Coney Island

When you watch several Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle's movies in a row then you can notice that he was quite one note comedian, unlike his much more famous colleagues Charles Chaplin or Buster Keaton. In 'Coney Island' Fatty doesn't fight for the love of a woman, in this one he tries to evade his wife to spend the fun day at the luna park. Still, he meets gorgeous girl to whom he falls in love and again he has to fight off competition. At least 'Coney Island' doesn't include too much food fights, only couple of ice creams get thrown around, but Fatty still dresses up as a woman. This time he does it for the access into the bathing house.

Good enough to pass 25 minutes to get couple of laughs (mostly from Buster, though).

Considering the popularity of Roscoe Arbuckle, I have been disappointed by the few features I've seen him in. Coney Island is an OK 2 reeler, filmed at Coney Island in 1917. That's the major point of interest: Coney Island. Blah story that makes little sense is a series of badly done pratfalls on dry land and in the sea. Arbuckle dresses up as a fat lady but this gag goes nowhere. Buster Keaton is his rival for the interest of Alice Mann. Keaton (very early in his film career) is OK; Mann has weird hair. Worst of all is the grotesque Al St. John, as a bow-legged and toothless goon. He overacts and is repulsive. Agnes Neilson plays the wife (so why is Fatty chasing Mann?) and looks like a youngish Maude Eburne. Along with the plot less story, what's missing here (compared to Chaplin's and Lloyd's films of the same era) is precision. Arbuckle's many pratfalls are obviously staged and even when he's supposed to be getting hit, it never really looks like it--he just reacts. Keaton fares better here but has little to do. Also, while Chaplin, Lloyd, and Keaton all developed personae that fit their styles of comedy, Arbuckle has little to offer other than being fat. His character has no personality. Based on this lack and his 1921 "feature," Leap Year, I doubt that Arbuckle would have had much of a starring career as the 1920s progressed and film audiences grew more sophisticated.

If you enjoy low comedy, i.e. low to the point of downright crudity, with plenty of slapstick, strenuous mugging, cross-dressing, and general anarchy -- Congratulations, you've come to the right place! The two-reel comedy known as "Coney Island" is a prime example of the sort of rough-housing that made Roscoe Arbuckle one of the top comedians of his era, second only to Chaplin in popularity. It's also a good example of the kind of comedy Arbuckle would soon outgrow, thanks at least in part to his newfound colleague Buster Keaton, who influenced Roscoe to employ more low-key and sophisticated comedic elements in his work. But that would come later. Here, in this early appearance, Buster overacts as shamelessly as everyone else, uncharacteristically grinning, laughing, and even indulging in Stan Laurel-style weeping. In addition to his prominent role as Alice Mann's escort, Buster doubles as mustachioed policeman in the movie's climax (he's the cop relieved of his trousers by Roscoe in the jail house), and also acts as Alice's stunt double in the water slide sequence. They sure did keep the guy busy.

Like so many comedies of its era, this one is built around escalating rivalries over a pretty girl. Initially, Buster is Alice's Coney Island date, but he loses her to creepy Al St. John -- how humiliating! -- who in turn loses her to Roscoe, who must first ditch his homely wife. After various shenanigans at the amusement park Roscoe and Alice wind up at the beach, where they must "hire" bathing suits, and this is where things turn a little strange. Seeing as how there are no men's swim trunks on hand large enough to fit him, Roscoe pilfers and dons a lady's XXX-tra large swimsuit instead. Alice, who doesn't seem to find this turn of events the least bit odd, helpfully finds him a curly wig to wear. Roscoe is in drag for the rest of the film, even when flirting with yet another girl who crosses his path. Somehow, when Arbuckle performs this kind of shtick it's not only amusing but strangely innocent, which is not to say there aren't some weird undercurrents. Anyhow, it all ends in wild mayhem at the jail house, leaving the viewer exhilarated and a little dazed.

This is primitive stuff all right, but it has a number of things in its favor. When the film was made the star comics were young and healthy, and had every reason to expect bright futures ahead. Their exuberance comes across strongly. (I happened to watch this film back-to-back with a short comedy called The Railrodder which Keaton made in Canada more than 45 years later; the contrast between the grinning, muscular 21 year-old Buster we see here and the grizzled, exhausted yet still game old man he would become was harrowing and poignant.) In this Coney Island romp everyone is buff, happy, and full of mischief, and they look like they're having a blast.

For that matter, Coney Island itself looks pretty spiffy here and boasts some really cool looking rides, and that's another plus. This film serves as a historical record of the legendary amusement park in its prime, and it features several great shots that have turned up in various documentaries about the place. The Coney Island of 1917 looks almost as clean and well maintained as the Disney theme parks of today, and this too is poignant: I happened to visit Coney Island myself a couple of years ago, and I'm sorry to say it's not such a cheery place anymore. The only way to visit that bright and happy Coney Island, vicariously anyway, is by seeing this film.

...because I actually think this is one of better-plotted Arbuckle/Keaton/St. John comedies. The three main characters remain consistent throughout--Amoral Fatty, Hot-Tempered Al, and Put-Upon-but-Resilient Buster--and their story lines are nicely interwoven. Good use is made of Luna Park, and Newton's law ("every action has an equal and opposite reaction") is thoroughly tested. The two women, Agnes Neilson and Alice Mann, are both skilled actresses, in the Vaudevillian manner, and have a few nice little comic bits of their own. (Also, love that striped bathing suit!) Some of the Keystone Kop ("Comique Cop"?) business got a little tiresome for me, but whatever...I've still watched this picture about 5 times, and will watch it more once I actually buy the DVD.

Another symptom of my oncoming mental illness is that, after seeing a pile of these Comique things, I'm starting to think Al St. John is kind of cute. I guess he's an acquired taste, like beer, or arsenic, but you can't deny his slapstick ability. Watch the terrific head-spin he makes after Fatty pushes him into Buster at the bell-ringing stand. And I love the way he looks just like a terrier when he makes his "angry" face.

Part of the fun of watching these shows is not so much to laugh at the falls and fighting--I'm not sure they would have been considered so hilarious even in their own day. But to know that these are all real stunts, that the actors really could jump and tumble like that, is awe-inspiring. It's like watching Jackie Chan's stunts. And the Comique boys didn't have the help of CG tricks, and probably could only do a limited number of takes.

The Alloy Orchestra's soundtrack for the Kino DVD is problematic for a lot of people, but boy, that's a rollicking Luna Park theme. Just try to resist dancing or at least bouncing to it.

Coney Island (1917)

**** (out of 4)

Fatty Arbuckle travels to Coney Island where he competes with Buster Keaton for the heart of a girl, which leads to havoc. This is a wonderfully funny short that allowed Keaton to show off his grace as a physical comedian. The ice cream, fish fighting and waterslide gags are certainly the best. The laughs fizzle out towards the end but this is still hilarious.

You can view this short on The Forgotten Films of Fatty Arbuckle set, which features four discs worth of shorts as well as some nice extras. Remastered prints and new scores make this collection of films a must have.