Buzzin' Around

Buzzin' Around (1933)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The second film in Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle's comeback has him playing a farm boy who creates a special liquid that when applied to dishes makes them unbreakable. He goes to take this into the city so that he can make some major cash but he ends up taking the wrong stuff and all sorts of trouble follows. BUZZIN' AROUND isn't a masterpiece and it can't hold a candle next to the classic Arbuckle pictures but for the most part I found it to be mildly entertaining thanks in large part to the star. He manages to really come across as likable, which is something that made his silent pictures so entertaining. You certainly believe him as this farm boy who creates this special chemical and we're given several funny situations where Arbuckle simply gets to use his charm for laughs. I think the highlight of the picture is when he gets his car attached to that of a rich man and what follows is certainly full of laughs. Another funny sequence involves what happens once he finally gets to the location wanting to buy his chemical. The weirdest moments are at the start of the picture when Arbuckle comes under attack from bees. The special effects, using animation, are weak to say the least but at the same time you've never really seen this type of comedy attempt. Al St. John is good as well in his supporting role.

A ROSCOE `FATTY' ARBUCKLE Comedy Short

A farm boy invents a solution that prevents china from breaking. He eagerly heads off to the Big City to show off his discovery. But when a swarm of bees start BUZZIN' AROUND his jalopy, all manner of chaos begins to break loose...

Roscoe Arbuckle (he hated the nickname of `Fatty') was one of the silent era's most beloved comics. At the apex of his fame he rivaled even Chaplin in popularity. But in 1921, Roscoe became the victim of Hollywood's first great scandal. Accused of raping & causing the death of a young harlot starlet in San Francisco, he was forced to endure the hideous ordeal of 3 criminal trials. Even though the final jury fully exonerated him, he was hounded by the media, and his career was all but destroyed.

But Roscoe was not completely finished in films. Sympathetic friends arranged for him to appear in 2 cameos, and from 1925 to 1932, under a pseudonym, he directed 28 comedy shorts. Finally in 1932 he signed with Vitaphone to appear in 6 shorts, under his real name. BUZZIN' AROUND, released in February 1933, was the last of these. It was to be his final film appearance.

In June of 1933, because of the success of the shorts, Roscoe signed with Warners to begin starring in feature films. His long years in the Hollywood Wilderness over, Roscoe was delighted. Tragically, he died in his sleep of a massive heart attack a few hours after signing the contract. He was only 46 years old.

Fortunately, since it was to be his cinematic farewell, BUZZIN' AROUND is quite a funny film. Played like a silent short with sound & dialogue, Roscoe is in his element. Amazingly graceful for a man of his size, he provides solid laughs, along with his sidekick Al St. John & Pete the Dog, from the OUR GANG films. Although amusing, it is an ultimately sad experience to watch, leaving the viewer wondering what was lost to the movies because death, tragedy & scandal intervened.

Farm boy Cornelius (Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle) invents a liquid coating which makes anything unbreakable and bounce. He gets a request for a demonstration. His brother Al accidentally switch the jars. A bee hive falls into his vehicle. He swallows a bee. Things keep happening causing non-stop chaos.

First, that's the Target dog. I wonder if there is a copyright situation. I've only seen a couple of Fatty Arbuckle movie and this is probably the best so far. It's one of his comebacks and as a talkie, it has his voice. With nephew Al, they look like Laurel and Hardy. It's a lot of slapstick and mindless destruction. I don't mind it. It's lesser Laurel and Hardy with the Target dog.

This is a very mediocre film at best. And, considering this is one of the last films by the legendary Fatty Arbuckle, that's pretty sad. In his heyday (before the scandal that torpedoed his career), Arbuckle's comedies were among the best of the silent era--showing great imagination and finesse. However, all the originality and charm of his old films is barely noticeable here--even if he is teamed up with his old supporting comedian, Al St. John (Arbuckle's real-life nephew). This is because some gags are just not funny (the way too long and poorly done bee bit) and others are just recycled from other films (such as Arbuckle's following a policeman in order to keep the tough guy from slugging him). The end result just looks very tired and a mere shadow of his former glory. Like the old saying goes, "you can never go back". Too bad--as I really wanted to like this comeback film.

Roscoe Arbuckle has invented a liquid that, when painted on pottery, makes it bounce instead of breaking. He's on his way into town to show it off to manufacturers. However, Al St. John has accidentally switched a jar of hard cider for the invention, and a nest of angry wasps has fallen into Roscoe's car on the way in.

It's a funny and old-fashioned comedy, full of slapstick and sight gags, and sound gags too. More than that, it was a way back for Arbuckle, who had been banned from appearing in the movies after he had been acquitted of murdering Virginia Rappe. Yes, that's right, acquitted, with an apology from the jury. For more than ten years he had worked as a comedy director under a false name. Now Warner Brothers was giving him a chance to appear in front of the camera again in six shorts.