Fatty's Faithful Fido

While watching this movie I was amazed at how it can still be enjoyable after all these years. What was hilarious to audiences in 1915 spans time intact as to the laugh factor. While the plot is simple by standards of today this film shows that those early films were made to be part of a lasting medium. People involved in Fatty's Faithful Fido must have given thought to how audiences would react in years to come which showed great insight. Fatty is a riot. I really enjoyed the movie.

Fatty's Faithful Fido (1915)

*** (out of 4)

Fatty and his bitter rival (Al St. John) get into a fight but Fatty's dog Fido saves the day. Later in the evening the rival hires two thugs to jump Fatty but the plan backfires. This is a pretty good short that moves by pretty quickly and contains some funny stunts and a couple nice fight sequences. The highlight is certainly the dog, real name Luke, who steals every single scene he's in. There's a great chase sequence where the dog has to climb up a ladder and do various other stunts.

This is an excellent Fatty Arbuckle comedy with Al St. John, his wife at the time Minta Durfee playing the girl both want, and Luke the Dog playing the title role. Lots of funny stuff involving bricks, rooftops, a dummy, a cat, a cross to mark a target, a Chinese laundry, its owner and bath inside, and a massive fistfight. Marvel at all the falls Mr. Arbuckle takes here! See Mr. St. John constantly try to either get away from Fido or have Fatty get knocked out or choked! Watch Ms. Durfee occasionally defend herself against Al! And see Fido get distracted by a cat after chasing St. John up a roof! This is one of the best Mack Sennett/Keystone comedies I've seen so far. Most highly recommended for silent movie fans especially those of Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle!

Luke the Dog is a frequent co-star in Fatty Arbuckle's Keystone comedies. And, frankly, most every time the dog shows up, the movie seems a little better! Really--this isn't just because I am a dog lover but because the dog was an excellent actor--perhaps better than some of the OTHER co-stars! While Luke's best film is Fatty and Mabel Adrift (though IMDb does not list this film among Luke's filmography), this is still a nice little film worth seeing. This isn't because there's a lot to the plot apart from the dog--there's way too much slapstick involving Fatty and Al St. John hitting each other. But, this very simple slapstick picks up greatly when Luke joins in and chases Al up a ladder and across roofs! He's a heck of a dog and seeing a person do all this just isn't too interesting.

Luke the dog, engaging as always, is the highlight in this uneven but generally entertaining Keystone comedy. Although Luke is out of the action for much of the time, he still gets the best scenes, giving him a chance to show considerable resourcefulness and agility. The rest of it is hit-and-miss, combining some very funny moments with some stretches that are less entertaining.

The story has a familiar setup, with Roscoe Arbuckle and Al St. John playing rivals for the hand of Minta Durfee. St. John is helped of a crew of ruffians, but Arbuckle has Luke on his side, which makes it an even battle. Some of the more knockabout stretches are less funny, but there are some good highlights. Luke chasing St. John across the rooftops is probably the funniest, and there are also some good moments when St. John hires a henchman to get Arbuckle during a dance.

Part of the screen time is taken up with a stereotyped Chinese laundry owner played by Frank Hayes. Nothing at all against Hayes, whose distinctive appearance and style are a plus in any one-reeler. But the character is treated too roughly for those parts to be particularly funny.

The rest of it, though, is entertaining, and it has some good gags. It just would have been nicer to see more of Luke, since his scenes are both funny and engaging.