The Electric House

What makes The Electric House such a must-see Keaton short is curiously not the showcasing of the great man himself but that of the technical prowess of his technical director Fred Gabourie. Gabourie had built The Boat and worked with Keaton since 1920's One Week, which was the one with the ingenious portable house, and he would progress with Keaton from the shorts to the features. But never were the technical gadgets Keaton used and Gabourie had to make work practically better displayed than in The Electric House. Keaton really lets Gabourie's gadgets take centre stage here and it is a chance to marvel at a master at work.

In a strange way it's almost too brilliant because the laughs don't really play as well. Whereas in One Week or The Boat the gadgets and physical comedy worked in perfect harmony in The Electric House Keaton lets the film get a bit bogged down in watching the gadgets at work.

Nevertheless in these days of CGI and visual cheats it is stunning to see these practical effects in full flow. Gabourie was clearly a genius, one whose name deserves to be held in the same light as practical effects masters like Willis O'Brien, Ray Harryhausen and Stan Winston.

In 1936, Charlie Chaplin released his classic "Modern Times", in which, among other things, he poked fun at unnecessary mechanical gadgets, such as the hilarious 'eating machine'. Well, back in 1922, Buster Keaton had released his comparable satire of marginally useful new gadgets for houses, which seemed useful at first, but then showed their downside when not used properly........In the beginning, Buster is shown graduating from college, having majored in botany, but, with a mix-up in the distribution of diplomas, his said he majored in electrical engineering. It happened that the dean(Joe Roberts) announced that he wanted someone to electrify his house. Buster volunteered and was accepted, after the real graduate in electrical engineering was rejected, because his diploma said he graduated in manicuring. Buster found a manual on electrical wiring, and went to work while the dean and his daughter(played by Virginia Fox) went on a 2 week vacation. He came up with some interesting inventions, most controlled by pushing buttons. I won't enumerate these gadgets, as I want you to discover them yourself. When the real electrical engineer(played by Steve Murphy) somehow sneaked into the house, found the control room, and started switching wires and pulling switches, often the gadgets went haywire, providing humor. To me, this film is as entertaining as Keaton's much acclaimed "Week One", released 2 years earlier.

A lot of Keaton's comedies feature a scene or two filled with creative and wacky gadgets that make you laugh and make you marvel at his inventiveness, all at the same time. This short comedy is entirely devoted to this kind of eccentric gadgetry, and while that means there isn't much of a plot, it's fun to watch. There's a subtle, funny mix-up at the beginning that results in Buster being entrusted with filling up a man's house with whatever electronic devices he can think of, and he really goes to it. "The Electric House" is a funny place to visit.

The Buster Keaton short 'The Electric House' is fun to watch, does not bore, but misses the most important element to make a Buster Keaton short brilliant. The thing I mean is his physical magic, displayed in almost all of his short film, almost completely missing here.

As a fake electric engineer Keaton installs electricity in the house of rich man while he is on vacation. Once the man is back Keaton shows him a lot of electrical surprises. There is an electric snooker table, a train that delivers food, a pool able the empty itself and a lot of other stuff. Of course things do not go as they should, especially when the real electrical engineer arrives.

The problem here is the electricity, almost making a statement: electricity makes men useless. The fun in 'The Electric House' comes from the machines, how they work and at times how they fail to work. This leaves little room for Keaton to show what he does best. It is fun alright, but not much more.

Buster Keaton stars as botany major who is mistaken as electrical engineer, and who is hired to wire up a house with the newest gadgets, while the owner of the house is on a vacation with his family. After returning home Buster starts to familiarize the house owners with new gadgets. But then Buster's big rival, the guy who got robbed of his job, arrives and starts to sabotage the house, and soon the chaos escalates.

Most of the gags feature some of the electrical gadgets, rather than neck breaking stunts, but still the film is funny as the jokes are as inventive as the electrical systems of the house.