One Week

Plot

Newlyweds Buster and Sybil receive a build-it-yourself house as a wedding gift, with the promise that it can be assembled in 'one week.' Unbeknownst to them, a rejected suitor of Sybil's has maliciously renumbered all the packing crates, turning what should be a simple assembly into a chaotic nightmare. Buster follows the incorrect numbering religiously, resulting in a house that's completely askew, with walls at odd angles, windows in impossible places, and a staircase that leads nowhere. The couple struggles through their first week of marriage in their misshapen home, enduring various comedic mishaps including a runaway piano and a house that spins during a windstorm. The film culminates in a spectacular finale where the house, finally completed but still bizarre, is accidentally moved to a new location by train, forcing the bewildered couple to chase after their unconventional home.

Historical Background

One Week was released in 1920, during the post-World War I economic boom in America known as the 'Roaring Twenties.' This period saw rapid technological advancement and suburbanization, with many Americans moving to newly developed suburban areas. The film's focus on a prefabricated house kit reflected the growing American obsession with homeownership and the rise of mail-order companies like Sears, Roebuck & Co., which sold entire house kits. The film also emerged during the golden age of silent comedy, when comedians like Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd, and Buster Keaton were pushing the boundaries of cinematic humor. The post-war era's optimism and faith in technology and progress is ironically subverted in the film, as modern conveniences (the pre-fabricated house) lead to chaos rather than order. This was also a time when the American film industry was consolidating its power in Hollywood, with the studio system taking shape and independent producers like Keaton finding innovative ways to compete.

Making Of

One Week marked Buster Keaton's debut as an independent filmmaker after his successful partnership with Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle ended. Keaton formed his own production company, Comique Film Corporation, and signed a distribution deal with Metro Pictures. The film was shot quickly on a modest budget but showcased Keaton's innovative approach to comedy and technical filmmaking. The famous falling wall stunt was meticulously rehearsed with precise measurements to ensure Keaton's safety, though he still performed it himself. The rotating house mechanism was an engineering marvel for its time, requiring a custom-built turntable that could support the weight of the full-scale house set. Keaton's attention to detail extended to authentic period construction techniques, and he consulted actual carpenters to ensure the building sequences, however chaotic, were based on real construction principles. The film's success established Keaton as a major comedy star in his own right and set the template for his independent productions throughout the 1920s.

Visual Style

The cinematography in One Week, credited to Elgin Lessley and Buster Keaton (uncredited), showcases remarkable technical innovation for its time. The film employs creative camera angles to emphasize the absurdity of the misconstructed house, with low angles making the crooked walls appear even more distorted. The most technically impressive sequence involves the spinning house during the windstorm, which required a custom-built rotating platform and careful choreography between camera movement and the house's rotation. The camera work during the train sequence was particularly challenging, as it required tracking shots alongside a moving train carrying an actual house. Lessley and Keaton used multiple cameras to capture some of the more dangerous stunts, ensuring they could capture the action from the most effective angles. The film also makes effective use of deep focus to keep both foreground and background action in sharp detail, allowing for complex visual jokes that play out across the entire frame. The cinematography perfectly complements Keaton's physical comedy, always positioned to maximize the impact of each gag while maintaining clarity and visual coherence.

Innovations

One Week showcased several groundbreaking technical achievements for 1920. The most impressive was the rotating house mechanism, which allowed an entire house set to spin 360 degrees while maintaining structural integrity. This engineering feat required precise calculations of weight distribution and center of gravity. The film also featured innovative use of miniatures and forced perspective in the train sequence, creating the illusion of a full-sized house being transported. The famous falling wall stunt required exact mathematical precision - the window opening had to be perfectly aligned with Keaton's position to ensure his safety. The film's editing was ahead of its time, using rapid cuts during the construction montage to create a sense of chaotic energy. Multiple camera techniques were employed to capture complex action sequences, particularly during scenes involving both foreground and background action. The production also pioneered safety techniques for dangerous stunts that would become standard in the industry. These technical innovations, combined with Keaton's meticulous planning and execution, resulted in a film that was both entertaining and technically impressive, pushing the boundaries of what was possible in cinema at the time.

Music

As a silent film, One Week was originally accompanied by live musical performance in theaters. The typical score would have been provided by a theater organist or small orchestra, using compiled music from various sources to match the on-screen action. The music would have been lively and upbeat during the construction sequences, more romantic during the couple's tender moments, and dramatic during the windstorm and train sequences. Modern restorations of the film have featured newly composed scores by various artists, including organist Gaylord Carter and composer Robert Israel. These contemporary scores attempt to recreate the spirit of the original accompaniments while taking advantage of modern recording techniques. Some versions feature jazz-influenced scores that reflect the 1920s musical styles, while others use more classical approaches. The absence of synchronized dialogue actually enhances the film's universal appeal, as the visual comedy translates perfectly across cultures and time periods without the barrier of language.

Memorable Scenes

• The iconic falling wall stunt where Keaton stands in exactly the right spot as a wall collapses around him, passing safely through an open window space
• The spinning house sequence during the windstorm, where the entire house rotates wildly while the couple struggles to maintain their balance
• The piano sliding down the stairs and out the door in the crooked house
• The final train sequence where the completed house is accidentally loaded onto a flatcar and transported away
• The construction montage showing Buster following the wrong numbers and creating impossible architectural configurations

What Critics Said

Contemporary critics praised One Week as a brilliant debut for Keaton as an independent filmmaker. Variety called it 'a riot of laughs' and noted Keaton's 'remarkable ingenuity' in creating comedy from everyday situations. The New York Times highlighted the film's 'clever construction' and praised Keaton's 'stone-faced humor' as a refreshing contrast to the more exaggerated styles of other comedians. Modern critics universally acclaim the film as a masterpiece of short-form comedy. The Criterion Collection describes it as 'practically perfect in its construction and execution.' Film scholar David Robinson called it 'a model of how to construct a comedy short' and praised its 'flawless timing and brilliant visual gags.' Roger Ebert included it in his 'Great Movies' collection, noting how 'every gag builds on the last with mathematical precision.' The film maintains a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is frequently cited as one of the greatest comedy shorts ever made.

What Audiences Thought

One Week was an immediate commercial success upon its release in 1920, playing to packed houses across America and establishing Buster Keaton as a bankable star in his own right. Audiences were particularly delighted by the film's relatable premise of domestic struggles and the increasingly absurd situations. The spinning house sequence became so popular that audiences would often cheer when it appeared on screen. In the decades since, the film has maintained its popularity through film retrospectives, home video releases, and online platforms. Modern audiences continue to respond enthusiastically to its timeless humor and impressive physical comedy. The film frequently appears in 'best of' lists voted by film enthusiasts and maintains high ratings on platforms like IMDb and Letterboxd. Its universal themes of marriage, homeownership, and man versus technology continue to resonate with viewers nearly a century after its release.

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