Three on a Limb Review: Buster Keaton Stuck in a Tree

If you have twenty minutes to spare today and love old-school slapstick, this is absolutely worth a watch. 🍿 It is a quick, silly slice of 1930s goofiness.

But if you only like Buster Keaton when he is doing massive, death-defying silent stunts, you will probably hate how cheap this looks. It is definitely from his "working for a paycheck" era.

The Setup

Buster plays Elmer, a scoutmaster who wears a uniform that looks slightly too big for him. He falls hard for a cute carhop girl at a roadside joint.

The problem is a massive, incredibly angry traffic cop is also trying to date her. And this cop does not like competition.

I love the carhop restaurant setting here. It makes me wish we still had people delivering milkshakes to cars on metal trays.

The way Buster tries to order food while looking cool is just classic. He does this little hop-step that made me laugh out loud.

A Few Weird Observations

The audio in this short is so crunchy. You can hear the background hiss every time someone stops speaking.

Its got that cheap 1930s sound quality where every single footstep sounds like someone hitting a dry piece of plywood with a spoon.

Also, keep an eye on the background extras. During the street scene, there is a guy in a flat cap who just stares directly at the camera for three whole seconds.

I guess they did not have the budget for a second take. It is those little mistakes that make these old shorts so fun to dissect.

Compared to other comedies of the era, like Weenie Roast or even Assorted Nuts, this one feels a bit more grounded. Well, until the end, at least.

The Tree Climax

The movie is called Three on a Limb, so you already know exactly where everyone is going to end up. The physical comedy once they get up into the tree is actually pretty clever.

Buster still has that amazing physical control, even if he looks a bit tired here. He moves like a cartoon character who suddenly became real.

The fake tree branch they used looks so incredibly flimsy. You can see the whole set wobbling when the cop climbs up.

I honestly thought the whole thing was going to collapse on them. Maybe it did during rehearsals!

The ending just sort of happens and then the screen fades to black. It is very abrupt, like they ran out of film and just decided to stop shooting.

But honestly? It left a smile on my face. 🌲