A surrealist comedy of errors where a dreamer's cinematic fantasies gloriously collide with his mundane reality, blurring the lines between the screen and the self.
Sherlock Jr.
"Every inch of footage holds such a laugh!"
Director:
Buster Keaton
Cast:
Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton, Erwin Connelly, Ward Crane
Action
Comedy
Mystery
Sherlock Jr. - Easter Eggs & Hidden Details
Easter Eggs
The film-within-a-film that the Projectionist falls asleep watching is titled "Hearts and Pearls."
This title neatly summarizes the plot of the melodramatic film he is watching, which revolves around love and stolen jewels, mirroring the conflict in his own life.
Sherlock Jr.'s assistant in the dream world is named Gillette.
This is a direct reference to William Gillette, the American actor who was famously the first to portray Sherlock Holmes on stage.
A poster for the film "Scaramouche" (1923) is visible outside the movie theater.
This is a nod to another popular Metro Pictures production from the era, grounding the film in its specific cinematic context.
The production company for the film-within-a-film is called the "Veronal Film Company."
Veronal was a brand name for the first commercially available barbiturate sleeping pill, a clever and subtle joke given that the entire sequence is the result of the protagonist falling asleep.