Arbuckle and Keaton Vol.2
Unrated 19171917 1917 1917 121 minsPT2H1M
Synopsis Silent comedy (and especially Buster Keaton) buffs will thrill to this second volume of five revelatory shorts by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. "Back Stage," "Coney Island," "The Rough House," "The Garage," and "Good Night Nurse!" were made between 1918 and 1920 at the height of Arbuckle's popularity before scandal tragically cut short his career and forever unjustly tarnished his name. They represent a vital missing chapter in film comedy history. In addition to rescuing Arbuckle from obscurity, they also provide a fascinating nascent glimpse of Keaton. These are his first films, and one can see the seeds of his flowering genius. Arbuckle got his start with Keystone Studio founder Mack Sennett, the original King of Comedy, for whom he made more than 200 shorts in five years. These breakneck, gag-filled reels in which characters run amok show his influence. "Good Night Nurse!" is one of Arbuckle's best, a fever dream in which he finds himself at the mercy of sanitarium doctor Keaton (brandishing a cleaver and drenched with blood). Fans of the "Great Stone Face" will be surprised to see him smiling and laughing as he flirts with Fatty, rather fetchingly disguised in a nurse's uniform. Also of note is a fleeting gag in "The Rough House," in which Roscoe sticks two forks into a pair of dinner rolls and enacts a dance that imitates his former Sennett costar, Charlie Chaplin, who would later expand this routine for his masterpiece, "The Gold Rush." Arbuckle and Keaton's partnership ended on a high note with "The Garage," their last and one of their best collaborations.