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Coney Island (1917)
Topic Started: Nov 10 2011, 07:13 PM (346 Views)
Laughing Gravy
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Fatty Arbuckle and his wife go to Coney Island; the wife wants to sit on the beach, but Fatty wants to go play on the rides, so he buries himself in sand until she thinks he's missing and goes to look for him, then he unburies himself and heads for Luna Park. There, he meets Al St. John and Buster Keaton, and the three of them spend the next 20 minutes knocking each other about and falling down a lot.

I have never seen a Fatty Arbuckle film I like; his character is a fat retard and highly unlikable. This is the first teaming with Keaton that I've seen (they were together for several films) and Buster mugs, laughs, cries, makes a variety of faces. He and Al St. John sure do find new ways to fall down, though. I liked the scene where Arbuckle, getting dressed, asked the cameraman to pan up so's as not to show his naughty bits (thank you, Mr. Cameraman). And of course, it's wonderful to see Coney Island of nearly 100 years ago. The Witching Waves sure looks like it would've been fun to ride.
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panzer the great & terrible
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Mouth Breather
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Arbuckle doesn't do much for me either, but it is fun to see Keaton before he developed the enigmatic character he became in his features.
Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious...
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mort bakaprevski
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Laughing Gravy
Nov 10 2011, 07:13 PM
I have never seen a Fatty Arbuckle film I like; his character is a fat retard and highly unlikable.
It's been years since I've seen one, but did Arbuckle play the same type of character in the films he made with Mabel Normand??
"Nov Shmoz Ka Pop."
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panzer the great & terrible
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Mouth Breather
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I wouldn't say he ever played a retarded guy. He was more like an innocent go-getter, a very rough draft for the character Lloyd played. After all, he was immensely popular before the scandal made him look menacing. The best of his pictures I've seen is "The Rounders" with Chaplin.
Life is just a bowl of cherries, it's too mysterious, don't take it serious...
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Sgt Saturn
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Laughing Gravy
Nov 10 2011, 07:13 PM
And of course, it's wonderful to see Coney Island of nearly 100 years ago. The Witching Waves sure looks like it would've been fun to ride.
Of course, this is part of the charm of films made "on location" long, long ago. It's as close as we can come to a time machine to see various notable (not not so much) as they once were.
The Ol' Sarge
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CliffClaven
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Most of the early comics -- especially at Keystone -- started out as mild sociopaths, given to girl-chasing (even when married), petty crime and other less than sympathetic behavior. Everybody was capable of being a bully, cad and/or thief; that's where the big slapstick laughs were. The only nuance was that you tended to root for the smaller or socially inferior ones.

In time they got the hang of developing likable characters, but traces of dishonest and even mean-spirited behavior lingered. Chaplin's little tramp was often a bit of a crook; and the Keystone habit of kicking people died hard. Keaton's character was usually honest, but perfectly willing to accept any wallets, property or female respect that accidentally fell his way. Langdon was babyish, but could be selfish and cruel in an innocent baby way. Even straight-arrow Harold Lloyd could be less that honest, especially when it came to impressing a girl. Sure, they were careful to frame themselves as well-meaning underdogs facing far less scrupulous adversaries. But that had to develop.

Point being, Arkbuckle's on-camera career ended before he got very far on that path. "Leap Year", a feature buried by the scandal, has him playing a rich innocent making an honest effort to get out of multiple accidental engagements. It's not a great film -- more of a stage farce as he gingerly juggles self-appointed fiancees -- but it hints at the kind of character he was evolving towards: Less the gigantic irresponsible schoolboy; more a playful but good-intentioned fellow who gets in over his head.
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