Metro Pictures Corporation released “Sherlock, Jr.” in April 1924. Produced by Buster Keaton Productions, “Sherlock, Jr.” stars Buster Keaton as Sherlock Jr. Keaton also directed the film (IMDb). A struggling amateur detective, Sherlock Jr. attempts to exercise his power of deduction while working as a mediocre projectionist at a theater.
Viewers can assume that Sherlock makes very little working at the theater because at the beginning of the film he digs around in the trash that he should be sweeping and collects the dollars that he discovers. He wants to buy a nice box of chocolates for The Girl, played by Kathryn McGuire (IMDb). However, he can only afford the smallest size with the money that is currently on him. The comedy of the film…show more content… However, he changes the one into a four. This works against him in the future. When he takes the chocolates to The Girl’s house, he proposes to her. The ring he gives her has a small diamond, of which she is not impressed; Sherlock offers her his magnifying glass so that she may actually see it. After he places the ring on her finger, his competition, The Local Sheik, comes into The Girl’s home. Played by Ward Crane, he had stolen The Girl’s father’s pocket watch, pawned it and used the money to buy The Girl a larger box of chocolates (IMDb). Then, he dropped the pawnshop receipt in Sherlock’s pocket to set him up. Unaware of what led The Sheik acquiring such funds, The Girl is more impressed by his offer and leaves Sherlock. The Girl choosing The Sheik because he had greater materialistic items to offer her than Sherlock is indicative to how society was when the film was made, as it is set in the current day. While Sherlock is the better person when it comes to his character, The Sheik gives the illusion of being better off monetarily. Society tells The Girl that she should choose the man who can provide for her more, even though he tried to deceive her family. In the classic triangle of two men fighting over the same woman, The Girl makes the also classic move of choosing the wrong man first and then realizing whom she should actually be with in the end. It has been 90 years since “Sherlock, Jr.” came out, and the same storylines are still being used