Buster Keaton plays a bank clerk who foils a team of bank robbers using a supposedly haunted house to evade capture by the police. An odd film of two distinct halves: a painfully protracted - and largely unfunny - sequence in which Keaton inadvertently glues himself to masses of banknotes eventually gives way to a breathtakingly funny second half in which he strays into the haunted house of the title. You will be astounded by the number of laughs the little genius can get out of a flight of collapsible stairs...
23 Reviews
silly slapstick fun
planktonrules28 April 2006
This is one of MANY shorts that buster Keaton made over his long career. None of them were intended as deep entertainment but contained a lot of funny low-brow humor--full of pratfalls galore! Well, this one is certainly no different.
Buster is a bank teller who is accused of cheating the bank and having passed forged money. The interminably long scene involving glue and money, by the way, is the absolutely WORST part of the film--it goes on way too long. However, once he is fired and accidentally goes to the haunted house (how he knew to go there since it was the crooks' hideout is amazing), the film picks up a lot of speed. The fun intensifies as the crooks try very hard to scare Buster. When he quickly figures that the ghosts are fake, then the crooks try to kill him! Watch the film to find out the cute conclusion and have a few laughs along the way.
Buster is a bank teller who is accused of cheating the bank and having passed forged money. The interminably long scene involving glue and money, by the way, is the absolutely WORST part of the film--it goes on way too long. However, once he is fired and accidentally goes to the haunted house (how he knew to go there since it was the crooks' hideout is amazing), the film picks up a lot of speed. The fun intensifies as the crooks try very hard to scare Buster. When he quickly figures that the ghosts are fake, then the crooks try to kill him! Watch the film to find out the cute conclusion and have a few laughs along the way.
Fun stuff
Polaris_DiB6 February 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I have to give Buster (more) props: carrying on a single gag through many different encounters and many different characters and keeping the looks of confusion and chaos fresh the entire time is very hard to do, but he does it here, and admirably. Anyone who's seen this and Benny and Joon will recognize that little flick Keaton does with his arm was mimicked so incredibly perfectly by Depp that it's difficult to separate the two images as distinct.
But about this, that is, this short, it's typical Keaton fun-fest: machinery, badguys, booby traps, and hilarity, all intersperced with really clever titles. However, this one's plot didn't really flow as well as most of the stuff I've seen of his. I'm still rather unclear as to how Keaton's character ended up in the house in the first place. That said, the surreal moment with the skeletons building the living man made it all very worth it. Watch that shot, it's amazing.
--PolarisDiB
But about this, that is, this short, it's typical Keaton fun-fest: machinery, badguys, booby traps, and hilarity, all intersperced with really clever titles. However, this one's plot didn't really flow as well as most of the stuff I've seen of his. I'm still rather unclear as to how Keaton's character ended up in the house in the first place. That said, the surreal moment with the skeletons building the living man made it all very worth it. Watch that shot, it's amazing.
--PolarisDiB
Scarily good.
Damfino18958 January 2002
Probably one of my favourite 2 reelers, my 11 year daughter loves it as much as I do, it says something about Keaton that he can win over a die hard Harry Potter fan with his magic. Who cares about lightweight plots when something is as funny as this. the movie starts of with Buster at his place of work, a bank, from the very start the jokes come in thick and fast and always funny. After being falsely accused of being a bank robber he escapes to the local 'haunted' which is really a cover for a gang of counterfeiters, also in the house are the cast of a lousy version of 'Faust'who are escaping a hostile audience(the intertitle that introduces them is one of the funniest lines in any movie). There are lots of acrobatics in Buster's own inimitable style and the pace is fast and furious. The ending is brilliant and watch out for the bit where Buster runs towards the camera and mugs into it. I just love this movie and if you have a sense of humour then so will you.
Keaton Madhouse
Cineanalyst18 October 2018
There's never a dull moment in this Buster Keaton two-reeler, "The Haunted House." From Keaton making a mess as a bank teller, inadvertently stopping a robbery in the process, to his hiding from the police in the titular haunted house, where he stumbles across some more crooks, who've disguised themselves as ghouls and engineered the house with a staircase that turns into a slide. My favorites Keaton vehicles tend to be those where the humor is based self-reflexively in cinema, including "The Playhouse" (1921), "The Frozen North" (1922), "Sherlock Jr." (1924) and "The Cameraman" (1928). A couple gags here have a similar foundation. The head baddie explains the staircase trap in a kind of hypothetical vision where we see police being foiled by the trick. There's a play-within-the-play of "Faust," where Mephistopheles is chased off the stage to the haunted house by a rioting audience. And there's the dream/hallucination scene that references the other staircase and the other devil. Clever.
Note: Recently, I've been investigating the origins of the old dark house subgenre on screen, which is how I came upon reviewing this film. Although others have cited it as an early instance of such pictures, I'm not so sure. There's a haunted house and cash hidden in it, I guess, but none of the other tropes found in such films as "One Exciting Night" (1922), "The Monster" (1925), "The Bat" (1926), "The Cat and the Canary" (1927), "The Bat Whispers" (1930), "The Old Dark House" (1932) and even fellow silent comedian Harold Lloyd's "Haunted Spooks" (1920). I suppose the distinction between "old dark house" and "haunted house" is slight, though.
Note: Recently, I've been investigating the origins of the old dark house subgenre on screen, which is how I came upon reviewing this film. Although others have cited it as an early instance of such pictures, I'm not so sure. There's a haunted house and cash hidden in it, I guess, but none of the other tropes found in such films as "One Exciting Night" (1922), "The Monster" (1925), "The Bat" (1926), "The Cat and the Canary" (1927), "The Bat Whispers" (1930), "The Old Dark House" (1932) and even fellow silent comedian Harold Lloyd's "Haunted Spooks" (1920). I suppose the distinction between "old dark house" and "haunted house" is slight, though.
"The little idiot from the bank"
Igenlode Wordsmith5 March 2006
'How do I love Keaton? Let me count the ways...'
As I watch more and more of Buster Keaton's films, I find myself reduced to a state of abject adoration that I am at an almost complete loss to convey; it's easier by far to comment on the individual elements that may disappoint in any given film, but this totally fails to reflect the sheer degree of enthusiasm that they create. Yet again I'm struggling to find words -- the shorts are funnier, the features are more touching, and I wouldn't have missed any one of them. The landscapes of my mind's eye have become peopled by a positive kaleidoscope of Busters, tumbling, leaping, hapless or inspired, resigned to the inevitable but endlessly alert to the passing balletic chance. I've roared with laughter and gasped in surprise and had my heart melted in sympathy; I've marvelled at his athletics and been astounded at the range of his acting. In short, in the space of twenty-odd films and the passage of a month, I have simply become an utter Buster Keaton addict.
"Haunted House" I particularly liked -- better, in fact, than "The Electric House" with which it is unfavourably compared, merely because the structure of the latter is comic-strip predictable: gadgets introduced, gadgets go wrong. "Haunted House" has the lunatic juxtapositions that are Keaton's craft at its best, as his hero gets mixed up with bank robbers, opera singers and a counterfeiters' conspiracy -- the sheer ingenuity and variety of the jokes that can be based around a single staircase had the audience in stitches, as every time we thought we knew what was going to happen, Buster came up with a fresh approach to the problem!
The film has been dismissed as consisting merely of two disjointed halves, but "Sherlock Jr" -- where the famous dream sequence is almost totally without effect on the main plot -- demonstrates that this is no drawback. Certainly in the case of "Haunted House" one would not wish to lose either part. The introductory sequence, where Buster inadvertently finds himself in a position to save the day, only to become a scapegoat, is classic Keaton comedy. The second part takes the place of the extended chase to which such a plot line would normally lead, with all the parties converging on the same booby-trapped building to terrify the wits out of each other... until, that is, Buster's "little idiot", dismissed by the villains as harmless, is the one to work out what's going on.
This development, of course, enables Keaton to have the best of both worlds, milking the comic possibilities first of his character's horror and then of his blasé scepticism -- one rightly-renowned sequence is where he steps in to take control of the spook 'traffic'! Even self-possession and preparation, however, aren't necessarily going to help him with that staircase...
In the space of its brief twenty minutes, this surreal short film features an amazing trick photography shot, some classic sticky mime, deadpan titles, long-running gags with a multiple twist, the cloak of Mephistopheles, a celestial fantasy, plus a bonus ten-second seduction of Buster -- what's not to love? ;-)
As I watch more and more of Buster Keaton's films, I find myself reduced to a state of abject adoration that I am at an almost complete loss to convey; it's easier by far to comment on the individual elements that may disappoint in any given film, but this totally fails to reflect the sheer degree of enthusiasm that they create. Yet again I'm struggling to find words -- the shorts are funnier, the features are more touching, and I wouldn't have missed any one of them. The landscapes of my mind's eye have become peopled by a positive kaleidoscope of Busters, tumbling, leaping, hapless or inspired, resigned to the inevitable but endlessly alert to the passing balletic chance. I've roared with laughter and gasped in surprise and had my heart melted in sympathy; I've marvelled at his athletics and been astounded at the range of his acting. In short, in the space of twenty-odd films and the passage of a month, I have simply become an utter Buster Keaton addict.
"Haunted House" I particularly liked -- better, in fact, than "The Electric House" with which it is unfavourably compared, merely because the structure of the latter is comic-strip predictable: gadgets introduced, gadgets go wrong. "Haunted House" has the lunatic juxtapositions that are Keaton's craft at its best, as his hero gets mixed up with bank robbers, opera singers and a counterfeiters' conspiracy -- the sheer ingenuity and variety of the jokes that can be based around a single staircase had the audience in stitches, as every time we thought we knew what was going to happen, Buster came up with a fresh approach to the problem!
The film has been dismissed as consisting merely of two disjointed halves, but "Sherlock Jr" -- where the famous dream sequence is almost totally without effect on the main plot -- demonstrates that this is no drawback. Certainly in the case of "Haunted House" one would not wish to lose either part. The introductory sequence, where Buster inadvertently finds himself in a position to save the day, only to become a scapegoat, is classic Keaton comedy. The second part takes the place of the extended chase to which such a plot line would normally lead, with all the parties converging on the same booby-trapped building to terrify the wits out of each other... until, that is, Buster's "little idiot", dismissed by the villains as harmless, is the one to work out what's going on.
This development, of course, enables Keaton to have the best of both worlds, milking the comic possibilities first of his character's horror and then of his blasé scepticism -- one rightly-renowned sequence is where he steps in to take control of the spook 'traffic'! Even self-possession and preparation, however, aren't necessarily going to help him with that staircase...
In the space of its brief twenty minutes, this surreal short film features an amazing trick photography shot, some classic sticky mime, deadpan titles, long-running gags with a multiple twist, the cloak of Mephistopheles, a celestial fantasy, plus a bonus ten-second seduction of Buster -- what's not to love? ;-)
Priceless!
Ben_Cheshire3 May 2004
A clumsy bank employee, the bank manager and his daughter, some bank robbers, some police and the Daredevil Theatrical Troupe, who've just been booed off stage during their production of Faust, all collide in a Haunted House which the bank robbers use as their hideout.
So many priceless moments, some good laugh-out-louders, and 100% great fun. Another really great short comedy from Buster Keaton.
Highlights: as usual, the ending! Buster running past camera, looking directly into it, the whole glue sequence, the self-referential theatrical production and more i can't remember right now... Not that i've ever seen a Keaton movie i didn't like, but i recommend this one too!
So many priceless moments, some good laugh-out-louders, and 100% great fun. Another really great short comedy from Buster Keaton.
Highlights: as usual, the ending! Buster running past camera, looking directly into it, the whole glue sequence, the self-referential theatrical production and more i can't remember right now... Not that i've ever seen a Keaton movie i didn't like, but i recommend this one too!
The most underrated of Keaton's short work
MissSimonetta5 August 2015
Warning: Spoilers
I saw The Haunted House for the first time in about a year and a half and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. For awhile, I would have listed it as one of Buster's middle-tier efforts with its strange structure, but all of a sudden, the Kool Aid kicked in and I was spellbound. This is one of Buster's finest short format efforts and it deserves better appreciation.
One could argue the structure is flawed: the first half features Buster as a bank employee dealing with an attempted robbery and then the second half as him in the eponymous haunted house, where he saves the day after being initially spooked by the faux ghosts, misplaced opera singers, and especially the trick staircase. The two act format hearkens back to the Arbuckle days in the sense that when one setting exhausts its comic possibility, the players simply move on to another one; however, the difference is that here there is an actual reason for the switch in the story. The seemingly haunted house is the hideout of counterfeiters and thieves. Keaton, the girl he loves, the villains, and some hapless actors all end up in the house in a way which feels plausible enough for us to buy it.
And of course, the gags and stunts are clever, surreal, and surprising. On the chance if you've never seen the picture, I do not want to spoil a one of them. The more I see the film, the better it becomes. I adore it and would list it among my favorite short films of all time.
One could argue the structure is flawed: the first half features Buster as a bank employee dealing with an attempted robbery and then the second half as him in the eponymous haunted house, where he saves the day after being initially spooked by the faux ghosts, misplaced opera singers, and especially the trick staircase. The two act format hearkens back to the Arbuckle days in the sense that when one setting exhausts its comic possibility, the players simply move on to another one; however, the difference is that here there is an actual reason for the switch in the story. The seemingly haunted house is the hideout of counterfeiters and thieves. Keaton, the girl he loves, the villains, and some hapless actors all end up in the house in a way which feels plausible enough for us to buy it.
And of course, the gags and stunts are clever, surreal, and surprising. On the chance if you've never seen the picture, I do not want to spoil a one of them. The more I see the film, the better it becomes. I adore it and would list it among my favorite short films of all time.
Not As Funny As I'd Hoped
ccthemovieman-16 August 2006
I expected this Buster Keaton short be very funny, just imagining his comedy and a haunted house scenario. However, it really isn't a haunted house story and the fun doesn't really start until about halfway through this 21-minute film.
Until them, we get a long gag scene with Buster as a bank teller and getting glue all over many of the dollar bills. It's so-so humor and not what we are waiting for - some haunted house fun.
The real fun part of the film is only the last five minutes and, frankly, I've seen funnier spooky stuff from The Three Stooges. The best "bit "of the entire movie might be the dream sequence in the final minute where Buster climbs his "Stairway To Heaven."
Until them, we get a long gag scene with Buster as a bank teller and getting glue all over many of the dollar bills. It's so-so humor and not what we are waiting for - some haunted house fun.
The real fun part of the film is only the last five minutes and, frankly, I've seen funnier spooky stuff from The Three Stooges. The best "bit "of the entire movie might be the dream sequence in the final minute where Buster climbs his "Stairway To Heaven."
Nice Keaton
Michael_Elliott12 March 2008
Haunted House, The (1921)
*** (out of 4)
Funny Buster Keaton two-reeler has him playing a bank clerk who gets accused of robbing his own bank even though he was actually preventing one. This causes him to run off and duck into a house, which just happens to be rigged by some crooks so that whoever enters will think it's haunted. This certainly isn't one of Keaton's greatest pictures but I think it's a pretty good one that is at least pleasant enough and features enough funny moments to where it would be a good introduction for someone not familiar with the legends work. The first portion of the film has some of the best gags including the highlight, which has Keaton accidentally sticking his fingers into some glue while trying to count out money and give it to people. This ends up with a pretty funny sequence where there's money all over the place and getting stuck to whoever tries to touch it. The horror elements happen in the second portion of the film and this here is where the slapstick really comes into play. Poor Keaton sees a wide range of creatures including skeleton men, ghosts and even a Satan-like character and this of course has him taking many falls. The highlight of this house is a flight of stairs that turn into a slick slope whenever someone tries walking up or down them. THE HAUNTED HOUSE runs a very quick 20-minutes and there are enough laughs to where even those who don't care for silents should at least have a good time.
*** (out of 4)
Funny Buster Keaton two-reeler has him playing a bank clerk who gets accused of robbing his own bank even though he was actually preventing one. This causes him to run off and duck into a house, which just happens to be rigged by some crooks so that whoever enters will think it's haunted. This certainly isn't one of Keaton's greatest pictures but I think it's a pretty good one that is at least pleasant enough and features enough funny moments to where it would be a good introduction for someone not familiar with the legends work. The first portion of the film has some of the best gags including the highlight, which has Keaton accidentally sticking his fingers into some glue while trying to count out money and give it to people. This ends up with a pretty funny sequence where there's money all over the place and getting stuck to whoever tries to touch it. The horror elements happen in the second portion of the film and this here is where the slapstick really comes into play. Poor Keaton sees a wide range of creatures including skeleton men, ghosts and even a Satan-like character and this of course has him taking many falls. The highlight of this house is a flight of stairs that turn into a slick slope whenever someone tries walking up or down them. THE HAUNTED HOUSE runs a very quick 20-minutes and there are enough laughs to where even those who don't care for silents should at least have a good time.
The sticky-fingered bank teller discovers a 'haunted' house
weezeralfalfa21 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This amusing 2 reel Buster Keaton comedy short is essentially 2 one reelers sutured together with a few common threads. The first one features Keaton as an unlucky and clumsy bank teller. There are also brief periods spent in the haunted house or in a theatrical production of "Faust". The second reel takes place entirely within the 'haunted' house. A more complete film title is suggested by my review title. But, especially in those days, they wanted titles as brief as possible.......For those who prefer many gags over much chasing, this is a good comedy. Besides Keaton as the bank teller, the main characters are : Joe Roberts, as the bank cashier(whatever that is?), the bank president, Virginia Fox as the president's daughter, plus various others as customers, member's of Joe's gang, police investigators, and the janitor........Soon after Keaton opens the bank, he meets a young woman who wants some cash, stored in the vault. But, the vault doesn't open until 9am, and it's only 8am. So, Keaton gets on a stool, and moves the hour hand to 9am. The vault door bursts open, knocking Keaton off his stool.(This is reminiscent to Keaton moving the floor indicator to beyond the top floor, causing the elevator to shoot out the building roof, in "The Goat".) The woman complains that the bills given her are counterfeit. Joe is actually the inside man for a ring of counterfeiters and bank robbers. Keaton will encounter the gang as part of the lengthy episode where he keeps dipping his hand in a can of glue, assuming it is something else(How did the can get there?). This gets all over the money Keaton is dispensing, and soon gets on the clothes, and floor and shoes. The janitor sits down among the clusters of stuck bills on the floor. Unfortunately, his pants soon get stuck to the floor, and he can't get up. So, Keaton pours boiling water all around the periphery of his seat, and this loosens the glue. Unfortunately, there is still some sticky residue on his pants, and he brushes against a customers backside, so that they are stuck together. Keaton takes a scissors and cuts the customer's pants open.(This gag would have been much funnier if the customer had been a woman!!)........Now, the robbers arrive and stickup Keaton. But, he can't raise his hands, because they are stuck inside his pockets. Eventually, he rips the pockets out of his jacket and grabs the robbers guns they left on the counter. He shoots at them, and they flee. Keaton, holding a gun in one hand, and a wad of stuck bills in the other, looks like the robber, to the president and Joe. He flees, and ends up in the haunted house, which is the robber's hideout. Also, a group of thespians, running from their angry patrons, also ends up in this house(why?)in their sometimes frightening costumes.. Keaton experiences ghosts(gang members in sheets), people dressed in skeleton suits, trap doors and stairs that suddenly convert into sliding boards. The skeletons put together the pieces of a manikin, which becomes a person, when completed..........The police arrive and Keaton grabs Joe's gun, and sticks him up, and soon he is handcuffed. Joe brings the cuffs down on Keaton's head, knocking him out. We see Keaton get up at the base of a long flight of stairs. He ascents them to the top, where he meets the gatekeeper, who reads his report and rejects him. He pulls a lever, and the stairs are converted into a sliding board. At the bottom, he continues to descend to Hades, where he is poked by a pitchfork, and burned some. He awakens and realizes he has been dreaming. He finds Virginia Fox there to comfort him.
Great laugh per minute ratio!
tgooderson12 April 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Buster Keaton's 1921 short stars the actor/director as a New York City bank teller. Keaton being Keaton soon gets into trouble, spilling glue all over the counter and accidentally stopping a robbery before ending up in a haunted house.
The film begins with a shot of 1921 Wall Street. I always like to see exterior shots in silent movies as it's a rare chance to see the real world as it was back then. The action then goes inside a small bank. One of the funniest moments in this sequence is the sight of a customer with glue on his trousers getting stuck, backside to backside with another bank teller.
The second part of the film takes place in a large house in which counterfeiters have set up shop. This is the funniest part of the film and features a recurring gag about some collapsing stairs which doesn't get old. The counterfeiters have filled the house with pretend ghosts in order to scare off police and intruders and Keaton finds himself confronted with scare after scare, none of which are really scary but in fact quite funny. We're talking men with sheets over their heads and others dressed as skeletons. The best part of the second act is two such skeletons who construct a man who appears, through cunning editing to come to life. The film ends with a classic scene which has Keaton receive a blow to the head and climb stairs to heaven. When he gets to the top, the stairs collapse (again) and he plummets into hell. All is well in the end though as when he wakes up in the arms of his love interest.
This isn't the best Keaton film but I've also seen worse. Its well worth checking out and at only 21 minutes won't take too much time to do so. I laughed about nine or ten times in those 21 minutes which is a very good laugh per minute ratio and much higher than any 21st Century comedy I've seen.
http://attheback.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/haunted-house.html
The film begins with a shot of 1921 Wall Street. I always like to see exterior shots in silent movies as it's a rare chance to see the real world as it was back then. The action then goes inside a small bank. One of the funniest moments in this sequence is the sight of a customer with glue on his trousers getting stuck, backside to backside with another bank teller.
The second part of the film takes place in a large house in which counterfeiters have set up shop. This is the funniest part of the film and features a recurring gag about some collapsing stairs which doesn't get old. The counterfeiters have filled the house with pretend ghosts in order to scare off police and intruders and Keaton finds himself confronted with scare after scare, none of which are really scary but in fact quite funny. We're talking men with sheets over their heads and others dressed as skeletons. The best part of the second act is two such skeletons who construct a man who appears, through cunning editing to come to life. The film ends with a classic scene which has Keaton receive a blow to the head and climb stairs to heaven. When he gets to the top, the stairs collapse (again) and he plummets into hell. All is well in the end though as when he wakes up in the arms of his love interest.
This isn't the best Keaton film but I've also seen worse. Its well worth checking out and at only 21 minutes won't take too much time to do so. I laughed about nine or ten times in those 21 minutes which is a very good laugh per minute ratio and much higher than any 21st Century comedy I've seen.
http://attheback.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/haunted-house.html
Haunt These Scoundrels
SendiTolver10 September 2018
'The Haunted House' is not quite the haunted house story one might expect. In the very opening minutes, gang of counterfeiters and bank robbers are discussing the possibility to turn their hide out into a haunted house. Then we see Buster Keaton as bumbling bank clerk who accidentally pour glue onto the pile of dollar pills. Row of people stuck on the stuff and on each other follows (most of the are amusing at least), until the bank robbers appear. Soon, Buster himself is suspect and has to escape. He ends up in the hideout of the gang of criminals, and then all the fun starts.
The first half is quite boring in the sense that accidents with glue are (and were already by that time) very overused, but the second half uses many inventive film tricks, special effects and of course, Buster Keaton shines in some hilarious stunts.
Overall, there are better 'haunted house' silent comedies out there, but I like this one as it mixes some of my most favorite themes together into one amusing movie.
The first half is quite boring in the sense that accidents with glue are (and were already by that time) very overused, but the second half uses many inventive film tricks, special effects and of course, Buster Keaton shines in some hilarious stunts.
Overall, there are better 'haunted house' silent comedies out there, but I like this one as it mixes some of my most favorite themes together into one amusing movie.
A step back
Horst_In_Translation4 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
This slightly over 20-minute short film directed by, written by and starring stoneface Buster Keaton touches quite a few different genres: drama, comedy, musical, crime, horror, mystery. As always with Keaton, it's a lot bleaker and the humor is usually way darker than the one in Chaplin's movies for example. Buster works as a bank employee, but quickly gets caught up in a robbery where a mishap has lots of bills glued to his hand, so he can't give them the money. Still they get away with some and after a quick scene to a version of Faust at the opera, which didn't fit in there at all, the final act takes place at the haunted house from the title. We get the usual jumping, falling and kicking routines, but the full supernatural program: ghosts, skeletons, spirits and even Lucifer himself makes a brief appearance. The ending of the film is a perfect example from what I mentioned earlier. Chaplin usually gets kissed. Keaton goes to hell.
As a whole, I was not too impressed with this movie. Occasionally, the horror parts near the end reminded me of Méliès work 25 years ago and was at least equally spooky. If you like Keaton, give this one a go. Otherwise, there's better film out there with him.
As a whole, I was not too impressed with this movie. Occasionally, the horror parts near the end reminded me of Méliès work 25 years ago and was at least equally spooky. If you like Keaton, give this one a go. Otherwise, there's better film out there with him.
Has Some Very Good Visual Gags
Snow Leopard4 October 2001
This is a fun short feature notable for some particularly good visual gags. The plot is featherweight, and is just an excuse for getting the characters together in the same place, but there is some good comic material. The introductory part drags on a little; it has some funny moments but draws out the same gag much longer than it warranted. It's when everyone gets to "The Haunted House" that the real fun begins. There are lots of creative visuals and plenty of zany activity, and there are some carefully designed gags worth watching a couple of times. There's also a recurring gag that works well and that sets up a clever finale. If you're a Keaton fan, you will probably enjoy this one.
Hilarious haunting
TheLittleSongbird28 August 2020
Love Buster Keaton's feature films, such as 'The General', 'Steamboat Bill Jr', 'Sherlock Jr' and 'The Cameraman'. Love many of his short films just as much, such as 'The Scarecrow', 'Neighbors', 'Cops' and 'The Goat'. To me and many others he was a genius, for comedy and for anything. Not just because of his brilliant comic timing and his incomparable use of deadpan but also because of those daring, for back then and still now, and jaw-dropping stunts.
'The Haunted House' is not to me among his best work, not just short films but of his overall work too. It is still very good, with a good deals of laughs and spooks. It has been often said that 'The Haunted House' is a short of two halves. Not just tonally (where things take a spookier turn in the second half) but also that one half is considered better than the other. Do agree with this myself to an extent, while saying little bad about the (slightly) inferior half.
Will agree with those that say that the second half is better than the first. Again, not because the first half is bad. Actually liked it very much. Just that the second is brilliant. The first half is very funny with beautifully timed physical comedy, but isn't as hilarious, as creative or as varied as the second.
Due to the scene transitioning into the second half being a little too long.
As said however, the second half is brilliant. The ending especially is hilarious and a masterstroke of visual and physical comedy. Have not seen such inspired use of a staircase in anything for a long time. The comedy is so full of life and made me laugh constantly, the physicality is typically jaw-dropping (even if it is not quite among his boldest) and the more horror-like elements have a spookiness.
Keaton is so agile and his face tells so much even when dead-panning, can sometimes be a bit iffy on deadpan but there are enough times where it is done well and Keaton was a master at it. Even though the story is slight, it isn't dull and has a real charm to it. 'The Haunted House' is well shot and the setting has the right amount of creepiness.
Bottom line, very good though not quite one of the Keaton classics as an overall whole. At its best though, it is as good as and on par even with his best work. 8/10
'The Haunted House' is not to me among his best work, not just short films but of his overall work too. It is still very good, with a good deals of laughs and spooks. It has been often said that 'The Haunted House' is a short of two halves. Not just tonally (where things take a spookier turn in the second half) but also that one half is considered better than the other. Do agree with this myself to an extent, while saying little bad about the (slightly) inferior half.
Will agree with those that say that the second half is better than the first. Again, not because the first half is bad. Actually liked it very much. Just that the second is brilliant. The first half is very funny with beautifully timed physical comedy, but isn't as hilarious, as creative or as varied as the second.
Due to the scene transitioning into the second half being a little too long.
As said however, the second half is brilliant. The ending especially is hilarious and a masterstroke of visual and physical comedy. Have not seen such inspired use of a staircase in anything for a long time. The comedy is so full of life and made me laugh constantly, the physicality is typically jaw-dropping (even if it is not quite among his boldest) and the more horror-like elements have a spookiness.
Keaton is so agile and his face tells so much even when dead-panning, can sometimes be a bit iffy on deadpan but there are enough times where it is done well and Keaton was a master at it. Even though the story is slight, it isn't dull and has a real charm to it. 'The Haunted House' is well shot and the setting has the right amount of creepiness.
Bottom line, very good though not quite one of the Keaton classics as an overall whole. At its best though, it is as good as and on par even with his best work. 8/10
Buster Keaton is my hero
yusufpiskin23 November 2020
Loved this movie. I was like Poor ghost! when the guy was shooting at the house. The another man sits on a chair and the chair grabs him, he runs and the ghost is face to face with him - He sure made it to the top of them stairs quickly, I laughed so hard. This was very well made. Probably the funniest horror movie I've seen. The woman attacks the skeletons, she seems to be the only brave person in there. I knew the white stairs would give out but didn't think he would go straight down to hell. That was a great addition, he lives in the end, but that film was amazing.
Great stuff from Buster
gbill-7487723 October 2022
The bank teller bits are pretty tame, but I could watch Buster in that haunted house all day long. He show his physicality in bounding around and the assortment of spooky things is highly amusing. The skeletons reassembling a man, the running in circles, the chair which grabs him, and of course that crazy staircase with all of its variations on a theme, including the staircase to heaven bit ... it's all great stuff. Little things like Buster mugging for the camera as he runs by or simply lying down to avoid being seen are nice touches too. The timing for this short is of interest too; it was released February of 1921, and just a little over three months later, Buster would enter his ill-fated marriage with Natalie Talmadge, who we see as the fainting bank customer here.
Buster Flops Through a Tangle of Disconnected Themes
drqshadow-reviews17 February 2021
A slapdash of half-cooked ideas that really don't fit together as a greater whole, despite writer / director Buster Keaton's best efforts. The first reel is your typical simple Keaton scenario, involving a young, lovestruck bank teller who carelessly tips an unfortunately-placed jar of glue into the till. This leads to a zany, if predictable, tarring and feathering of angry customers and confused managers alike, accompanied by the standard cavalcade of pratfalls and sight gags. Lightly amusing and occasionally inventive, but not his best material.
The same can be said of the second act, an abrupt shift to the titular spooky mansion that's set about by a fearful band of would-be bank robbers. There's some light fun to be had with the trick staircases, trap doors and false walls, but for the most part this detour is thin and disconnected, lacking the sharp wit and playful recklessness of Keaton's better work. I'd rather watch him make something of nothing than flail about with lame set pieces and hammy, overwrought themes. Bare-bones and repetitive, this is about as close as prime Buster gets to a mailed-in performance.
The same can be said of the second act, an abrupt shift to the titular spooky mansion that's set about by a fearful band of would-be bank robbers. There's some light fun to be had with the trick staircases, trap doors and false walls, but for the most part this detour is thin and disconnected, lacking the sharp wit and playful recklessness of Keaton's better work. I'd rather watch him make something of nothing than flail about with lame set pieces and hammy, overwrought themes. Bare-bones and repetitive, this is about as close as prime Buster gets to a mailed-in performance.
more than nice
Kirpianuscus1 February 2019
A simple story. And its impressive effect. A bank clerk becoming from fake thief the hero of a small comunity, actors giving a mediocre Faust becoming guests of a haunted house, glue, money and a band of bad guys. Like each short film of Buster Keaton, the innocence is the basic trait of movie and the lead source of seduction.
And they would've gotten away with it too, if it weren't for Buster Keaton.
BA_Harrison2 August 2021
What possible reason could there be for a bank to have a large pot of glue (with the lid off) on the teller's counter? None whatsoever, but The Haunted House bases most of the gags in the first half on this preposterous 'MacGuffin', bank employee Buster Keaton getting the adhesive on all of the bank notes, resulting in some very sticky situations when robbers try to raid the establishment.
The glue also leads to Buster being suspected of trying to steal some money himself, after which the poor guy escapes to a reputedly haunted house, which is, in reality, the hideout for a gang of counterfeiters who have been pretending to be ghosts to keep people away (the plot of 9 out of 10 Scooby Doo episodes). The second half of the film features zany encounters with a variety of 'spooks' and the inevitable capture of the gang thanks to Buster's ingenuity.
This is the first Buster Keaton film I have seen, and I sincerely hope that its not typical of his work, because it didn't make me laugh very much, and the star's physical antics weren't all that impressive. The style of the film reminded me of much earlier experimental movies from the likes of Georges Méliès, where the plot comes second to the visual trickery-interesting for historians of cinema, perhaps, but not the work of genius I had been hoping for.
The glue also leads to Buster being suspected of trying to steal some money himself, after which the poor guy escapes to a reputedly haunted house, which is, in reality, the hideout for a gang of counterfeiters who have been pretending to be ghosts to keep people away (the plot of 9 out of 10 Scooby Doo episodes). The second half of the film features zany encounters with a variety of 'spooks' and the inevitable capture of the gang thanks to Buster's ingenuity.
This is the first Buster Keaton film I have seen, and I sincerely hope that its not typical of his work, because it didn't make me laugh very much, and the star's physical antics weren't all that impressive. The style of the film reminded me of much earlier experimental movies from the likes of Georges Méliès, where the plot comes second to the visual trickery-interesting for historians of cinema, perhaps, but not the work of genius I had been hoping for.
The Bank Teller
caspian197824 September 2004
Since the haunted house is only 1/3 of the movie, the title of the movie should have been The Bank Teller which Buster Keaton portrayed. Most of the movie takes place in the bank which Keaton operated and was later accused of robbing. Or, the movie should have been called Sticky Situation since the biggest laughs of the movie came when Keaton gets glue all over him and the money from the bank. Although the movie's climax is the haunted house, much of the physical comedy happens way before the movie's closing. An interesting look into heaven and hell as Keaton imagines dying and riding the stairway and slide to heaven and then hell. A good Keaton classic, The Haunted House has several moments that are funny and very enjoyable.
Mostly just repetitive slapstick--not the kind you'd laugh at
Tornado_Sam25 February 2018
Warning: Spoilers
This Buster Keaton comedy isn't really a 'funny' film. If you are thinking of funny, as in "hahahahahahahahaha, I cannot stop laughing" funny, then you're out of luck. The repetitive slapstick in this 21-minute long feature is mostly just silly, acrobatic fun--not something that you'd chuckle at. I certainly didn't. But any fan of silent slapstick will find it worthwhile.
The movie starts out with Keaton arriving at the bank for his workday. However, since he's Keaton, everything goes wrong. He gets his hands in glue and messes up all the dollar bills, creating any number of mishaps with his mistake. Meanwhile, the bank president and his counterfeiters are filling the bank with counterfeit money, and using an abandoned house as a hideout. All these events and people come together eventually--resulting in a series of mishaps inside the house.
I haven't seen many Buster Keaton films, but I've figured out his slapstick is normally very repetitive. That's the case here. Pretty much once we get to the house, Keaton has a bunch of encounters with 'ghosts' and 'skeletons' and stuff. All he does is run around the house for like, the rest of the movie. The thing is thoroughly entertaining but isn't funny--that's why if you're looking for a nice juicy comedy, look somewhere else. And if you're not, this one remains an entertaining and fun film, even if it lacks laugh-out-loud humor. Yeah, call me an idiot for saying Keaton isn't funny--but this kind of slapstick, while entertaining certainly, doesn't get me laughing. Oh well, it's still lots of fun anyway.
The movie starts out with Keaton arriving at the bank for his workday. However, since he's Keaton, everything goes wrong. He gets his hands in glue and messes up all the dollar bills, creating any number of mishaps with his mistake. Meanwhile, the bank president and his counterfeiters are filling the bank with counterfeit money, and using an abandoned house as a hideout. All these events and people come together eventually--resulting in a series of mishaps inside the house.
I haven't seen many Buster Keaton films, but I've figured out his slapstick is normally very repetitive. That's the case here. Pretty much once we get to the house, Keaton has a bunch of encounters with 'ghosts' and 'skeletons' and stuff. All he does is run around the house for like, the rest of the movie. The thing is thoroughly entertaining but isn't funny--that's why if you're looking for a nice juicy comedy, look somewhere else. And if you're not, this one remains an entertaining and fun film, even if it lacks laugh-out-loud humor. Yeah, call me an idiot for saying Keaton isn't funny--but this kind of slapstick, while entertaining certainly, doesn't get me laughing. Oh well, it's still lots of fun anyway.
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