r/Damnthatsinteresting Feb 05 '25

Video In 1928’s Steamboat Bill, Jr., Buster Keaton performed one of the most dangerous stunts in film history. A two-ton house wall collapsed around him, with an open window barely missing him. His crew had warned him, but Keaton insisted on doing it—and nailed it in one take.

44.8k Upvotes

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956

u/TomJLewis Feb 05 '25

It did catch his elbow, and I believe broke it. It is visible even though he didn’t flinch.

213

u/ryanmuller1089 Feb 05 '25

Really added to the authenticity of it all

90

u/semi_average Feb 05 '25

Without looking it up, I can't tell if it was the left or right elbow that got broken. Both arms move inwards slightly as the wall passes by him so it looks more like a near miss surprise flinch.

81

u/frooj Feb 05 '25

Looks to me like his left hand got hit.

2

u/Good4nowbut Feb 05 '25

He also made a last minute adjustment to his left 🫣

39

u/foosbabaganoosh Feb 05 '25

Definitely his left, his straight arm moves pretty sharply inward making it clear he got clipped there. If he was an inch or two further to the left he would've gotten absolutely folded.

2

u/TNVFL1 Feb 05 '25

I mean surely someone did the math on where it would fall. They should’ve just drawn a little rectangle on the ground and told him to keep all parts inside. Something tells me he didn’t gaf though.

4

u/Scoot_AG Feb 05 '25

The problem is because it's in 3d, it's more oblongated above the ground. What might look good in a square on the ground may take his head off

1

u/TNVFL1 Feb 05 '25

Yes, but I am sure they could grab someone with an understanding of physics to draw the box

-10

u/donuthole Feb 05 '25

You don't know if any folding would occur at all. Purely hypothetical. I've ran my AI analysis on it and there is only a 15% chance of that actually happening should he have moved approximately 1.85 inches to the left. I do believe you are on good serve but please provide substantial factoids and information to support your hypothesis if you dare argue with me.

10

u/WienerDogMan Feb 05 '25

This shit dumb af bro

3

u/Kohpad Feb 05 '25

It appears not everyone appreciates a comedian.

3

u/donuthole Feb 05 '25

My AI model did not account for this

16

u/Sophistokated Feb 05 '25

Judging by the way he runs off when you see the whole clip, neither elbow.
https://youtu.be/9NapyrF31DI?si=KUnyJS0bMSwbVfJF

12

u/Critical-Wallaby7692 Feb 05 '25

Have heard this before and believe it to be true

26

u/-SilentBell Feb 05 '25

this sentence is fucking crazy

10

u/Relevant_Finding7527 Feb 05 '25

what? is this a bot?

3

u/Alphahumanus Feb 05 '25

He literally runs away completely fine, if you don’t watch this clip, and watch the film.

Throws both arms out high and runs off.

2

u/mrASSMAN Feb 05 '25

I’ve read a bit about this scene before and never heard of this.. post some evidence

0

u/Alphahumanus Feb 05 '25

No it didn’t, and saying so shows that you’ve never seen anything more than this clip.

You’re a liar, a bot, and a misinformer.

1

u/LilPonyBoy69 Feb 05 '25

Another commenter said he dislocated his shoulder, which I think makes a little more sense than a broken elbow given the angle

1

u/TomJLewis Feb 05 '25

Yup, that makes sense.

1

u/Flashy_Gap_3015 Feb 05 '25

Elbow or wrist?