Featuring special guest Chris Polley (https://twitter.com/qhrizpolley) of Film Trace (https://linktr.ee/filmtrace)!

Sure, SHERLOCK, JR. is a century-old masterwork of performance, direction, and editing that still rouses today – but it also demonstrates an awareness of its audience that’s been rarely seen since. In many ways, it democratized physical comedy and stunt craft in general, which is part of what makes it the case study for the value of human labor in practical effects that it is today. In others, it’s also an important entry in the canon of movies about movies and their power to guide and influence behaviors and attitudes.

Find Chris on Twitter at https://twitter.com/qhrizpolley and listen to Film Trace wherever you get podcasts (https://linktr.ee/filmtrace)

Resources/links

- “Sherlock Jr: My Favorite Film to Watch with Others” by Ryan Sanderson on Perisphere: https://www.perisphere.org/2021/09/24/sherlock-jr-my-favorite-film-to-watch-with-others/

Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/trylovepodcast and email us at [email protected] to get in touch! Buy tickets and support the Trylon at https://www.trylon.org/.

Theme: "Raindrops" by Huma-Huma/"No Smoking" PSA by John Waters. Music by Matan Porat recorded from a live performance of SHERLOCK, JR. at the 2012 Cleveland ChamberFest.

0:00 - Episode 138: SHERLOCK, JR. (1924)

2:50 - The Patented Aaron Grossman Summary

4:29 - Chris’s thoughts

5:26 - Jason’s thoughts

8:31 - Cody’s thoughts

11:49 - Harry’s thoughts

15:26 - Aaron’s thoughts

19:14 - The active conditioning of the audience

28:27 - The value of practical effects in selling this kind of humor

31:02 - The labor struggle and democratizing stunt craft

33:48 - Connecting Keaton’s work to modern filmmaking

37:28 - The tension of the real

40:42 - Why doesn’t SHERLOCK, JR. feel tropey?

44:09 - The relationship of dreams to fantasy to cinema to audience

54:08 - Our favorite bits, stunts, jokes, and gags

1:01:54 - Cody’s Noteys – Trylibs: Detective (Madlibs)