The High Sign

The High Sign

Buster and the Blinking Buzzards give the titular "high sign"
Directed by Edward F. Cline
Buster Keaton
Produced by Joseph M. Schenck
Written by Edward F. Cline
Buster Keaton
Starring Buster Keaton
Bartine Burkett
Charles Dorety
Al St. John
Cinematography Elgin Lessley
Edited by Buster Keaton
Distributed by Metro Pictures
Release dates
  • April 12, 1921 (1921-04-12)
Running time
 21 min.
Country United States
Language Silent film
English (original) intertitles
The High Sign

The High Sign is a 1921 American short comedy film starring comedian Buster Keaton. It was written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline. The runtime is 21 minutes. Although One Week (1920) was the first of Keaton's independent shorts to be released, The High Sign was the first one to be produced. Disappointed with the result, Keaton shelved the film. It was not until a year later, when he broke his ankle and delayed the completion of The Electric House (1921), that the film was released. The title refers to the secret signal used by the underworld gang in the film.

Guitarist Bill Frisell released a soundtrack to the movie in 1995 on his album The High Sign/One Week. The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra premiered its new score for the movie in 2008.

Plot

Buster plays a drifter who cons his way into working at an amusement park shooting gallery. Believing Buster is an expert marksman, both the murderous gang the Blinking Buzzards and the man they want to kill end up hiring him. The film ends with a wild chase through a house filled with secret passages.

Cast

See also

References

Keaton, Eleanor; Jeffrey Vance (2001). Buster Keaton Remembered. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN 0-8109-4227-5. 

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