The High Sign is Keaton’s first short as star and director. Though it is not typically ranked among Keaton’s finest work, the High Sign is historically and artistically significant. Capturing Keaton mid-stride in his transition from supporting player to star and revealing his gift for invented visual comedy. The High Sign almost wasn’t released…audiences are lucky for all of its narrative acrobatics; it proves that Keatons persona was already emerging in 1920, encapsulated in its introductory intertitle: He’s the alienated modern man, with out a home, making life bearable through comedy. - R. Emmet Sweeney