IMDb RATING
7.7/10
5.1K
YOUR RATING
A series of adventures begins when an accident during photographing causes Buster to be mistaken for Dead Shot Dan, the local bad guy.A series of adventures begins when an accident during photographing causes Buster to be mistaken for Dead Shot Dan, the local bad guy.A series of adventures begins when an accident during photographing causes Buster to be mistaken for Dead Shot Dan, the local bad guy.
Malcolm St. Clair
- Dead Shot Dan
- (as Mal St. Clair)
Kitty Bradbury
- Minor role
- (uncredited)
Edward F. Cline
- Cop by Telephone Pole
- (uncredited)
Jean C. Havez
- Minor Role
- (uncredited)
Joe Keaton
- Minor Role
- (uncredited)
Louise Keaton
- Minor Role
- (uncredited)
Myra Keaton
- Minor Role
- (uncredited)
- Directors
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe film was restored in 2015 through Lobster Films, a process partially funded through a Kickstarter crowdfunding campaign.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Golden Age of Buster Keaton (1979)
Featured review
'The Goat' is the one with the shot of a train coming right at the camera, and stopping just as it reaches the viewer with Buster sitting there on the cowcatcher, which is simply marvelous (it's at about the 9:05 point). He's running from the police because he accidentally hit one with a horseshoe (fleeing from just three of them here, unlike the horde in the following year's film, Cops), and he's running from a guy trying to collect a reward, having been mistaken for the notorious killer 'Dead Shot Dan.'
There are lots of clever moments here, including Buster being dragged on his belly by a car, ingeniously catching three cops in the back of a truck, hiding behind a burly traffic cop by standing behind him and making the same arm motions, and hopping on a table and leapfrogging over a guy's head to dive through a transom window. He shows his prowess with trains, something we'd certainly see later in his career, by climbing to the roof of one as it chugs along and unhooking the car containing the police. He jumps into what he thinks is the spare tire of a car about to drive off, thinking he will make his getaway, only to find it's part of sign advertising Vulcanizing. My favorite bit was at the end though, with the chase up and down the stairs and the elevator manipulation - Buster controls it by climbing up and moving the dial saying what floor it's on, you see.
Keaton's extraordinary physical comedy was highly influential to cartoonists like Chuck Jones and comedians like Lucille Ball among countless others, and it's very easy to see that in this film. It may not have his very best material, but the pace is great and there is quite of variety, making it a lot of fun. The title seems to be short for 'scapegoat' since that's what the character ends up being, but I like to think of it as The GOAT, the Greatest of All Time, because that's what Keaton surely is.
There are lots of clever moments here, including Buster being dragged on his belly by a car, ingeniously catching three cops in the back of a truck, hiding behind a burly traffic cop by standing behind him and making the same arm motions, and hopping on a table and leapfrogging over a guy's head to dive through a transom window. He shows his prowess with trains, something we'd certainly see later in his career, by climbing to the roof of one as it chugs along and unhooking the car containing the police. He jumps into what he thinks is the spare tire of a car about to drive off, thinking he will make his getaway, only to find it's part of sign advertising Vulcanizing. My favorite bit was at the end though, with the chase up and down the stairs and the elevator manipulation - Buster controls it by climbing up and moving the dial saying what floor it's on, you see.
Keaton's extraordinary physical comedy was highly influential to cartoonists like Chuck Jones and comedians like Lucille Ball among countless others, and it's very easy to see that in this film. It may not have his very best material, but the pace is great and there is quite of variety, making it a lot of fun. The title seems to be short for 'scapegoat' since that's what the character ends up being, but I like to think of it as The GOAT, the Greatest of All Time, because that's what Keaton surely is.
- gbill-74877
- May 8, 2022
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Syndabocken
- Filming locations
- 914 S. Alvarado Street, Los Angeles, California, USA(Weymouth Apartment House)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime23 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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