Hard Luck (1921 film)
- March 14, 1921 (1921-03-14)
English (original intertitles)
Hard Luck is a 1921 American two-reel silent comedy film starring Buster Keaton, written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline. It runs 22 minutes. For sixty years it was Keaton's only major lost film until it was partially reconstructed in 1987, with the critical final scene—which Keaton called the greatest laugh-getting scene of his career—still missing. It was later discovered in a Russian archive print, and now the full film is available.[1]
Plot
Buster plays a down-on-his-luck young man who decides to commit suicide after losing his job and his girl. After several inept attempts to end his life—and bolstered by whiskey disguised as poison—he joins an expedition to capture an armadillo. He finds himself becoming more confident through a series of adventures (such as fishing and fox hunting) as the film proceeds. But the confidence becomes his undoing as he misses the pool in a dive from a high board and hits the ground on the far side with such force that he disappears into a hole. Some years later, an Asian-garbed Buster climbs out of the hole in the now dry and deserted pool followed by a Chinese wife and three young children.
Cast
- Buster Keaton – Suicidal Boy
- Virginia Fox – Virginia
- Joe Roberts – Lizard Lip Luke
- Bull Montana – Virginia's husband (uncredited)
See also
- Buster Keaton filmography
- List of American films of 1921
- List of rediscovered films
References
- ^ "TCM Short Subject Schedule October 10–23". Turner Classic Movies. Archived from the original on May 25, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
Bibliography
- Keaton, Eleanor; Vance, Jeffrey (2001). Buster Keaton Remembered. Harry N. Abrams, Inc. ISBN 0-8109-4227-5.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Hard Luck at IMDb
- Hard Luck at AllMovie
- Hard Luck is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive
- Hard Luck Archived January 6, 2019, at the Wayback Machine at the International Buster Keaton Society
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- The Rough House
- One Week
- Convict 13
- The Scarecrow
- Neighbors
- The Haunted House
- Hard Luck
- The High Sign
- The Goat
- The Playhouse
- The Boat
- The Paleface
- Cops
- My Wife's Relations
- The Blacksmith
- The Frozen North
- The Electric House
- Day Dreams
- The Balloonatic
- The Love Nest
- Three Ages
- Our Hospitality
- Sherlock Jr.
- The Navigator
- Seven Chances
- Go West
- Battling Butler
- The General
- College
- Steamboat Bill, Jr.
- The Cameraman
- Spite Marriage
(for Educational Pictures)
- The Buster Keaton Story (1957)
- Buster Keaton Rides Again (1965)
- Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow (1987)
- The Great Buster: A Celebration (2018)
- Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker's Life (2022)
- Untitled Buster Keaton Project
- The Buster Keaton Show (1950)
- Go West: Music for the Films of Buster Keaton (1995)
- The High Sign/One Week (1995)
- International Buster Keaton Society
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