The Bell Boy (1918)

Directed by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
Starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Al St. John
Produced by Comique Film Company

The Bell Boy is another collaboration between Arbuckle's acknowledge comedic powerhouse and Keaton's quickly rising star.  Unlike The Butcher Boy, Keaton here plays a role of almost equal stature to Arbuckle.  The movie follows the daily grind at the Elk's Head Hotel, featuring "third-rate service at first-class prices."  Arbuckle and Keaton play bell boys at the establishment and have a difficult time keeping out of trouble with the boss and the guests.  The hotel features a large, stuffed elk's head and an elevator powered by a stubborn horse. Does hilarity ensue?  I think you know it does.

Arbuckle and Keaton are great together throughout, though modern audiences will see some of the punchlines coming a mile away.  There's a small moment with Keaton cleaning a glass window.  The camera lingered on the scene long enough that you'll figure out where it's going before it gets there.

There are two very funny and inventive scenes during the movie.  First, Arbuckle, who also serves as the hotel barber, receives a customer in the form of a large, frightening man.  He proceeds to give him a trim that turns him into Ulysses Grant, Abraham Lincoln and Kaiser Wilhelm.  The way the scene plays is a lot of fun though I do wish they would have changed camera positions to enhance the struggles Arbuckle's victim was going through.

The climax of the movie involves Arbuckle's plan to impress a woman by stopping a fake bank robbery committed by Keaton.  The plans go awry when real bank robbers appear on the scene.  The entire sequence is clever and really highlights the agility and timing of Arbuckle, St. John and especially Keaton.  The way Buster vaults over and through the bank walls is jaw-dropping in its simplicity and skill.

On the whole, this is a slight comedy, but still very well done. Sure, there are moments that feel dated (Keaton bouncing up and down on a wooden plank, I am looking at you), but the small moments made me lagh more than the big set pieces.  It's not as great as Chaplin's work to this date, but I'm anxious to see Keaton's later stuff once he breaks from Arbuckle.

Watched on IMDB
Photo from Dr. Macro

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The Butcher Boy (1917)

Fatty Arbuckle + Buster Keaton = Awesome

Directed by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle
Starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Al St. John, Josephine Stevens
Produced by Comique Film Company

The Butcher Boy chronicles the romantic rivalry between Fatty and Slim for the love of Amanda, daughter of the general store manager.  The movie starts in the general store and follows Fatty, the butcher boy, through his interactions with customers.  When the manager gets angry and sends his daughter away to boarding school, Fatty and Slim hatch their own plans to find their love.  But men are not permitted beyond the gates of the boarding school.  What will Fatty do?

This is Buster Keaton's first movie and he is hysterical in his small piece of screen time.  He plays a customer buying a bucket of molasses.  When Fatty asks for payment, Buster explains the money is in the bottom of the molasses-filled bucket.  Fatty pours the molasses into Buster's hat and retrieves the money.  Buster then finds the hat stuck to his head and his feet stuck to the floor.  While the description may sound ponderous, the execution is funny and both actors do an amazing job of wringing every drop of laughter out of the set up.

The main plot however follows Fatty's amorous gaze at Amanda. There is some great physical humor as Fatty nonchalantly tosses knives and meat that land with precision.  Arbuckle is a large, but agile presence in the film, vaulting counters and flying about on ladders.  I loved the general store sequence.

Once the action moves to the boarding school, we get Fatty and slim in drag.  There is a lot of manic energy to these scenes and they are certainly amusing, but they are not funny and, by the end, the gags become repetitive.

On the whole, I'd recommend The Butcher Boy (particularly the first half).  Keaton's scene is very funny and there is a food fight that is visually captivating (it involves flour).  Keaton is a bit player in the second half, but he like the other actors spend their screen time racing around without much else to do.

Watched on YouTube
Photo from Silent Era

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1917: A Comedy Legend Debuts

Buster Keaton: Member of my shame list

Leaving behind 1916 (which I really had fun with) and moving on. And a lot is happening in the world in 1917. The U.S. is pulled into World War I and Hollywood supports the effort by having its biggest stars attend Liberty Bond rallies. T.E. Lawrence (aka, Lawrence of Arabia) led Arab forces against the Turkish army, which becomes important to film fans much later.

In terms of film, not as much was happening in 1917. However, a comedy star gets his first film credit as a bit player in Fatty Arbuckle's The Butcher Boy. Buster Keaton is often mentioned in the same breath as Charlie Chaplin and, while he's not the headliner here, this is the film that put him on the path to stardom. Keaton is another one on my personal shame list. I know I have seen clips of Keaton (notably from 1926's The General), but I have not seen an entire movie featuring the actor.

In other film news, Cleopatra starring Theda Bara was the top grossing movie of the year and Chaplin joined Mary Pickford in the million dollar contract club. Director John Ford made his first western The Tornado (which is unfortunately considered a lost film). For Superman fans, Max Fleischer invents rotoscoping, which turned live action movements into cartoons. Fleischer is most known (to me anyway) for his amazing cartoons starring the Man of Steel. And the Lincoln Motion Picture Company becomes the first African American owned studio.

So what are we watching? Definitely, The Butcher Boy. And Easy Street, featuring Chaplin. There's not a lot that excites me beyond that. The Little American, directed by Cecil B. DeMille and starring Mary Pickford is available through Netflix. I'll also try to track down Tom Sawyer.

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