His Wedding Night

Buster Keaton posing after trying on the wedding dress is hilarious, and worth the price of admission. Roscoe Arbuckle using chloroform to knock a woman out and then kiss her is not. Giving the black customer charcoal as a skin product was regrettable too. On top of those things, not much of the exaggerated antics work, e.g. The rival for the woman's affections choking people and trying to gnaw their faces when angry (Al St. John, Arbuckle's real-life nephew). Arbuckle tries to get the most he can out of each bit though, like randomly taking a sip from the gasoline pump as if it were a garden hose at the end of that scene, or sticking his head between the donkey's legs from behind in the effort to get it to move. He's not that appealing, but it's watchable for Buster Keaton. Just seeing Buster smile and wink at the end in this pre-Great Stone Face period was fantastic.

This is another hilarious offering from Arbuckle, who plays a drugstore clerk in love with the pharmacist's daughter Alice (Alice Mann). Al St. John plays Fatty's rival for Alice. Buster Keaton plays a delivery boy who brings the wedding dress via bicycle. Buster models the wedding dress. St. John, thinking Buster is Alice, has his gang kidnap her ... er, him. This sets up a wild slapstick finish at the home of the Justice of the Peace.

There are crazy stunts galore in this two-reel film.

Some of the scenes probably could not be done today. Fatty pours chloroform into a perfume bottle and waits for a female customer to spray herself. He then springs a kiss on the unconscious girl. However, the gag is reversed somewhat when another female is apparently immune to the spray, and even drinks from the bottle. Another gag involves a male customer who is wildly effeminate. Also, St. John tries to choke out Alice.

For me, the cleverest gag is when Buster first arrives at the drugstore, and his eye is twitching. Fatty takes this as a "wink," winks back in understanding, and pours Buster a beer.

Buster Keaton got his start in movies alongside Fatty Arbuckle. Keaton obviously ended up more famous due to the collapse of Arbuckle's career following a scandal. Nonetheless, their collaborations were usually enjoyable. An example is 1917's "His Wedding Night". It's basically an excuse for them to pull a series of zany gags, one involving a watermelon.

One of the most famous things about this short is that we get to see Buster Keaton smile, one of the rare instances when he did so onscreen. But even beyond that, it's just a funny short. It just goes to show that talent is main thing required to make any performance work. You're sure to enjoy it. Available on Wikipedia.

Compared to the previous short I watched that starred Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle with Buster Keaton in support, His Wedding Night isn't all that funny though there are a few good laughs like when Roscoe changes the gas from 26 cents to $1.OO when a limousine arrives or when there's a food fight between him and his rival Al St. John for a girl's hand. Things really pick up when Buster arrives with the wedding gown as he first does a hilarious flip when he stops his bike and then-after trying the gown and keeping it on-he gets kidnapped by St. John and a couple of henchmen! There's also a mischievous scene when Arbuckle steals a kiss from a female customer while she's fainted from chloroform that Roscoe put in a perfume bottle that I was amused by. Otherwise, besides some boring spots there's also some racist humor on a couple of people of color that marred some of the enjoyment. Still, for all that, His Wedding Night was pretty enjoyable and I say this one's worth a look.

His Wedding Night (1917)

** (out of 4)

Fatty once again has to fight for the woman he wants to marry. Going through these films in order I've noticed that each one basically has the same storyline and always has a food fight. This is getting a tad bit boring but Buster Keaton has a small role and brings some laughs.

Oh Doctor (1917)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Dr. Fatty gets in trouble when a woman he flirts with turns out to be a thief with his wife's jewelry on her mind. The best aspect is Buster Keaton playing Fatty's son and being constantly abused by daddy.

Out West (1918)

*** (out of 4)

Spoof of the western genre has Fatty Arbuckle landing in a small town being over run by thugs. Buster Keaton plays the timid sheriff. There are minor laughs throughout the film but it really works due to its wonderful charm and the fact that the spoofs work for westerns even made within the past few decades. There's some off colored racial humor, which might insult some.