Keaton’s tribute to detective fiction also pioneered taking films about movie love to a higher plane. Mild-mannered film projectionist Keaton shakes off mix-ups with girlfriend Kathryn McGuire and her father Joe Keaton (Buster’s own dad) by dreaming himself into onscreen action as the titular suave sleuth, with those in his orbit also transferred into the narrative. The ingenuity of the gags beautifully enhances the reliability of the “what if I could” fantasy motif.

New 4K DCP restoration done in conjunction with Cineteca di Bologna with Tim Brock orchestral score

Preceded by:

Cops (John G. Blystone & Buster Keaton, 1922, U.S., 20m, 2K DCP)

A wonderful example of Buster Keaton’s film artistry. A carefully orchestrated series of gags in which he plays an innocent who tries to impress his girl by becoming more than he is, and winds up inextricably caught in a police parade that breaks up to pursue him.

New 2K DCP restoration done in conjunction with Cineteca di Bologna with a stereo score by Ben Model

One Week (Eddie Cline & Buster Keaton, 1920, U.S., 26m, 2K DCP)

Buster Keaton and Sybil Sealey exit a chapel as newlyweds. Among the gifts is a portable house you easily put together in one week. It doesn’t help that Buster’s rival for Sybil switches the numbers on the crates containing the house parts.

New 2K DCP restoration done in conjunction with Cineteca di Bologna with an orchestral score by Carl Davis