Sherlock Jr. (1924)
Plays here · source: Internet Archive
A film projectionist framed for stealing a watch falls asleep at work and walks into the movie on the screen, where he becomes the great detective he dreams of being. Keaton builds the gag out of pure editing — the world cutting out from under him — then does his own motorcycle stunts on the handlebars with no driver.
Forty-five minutes, and at least three shots that filmmakers still can’t fully explain. The dream-within-the-screen was a century early.
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