The Electric House (1922) is often not considered one of Buster Keaton's better short format efforts, and the most you'll ever hear about it is how he broke his ankle during shooting. It's a shame, because I think there's a lot more to it. We may not see much in the way of Buster's physicality and grace, but we do get to see his imagination at play with the multiple contraption his character concocts for the wealthy man who hires him to modernize his mansion.
The escalator stairs, dining room train set, and book shelf of doom are all charming, and its fun to see Buster's creative methods go so fabulously wrong. I'm sure you could write a paper on potential social commentary on man's over-reliance on technology, but even without all that, this is great fun and worth more praise than it receives.
The escalator stairs, dining room train set, and book shelf of doom are all charming, and its fun to see Buster's creative methods go so fabulously wrong. I'm sure you could write a paper on potential social commentary on man's over-reliance on technology, but even without all that, this is great fun and worth more praise than it receives.