Hard Luck
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Fired from his job, jilted by his girl, down on his luck... —opening title
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In this 1921 short, a despondent Buster Keaton decides to end it all, but then he gets a job, meets a girl (Virginia Fox) and his luck changes -- or does it? Hilarity Ensues.
Hard Luck can be seen right here, on this very wiki.
Not to be confused with the 2006 thriller film of the same name.
Tropes used in Hard Luck include:
- Alliterative Name: Lizard Lip Luke.
- Anvil on Head: Averted. Buster tries to set this up with a safe being hoisted with a rope and pulley, but fails.
- Beach Episode: Much of the action is set at a country club with a pool.
- Black Comedy: Did I mention that Buster spends much of the film trying to die?
- Bungled Suicide
- Chase Scene
- Cunning Like a Fox
- Digging to China: Or in this case, diving to China.
- Dragged by the Collar: Literally, and by the seat of his pants.
- Drinking on Duty: A waiter.
- Everything's Worse with Bears
- Fan Service: The country club's pool is an excuse to put several actresses in bathing suits; later, Buster takes a dip and dresses accordingly.
- Glove Slap
- Horrible Camping Trip
- Human Ladder: Actually, human mounting block.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty
- Improvised Weapon: Fishing rod versus handgun.
- Incredibly Lame Pun: Some time after Buster tries to hang himself from a tree.
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- Interrupted Suicide: The first fourth of the film is a series of unsuccessful suicide attempts.
- Large and In Charge: Joe Roberts as Lizard Lip Luke.
- Love At First Sight
- Love Triangle
- The Man They Couldn't Hang
- Nobody Here but Us Statues
- Only in It For the Money: Why Buster hunts for an armadillo.
- Outside Ride
- Paper-Thin Disguise
- Railroad Tracks of Doom: Subverted in Buster's suicide attempt involving a trolley.
- Rule of Funny: How Buster survives his high dive.
- Shot in the Ass
- Slapstick
- Slobs Versus Snobs: Buster wanders into a country club and joins a fox hunt.
- Train Escape
- Unsuspectingly Soused
- Walking on Water: Subverted. Buster tries to mimic a man walking on the surface of a swimming pool -- he turns out to be wearing stilts.
- Wanted Poster