The Haunted House



"The bank cashier and his band of counterfeiters have a strong reason for making people believe this house is haunted."

- intertitle

In this 1921 short, Buster Keaton plays a bank teller who is accused of passing Counterfeit Cash and attempted Bank Robbery. While fleeing the law, he stumbles across the real culprits' hideout, a phony haunted house. Hilarity Ensues.

This movie is available in its entirety at Google video.

"The Haunted House" provides examples of:

 * Agony of the Feet: How the bank teller establishes that the satanic-looking gent is not the Devil.
 * Bank Robbery: Attempted.
 * Bavarian Fire Drill: The teller starts blowing a whistle and directing the "ghosts" like a traffic cop -- and they obey.
 * Bedsheet Ghost
 * Bookcase Passage
 * Clear My Name
 * Counterfeit Cash
 * Dressing As the Enemy
 * Help I'm Stuck
 * Improvised Weapon: A tossed vase.
 * The Klutz
 * Man On Fire: Twice, neither time serious.
 * Le Parkour: Motivated by terror, the teller performs some impressive climbing and vaulting.
 * Plucky Girl: The bank president's daughter tracks the chief villain to his lair.
 * Produce Pelting
 * Scooby Doo Hoax: Employed by the counterfeiters to protect their hideout.
 * Stairway to Heaven
 * Sticky Situation
 * Surprise Slide Staircase
 * The Stoic
 * Trap Door