Cops

This seems to be Buster Keaton's most popular short film. I prefer his films with more cinematically based comedy, such as in "The Playhouse", "The Frozen North" and "Sherlock, Jr.", but "Cops" is a very entertaining little film. It features a large comedic chase--chases, especially involving policemen, being one of the most regularly reoccurring devices in Keaton's oeuvre, especially in his two-reelers. Cops chased Keaton in "Convict 13", "Neighbors", "Hard Luck", "The Goat" and--in an escalated chase very similar to that in "Cops"--"Daydreams". My favorite Keaton chase, by the way, is the chase of the brides in "Seven Chances".

The comedic chase has a long cinema tradition, perhaps dating back to James Williamson's "Stop Thief!" (1901) or "Chinese Laundry Scene" (1895), the latter of which was based on a vaudeville act. Then, there were the Pathé comedies and those of Mack Sennett's Keystone, which were greatly derived from them. Keaton came from vaudeville and worked under one of the premiere early comedians, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, to begin his on screen career, so he was fully immersed in this tradition.

In "Cops", there are some good visual jokes that rely on film technique, such as following a close shot of Keaton behind bars with a reverse long shot that clarifies the opening scene. Keaton's mechanical inventiveness is demonstrated during the horse carriage sequence. And, there's plenty of physical comedy during the great chase finale. Keaton's sense of matured, restrained comedy is also important here, which is perhaps best characterized by his retained stoic expression throughout any chaotic misadventure. "Cops" is rather representative of Keaton's refined sense of what's funny and of his advanced understanding of film-making.

Lying in bed with a sore throat, I needed some cheering up. Buster Keaton didn't let me down. 'Cops (1922)' is generally typical of the comedian's two-reelers of the early 1920s, though with a lesser emphasis on the ingenious gadgets exhibited in 'One Week (1920)' and 'The High Sign (1921).' The film opens with Keaton apparently looking through prison bars at his sweetheart, until a clarifying shot reveals that it is merely the girl's front gate {Harold Lloyd seized this visual gag for the opening of 'Safety Last! (1923),' but he had a right to it – one scene in Keaton's film, whether unintentionally or not, resembles the manner in which a prop explosion decapitated Lloyd's hand in 1919}. After convincing himself to become a businessman, Keaton's Young Man goes on to show that he has the worst luck in the world. First, he is bamboozled into purchasing another family's furniture (by Steve Murphy, the pickpocket in Chaplin's 'The Circus (1928)'), and then gets caught up in a police parade, where, ever a victim of circumstance, he is wrongly accused of performing an act of terrorism.

Keaton loved ending his film's with an overblown chase sequence, whether it be the stampeding cattle in 'Go West (1925)' or the stampeding women in 'Seven Chances (1925).' In 'Cops,' our hero is pursued by hundreds of uniformed policemen, swinging batons and tripping over themselves. Here, Keaton really earns his title as the "Great Stone Face." The chaos and confusion of the pursuit is amusing enough, but even more so is Keaton's extraordinary lack of facial expression – he just runs, staring blankly ahead, like a man who expects his problems to dissipate as soon as he wakes up. Also incredible is the performer's physical dexterity, as he flips back and forth over a tall ladder balanced precariously on either side of a fence. Also watch out for Keaton regular Joe Roberts as the Police Chief, and recurring co-star Virginia Fox in a disappointingly brief role as our hero's love interest. Even an aching throat can't dampen the chuckles in this excellent comedy short. If laughter is, indeed, the best medicine, then I should be better by the morning.

Each film of Buster Keaton, for me, is support of reflection. "Cops" is not a reflection. But a sketch about motifs, choices, situations and fine art of birth of comedy. A film about manner to survive to adversary situations. And to build a form of happiness in the most inspired manner. The furniture, the horse, the cops and the innocent victim of unhappy situations are good pieces of a realistic and profound useful portrait of near reality. The same after almost a century.

What struck me most about this famous Buster Keaton short was not the overall entertainment value or the big chase scene at the end, but Keaton's amazing strength and physical prowess! This guy was incredible. He must have been an extremely strong, little man, an athlete with muscles like an Olympic gymnast. His feats on the ladder in this film show what I'm talking about here. He didn't use doubles in his films; this guy had not only comedic talent but astonishing physical strength and coordination.

As for the film overall, it was okay but not as super as I had hoped after reading a number of reviews saying this could be Keaton's best. Up to the last quarter of the film, nothing much happened. Virginia Fox, who I like, got second billing but her role was very minor in here.

The last five minutes of this two-reeler involve the famous chase scene where up to 100 cops wind up pursuing our hero. It was that kind of a day for "The Young Man" (Buster) when nothing, but nothing, went right for him!

We just don't have as much of this light, albeit subversive humor anymore. So in order to catch a new generation up, show 'em this short. It's packed with about as much running, bumbling cops as possible.

Keaton plays a man trying to become a business man to, you guessed it, win the affections of the beautiful young woman. Unfortunately, a series of misunderstandings and mishaps frames him as a bomb-yielding terrorist, and a parade (literally) of cops eager to hunt him down.

The humor is massive... if you'll excuse the pun. This short makes a delightful little companion piece to Seven Chances, only replacing the tide of pursuing brides-to-be with the just as eager and possibly more dangerous avalanche of an entire city's police force (of which Keaton manages to suitably tie up and lock down, of course).

It's known as one of his strongest shorts, and I must put my vote in the mix (even though I think The playhouse is his strongest short of all).

--PolarisDiB