Hard Luck (1921 film)


Hard Luck is a 1921 American two-reel silent comedy film starring Buster Keaton. It was written and directed by Keaton and Edward F. Cline. The runtime is 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 still missing. This scene was later discovered in a Russian archive print, and now the full film is available.

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. Buster finds himself becoming more confident through a series of adventures as the film proceeds. 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 two young children.

Cast