La belle amie de Fatty

Fatty is a farmhand on the farm owned by Mabel's father. Their neighbor holds their mortgage and indicated in a letter that he would no longer collect rent IF Mabel were to marry his son (Al St. John). In many ways, this film is very reminiscent of another Arbuckle short, MABEL AND FATTY ADRIFT, as this also features Fatty working on the farm owned by Mabel's parents AND the neighbor, Al St. John wants to marry her. BUT, in MABEL AND FATTY'S SIMPLE LIFE, Mabel's father does want St. John to marry his daughter and what happens from there is very different. In fact, they are different enough that both films can be enjoyed, though MABLE AND FATTY ADRIFT is perhaps one of Arbuckle's greatest films, whereas this one is about average for the star (which is STILL good).

As Mabel's selfish Dad is trying to sell her off, she elopes with Fatty and there is a prolonged chase. Cute stuff worth seeing.

How strange to read that as the first title of a Keystone comedy! It's simple and human, which is not what one thinks of in the chaotic, monstrous world that Sennett supervised. Yet that is how it begins, with Mabel playing with farm animals like they are dolls, Roscoe clowning, and Mabel happy. Both of them are.

But there is always an actual story to a Keystone, and here it is: Josef Swickard is Mabel's father, and Al St. John's father holds the mortgage on the farm.... and Swickard needn't worry about it if Mabel marries St. John. And so there's poking, and kicking, and milk sprayed in peoples' eyes, and other gags of that nature. That's the thing about the shorts that Arbuckle and Normand appeared in in 1915: it was as much about the story and the characters as the gags, and the gags served to advance the story as much as make the audience laugh. Arbuckle was moving on from Sennett's simple formulas.

When TCM showed this recently, as picked by guest programmer John Landis, I was puzzled that Landis raved so about it.

Mabel Normand was a doll, a thoroughly likable woman, and probably the greatest female comic in early movies.

Roscoe Arbuckle was usually just a clot, surprisingly agile for one of his size, but seldom funny ... to me, anyway, but he was a big star in those early days so I guess many thousands did find him funny.

Al St. John, on the other hand, was brilliantly funny, most of the time, if he had any material at all to work with. (Supposedly he got into film just because he had nothing else to do at the time and, heck, he had an in: His uncle was the big star, Roscoe Arbuckle.)

Alas, this film gave them very little to work with.

Mabel had a couple good scenes, but mostly this movie just moved, but without any point.

You gotta see it, though, just to marvel at how comedy evolved.

This is a very enjoyable feature starring Roscoe Arbuckle and Mabel Normand, and its carefree slapstick style does not obscure a pretty good job of direction by Arbuckle himself. The story successfully blends some familiar elements with a couple of creative ideas, and the pacing works well, starting with an easygoing tempo and gradually building to a hilariously manic pace.

It starts with a setup that was also used in several of Arbuckle's other earlier movies, with Normand as the farmer's daughter who is in love with hired hand Roscoe, and Al St. John as the rich rival preferred by Normand's father. The first half features lots of light slapstick in the farm and farmhouse. Most of it of good quality, and it also builds up sympathy for the two main characters.

This sets up the extended chase in the second half, which is very funny and which packs a lot of good slapstick gags into a reel or so of film. Things move at breakneck speed, yet at no time does it seem out of control or pointless. It's an example of the Keystone style working at its best, with a free-wheeling feel that nevertheless must have involved good planning. The gags with the driver-less car and with the well squeeze an impressive amount of mileage out of a couple of simple ideas.

For fans of silent comedy, almost anything with Arbuckle and Normand has considerable appeal. But this is one of their most enjoyable features together.

Fatty and Mabel's Simple Life (1915)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Fatty Arbuckle and Mabel Normand wish to be married but her father promises her to another man so the two must try and find a way to run off. I gave these Fatty shirts a break last year after not really enjoying them and that trend continues this year. I'm not sure what it is but Fatty just isn't working with me and he's certainly not making me laugh. The film is just so dry that nothing really works, although there's a wonderful physical gag at the end.

Fatty's New Role (1915)

*** (out of 4)

A hobo (Fatty Arbuckle) is kicked out of a bar but the guests there decide to play a joke on the owner by saying the hobo was the notorious bomber who bombs the places he's thrown out of. This here manages to be quite funny thanks to the performances of the supporting cast who really sell the joke.