Kathryn McGuire gives Buster Keaton's comedy a straight-woman counterpoint, though the writing does not always give her enough in return. We recommend Sherlock Jr. warmly, with the reservation that its romantic lead deserved more attention.
Fi1m perspective
In Sherlock Jr. (1924), Kathryn McGuire is The Girl, a romantic lead with too little opportunity to become a person. The comedy finds a use for Keaton's smallest movements, yet gives her comparatively little to do. We recommend the film without hesitation for its visual jokes; anyone coming to it principally for McGuire should expect a slender role. We felt frustrated by the courtship because it gave us so little chance to know the woman at its centre.
Her early work offered more than one possible direction. The Silent Call (1921) gave her a dramatic supporting part, while Mack Sennett's comedies made use of her dance training in solo numbers. She also played Diana opposite Ben Turpin in The Shriek of Araby (1923), before the two Keaton features of 1924 became the centre of her screen reputation. The dancer is worth remembering when considering an actor so often defined by whose leading lady she was.
Keaton is the crucial collaborator, with The Navigator (1924), in which she plays Betsy O'Brien, completing their two-film partnership. McGuire provides the romantic interest and a straight-woman counterpoint in both, work that should not require her to compete for every laugh. In Sherlock Jr., Clyde Bruckman's screenplay has visible joins between the detective business and the play with screen illusion. The neglected courtship belongs on that list of writing problems, rather than being taken as evidence of an actor's limitations.
Her later shorts with Lupino Lane at Educational Pictures continued the comic partnerships that run through her work. We would be wary of treating her best-known films as a complete account of what she could do. The pleasure of Sherlock Jr. is considerable, and its failure to develop McGuire's part remains a small complaint about an otherwise superb comedy. For McGuire, make it a double bill with The Navigator rather than leaving Sherlock Jr. to speak for her.
Biography
Kathryn McGuire (also credited as Katherine McGuire) was an American actress and dancer in silent films. Born in Peoria, Illinois, she was selected as a WAMPAS Baby Star in 1922 and began her career with supporting roles, including work at Mack Sennett's studio.
She is best known for her ingenue roles opposite Buster Keaton as The Girl in Sherlock Jr. (1924) and Betsy O'Brien in The Navigator (1924). Other credits include The Silent Call (1921), Playing with Fire (1921) and The Flame of Life (1923). She appeared in over fifty films before retiring from feature work around 1930.
McGuire was married to talent agent George Landy from 1927 until his death in 1955. She returned briefly to acting with character roles on television in the late 1950s and died in Los Angeles in 1978.
