| The High Sign | |
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Buster and the Blinking Buzzards give the titular "high sign" in the 1921 short. |
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| Directed by | Buster Keaton Buster Keaton |
| Produced by | Buster Keaton |
| Written by | Buster Keaton Buster Keaton |
| Starring | Buster Keaton Bartine Burkett Charles Dorety Al St. John |
| Cinematography | Buster Keaton |
| Editing by | Buster Keaton |
| Distributed by | Metro Pictures |
| Release date(s) | April 12, 1921 |
| Running time | 21 min. |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film English (original intertitles) |
The High Sign is a 1921 short comedy film starring comedian Buster Keaton. It was written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline. The runtime is 21 minutes. Although One Week was the first of Keaton's independent shorts to be released, The High Sign was the first one to be produced. Disappointed with the result, Keaton shelved the film. It wasn't until a year later, when he broke his ankle and delayed the completion of The Haunted House, that the film was released. The title refers to the secret signal used by the underworld gang in the film.
Guitarist Bill Frisell released a soundtrack to the movie in 1995 on his album The High Sign/One Week. The Rats & People Motion Picture Orchestra premiered its new score for the movie in 2008.
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Buster plays a drifter who cons his way into working at an amusement park shooting gallery. Believing Buster is an expert marksman, both the murderous gang the Blinking Buzzards and the man they want to kill end up hiring him. The film ends with a wild chase through a house filled with secret passages.
Keaton, Eleanor; Jeffrey Vance (2001). Buster Keaton Remembered. Harry N. Abrams, Inc.. ISBN 0-8109-4227-5.
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