A young man works as a projectionist at a movie theatre but dreams of becoming a famous detective. His studies toward this goal are put to the test when visiting his girlfriend. A rival steals his girlfriend's father's watch and frames him for the crime. He is forbidden from seeing her again. Now he must fight to clear his name.Buster Keaton at his finest - a classic of the Silent Era. Good plot, all of which is a central structure around which Keaton can build some incredibly clever scenes, sub-plots and sight gags. Some of these are brilliantly funny and intelligent, as Keaton toys mercilessly with the audience. The pool scene - the adventure of the exploding ball - is a great example.Some very clever cinematography and editing too - some of the visual effects and stunts were quite innovative for their time.Superb.

This film, as has been said in the other reviewer comments, is very well done and clearly ahead of its time. The comedic aspects of the movie were effective and contributed to an overall humorous tone; for example, even simple props used, such as the pool table, has the audience laughing, in this case, at the irony of the situation. The struggle that Keaton's main character (played by himself) faces when attempting to be both a projectionist and a detective adds a storyline that, although exaggerated for a humorous effect, is relatable in many ways for those of us today who attempt to juggle multiple jobs or activities at once. Keaton's genius is not only present in the storyline, but also in the production of this film, especially in the beginning of the dream scene. What seems like a difficult succession of settings is pulled off flawlessly by Keaton, and we are transported with the main character to everywhere from a house to a tall cliff. It is evident that Keaton's comedy and production in this film were revolutionary for his time and had a significant effect on future films. Overall, this film is both something we can relate to (in a way) and also a comedy well ahead of its time. For someone who is movie novice, especially with regard to old movies, I really enjoyed this film.

There is a spoiler in this review! I was very impressed to see all the special effects in this movie since it came out in 1924. For example, him coming out of his body in the dream, running on top of the train, and the camera following him so fast on the bike. I am very curious as to how they pulled that off! I thought the music was fitting and the story line definitely kept me watching, it was funny and interesting how most of the movie was a dream anyways and it wasn't even him who solved the mystery in real life.

"Sherlock Jr." is one of many masterpieces made by Buster Keaton and he established himself as a force to be reckoned with in the Art of Silent Comedy. Dare I say this but the best of Keaton narrowly surpassed the best of Chaplin. The story of "Sherlock Jr." concerns Buster who works as a projectionist at a small town cinema. He has dreams of becoming a detective and avidly reads up on the subject. Whilst projecting a film, Buster falls asleep and "Sherlock Jr." enters fantasy via a dream scene.There is some excellent camera trickery but I don't recall the exact details of how it was done. In this fantasy sequence, Buster proceeds to the big screen in the cinema and appears to enter the screen itself. It is a dazzling and original piece of filmmaking and I doubt if Keaton's rivals could have created this. Eventually and after he's awake, Buster has a chance to prove he can be a fully fledged detective. His attempts at tailing a suspect are absolutely uproarious. There is a chase scene involving Buster sat on the handlebars of a policeman's motorbike. The film isn't a long one, 45 minutes but it is an undisputed classic.