartinHafer This silent comedy short reminds me a lot of the Daffy Duck and Porky Pig cartoon where Daffy installs 101 buttons to make Porky's life easier--but they don't. The big difference is that Buster's bizarre push button contraptions generally work, though there are some notable exceptions.The film begins with Buster at a college graduation ceremony. He's receiving a doctorate in science, so he's obviously a bright guy. However, his diploma gets switched with a guy getting an Electrical Engineering degree and the Dean asks Buster to wire his home due to his engineering background. Instead of telling him he had no idea how to do this, he gets a book and makes some incredible changes. The family returns from vacation to find an escalator (one of the few additions that DOESN'T work too well), an electrically controlled billiard table, a self-filling and draining pool that can do either in only seconds, a train layout that brings food from the kitchen and several other cool but strange contraptions. The family is pleased and invite guests over the next day to show off their home.Unfortunately, the guy with the real Electrical Engineering degree is ticked because he wasn't asked to wire the home, so he sneaks in and makes the contraptions go haywire. It's a lot of fun seeing all the gadgets go mad, and in the end, he gets his,...but unfortunately, so does Buster. Fade out.This is a pretty "inventive" piece, though there did seem to be a few other silent comedies about inventors and contraptions (such as those done by Snub Pollard and Billy Bevan). While far from Buster's funniest film, it's very good and deserves a look.

Snow Leopard A lot of Keaton's comedies feature a scene or two filled with creative and wacky gadgets that make you laugh and make you marvel at his inventiveness, all at the same time. This short comedy is entirely devoted to this kind of eccentric gadgetry, and while that means there isn't much of a plot, it's fun to watch. There's a subtle, funny mix-up at the beginning that results in Buster being entrusted with filling up a man's house with whatever electronic devices he can think of, and he really goes to it. "The Electric House" is a funny place to visit.