Daydreams (1922)

In a way, this is sort of the Three Ages of Buster’s independent shorts.  By that, I mean it’s less of a story and more of a conceit that allows for a series of gag-filled vignettes that are only loosely connected to one another.  As a result, it’s big on laughs but short on story (admittedly, this is much easier to get away with in a short.)

When his girlfriend’s dad doubts Buster’s prospects, Buster vows to go to the city and make his fortune, promising to shoot himself if he fails.  (Wait, what?!  No, seriously, that’s the agreement – that makes this another Buster short with some pretty dark humor for the ‘20s.)  He sends back glowing, carefully-worded letters to his girl about his progress, leading her to imagine his careers as being far more glamorous than they really are.  For instance, when he tells her about “cleaning up on Wall Street,” she pictures him as a stockbroker, when in fact, he’s naturally working as a street sweeper.  The short offers several sequences of Buster’s various misadventures, interposed with these daydreams of what he’s led his girl to believe he’s actually doing.

Even for a short, it’s a pretty thin story, and as the ludicriously-high stakes show, the details aren’t hammered out all that well.  The central hook is amusing, and the glimpses of Buster in these over-the-top success-story fantasies are fun (unfortunately, though, Daydreams only exists in fragmentary condition, and most of the daydream scenes themselves are lost – still shots of Buster in his dream scenarios stand in for the missing scenes.)

However, Buster’s assorted work scenes are really funny.  While the structural narrative of the short displays a little of Buster’s fatigue with the two-reel format, the gags are as shiny as ever.There are great flourishes throughout; some of my favorites include the poor dog in the vet sequence trotting behind Buster to bury his collar after they’ve been sprayed by a skunk (yet another good animal screen partner for Buster,) as well as the absurdity of Buster trying to clean up a ticker-tape parade in a wind storm.  Also, we’re once again treated to an excellent chase scene with some splendid cop gags.  I love Buster’s trick with the fire escape – so clever! – and the famous water wheel scene is fantastic.

Renee Adoree plays the girl here.  She’s not one of Buster’s regulars, so I’m not familiar with her, and she doesn’t get much to do – even though the short’s framework hinges on her daydreams, all that really requires her to do is stare thoughtfully into space for a second or two.  More familiar faces appear in similarly small roles.  Big Joe Roberts makes a brief appearance as the mayor, and Buster’s dad Joe plays the girl’s father.  As per usual when working with his son, Joe Keaton takes the opportunity to show off his talents for giving Buster a swift kick in the rear.

Warnings

Slapstick violence and a little gunplay.