User reviews

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...

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.

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.

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.

'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? ;-)

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!

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."

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.

'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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.