Buster Keaton
The Drifter
Subtitles off by default
Wikimedia Commons · Buster Keaton / Edward F. Cline · 1921 · Public domain
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Synopsis
A drifter fakes his way into a shooting-gallery job and acquires a reputation as an expert marksman. The deception attracts both a gang planning a murder and the wealthy man who needs protection from it. Trapped between incompatible employers, he must negotiate secret signals and a house whose hidden passages turn the assignment into an elaborate chase.
Cast
Historical context
The title refers to the gang's recognition gesture. Keaton builds the comedy around signs that are mistaken for genuine competence: a trick at the shooting gallery becomes a dangerous professional credential. The film's spaces and props repeatedly expose the gap between appearances and practical skill.
Behind the scenes
This was the first short Keaton made as the lead of his own independent production, but he delayed its release until after One Week. The finale uses a cutaway, multi-level house with concealed routes, letting the audience understand connections that the pursuing characters cannot see.
Sources and availability
The synopsis and editorial text were written for this collection. The references below were cross-checked to identify the film and its copy; each editorial section identifies its reference.
Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.
The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.
Availability checked on September 11, 2026.
Photograph credit
Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.
- Buster Keaton — Unknown author · Public domain
- Bartine Burkett — Unknown photographer; Exhibitors Herald, August 21, 1920, p. 85; Internet Archive / Wikimedia Commons. · Public domain in the United States (PD-1923)
