8 Famous Movie Scenes You Didn't Know Were Stupidly Hard To Film
3. Buster Keaton Was An Atrocious Baseball Player
Buster Keaton is one of the most gifted physical comedians of all time. Almost a full century later, his stunts are still legendary, and his daredevil style of comedy remains integral to the history of cinema.
One of his lesser-praised films, Three Ages, is still something to marvel at. His physicality in the finished product is a testament to how insanely dedicated he was to putting his body (and life) on the line for the sake of a laugh. In one scene, for instance, Keaton attempts to leap across an alleyway from one rooftop to another, and very seriously injures himself in the process.
Although botching such a difficult stunt is nothing to be ashamed of -- even if you're an all-time great like Buster -- there's another, much simpler feat the legendary comedian couldn't quite figure out. In the scene, he plays a caveman who has a rock thrown at him by another caveman. Keaton is supposed to use his club like a baseball bat and hit the rock back at the other caveman, knocking him down. But for whatever reason, Buster just couldn't connect.
The consensus from those who were on set is that Buster constantly missed the rock by a mile, and the simple moment ultimately took a full day of shooting to get it right. For someone with such an awe-inspiring command of his own body, it's odd that he had worse hand-eye coordination than your average little league baseball player.