This is a truly odd Buster Keaton short (not that his others are "normal"). That's because while playing golf (and frankly, overdoing the slapstick a bit), Buster is knocked out by a runaway prisoner and the prisoner changes clothes with him. When he awakes, he finds lots of guards chasing him. When finally apprehended, Buster is told that he's due to be executed, but the job is botched and they decide to put it off until later. Soon after, a riot breaks out and Buster puts a stop to it--gaining his girl's love and undying admiration as the film ends.
The film has a very maudlin and surreal quality about it with jokes about death, weirdly improbably chains of events and is almost non-stop action. The problem is that while this is all mildly amusing, it isn't a particularly memorable film. Other Keaton shorts such as COPS and many others are simply funnier. Still, compared to many of his contemporaries, even a poor Keaton film is quite watchable.
The film has a very maudlin and surreal quality about it with jokes about death, weirdly improbably chains of events and is almost non-stop action. The problem is that while this is all mildly amusing, it isn't a particularly memorable film. Other Keaton shorts such as COPS and many others are simply funnier. Still, compared to many of his contemporaries, even a poor Keaton film is quite watchable.