At the tail end of the 19th century, Joseph “Buster” Keaton tumbled into a life of stunt work at the tender age of three joining his parents as the third member of their Vaudeville act, The Three Keatons. After being tossed around stage as his father’s prop, Buster quickly learned how to take a pratfall, as well as developing other skills of stunt etiquette. At the age of twenty-one, Buster left the family business in order to transition to the meteoric silver screen. Buster was immediately apprenticed to silent comedy veteran Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle as a fellow funnyman with vaudevillian beginnings. Arbuckle had been in the film industry for ten years prior to meeting Buster and was at this point, the lead actor, head writer, and director of short films for Paramount Pictures[1].
The Bell Boy (1918) was one of the first couple of silent shorts where Buster and Arbuckle worked exclusively side by side. Although Buster sees more screen time in this film than usual, he still plays second fiddle to Arbuckle. Buster and Arbuckle both two inept bell boys with various responsibilities ranging from the mundane, carrying luggage and mopping the floor, to the utterly ridiculous, artfully barbering and managing a horse drawn elevator gone awry. Essential to silent comedies of the time, there is also a romantic interest (played by Alice Lake) that both Buster and Arbuckle initially fight over, but then work together using an elaborate scheme to woo for Arbuckle. In this case, Buster and the hotel clerk, Al St. John stage a bank robbery so Arbuckle can heroically intervene and in doing so, sweep the girl off her feet. Of course, at the time of the feigned robbery a gang of brutish criminals actually hold up the bank.
This silent film, like Arbuckle’s other shorts, exemplifies his distinct comedic presence while showcasing the skill of his counterpart Buster. The heart of Arbuckle’s gags was in his robust, clumsy nature and the bizarre agility of his pratfalls. He believed in using simple and often predictable visual cues rather than complex ones for the sake of what he believed was the dim-witted moviegoer[2]. The first couple stunts consist of Arbuckle and Buster taking a fall after an unfortunate placement of luggage later followed by a similar tumble over a bucket of soapy water (a gag that resonates throughout the film). When a strange bearded patron checks into the hotel, Arbuckle offers him his barber services. In this sequence Arbuckle armed with comically large scissors and a straight razor transform this mystery guest into a dead ringer for Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant, then with a few snips he becomes Abraham Lincoln, and with a close shave finally Keiser Wilhelm (each caricature followed by a title slide leaving no doubt which painfully obvious historical depiction is which.) Meanwhile Buster and St. John are tumbling all over the heavily soaped floors. The most impressive stunt which takes places in the elevator, is one of the only opportunities Buster is able to show off his acrobatic prowess other than a brief moment of jumping over the bank walls to elude the criminals. The emphasis is still placed on Arbuckle as he repeatedly tries to push Buster back into the elevator car with a 2x4 before his head is crushed between the two floors. When the car falls back to the ground floor, the love interest is propelled into the air after stepping on the unfortunately placed board. Buster jumps onto Arbuckle’s shoulders and crawls up the wall to retrieve the girl from the moose head perch. Arbuckle catches the girl and then leaves Buster to fend for himself. Using the 2 x 4 as a springboard, Buster defies gravity and manages several masterful feats eventually crashing and knocking over St. John who has tried to saw the board in attempt to save him. After the arduous rescue from the moosehead, Arbuckle and his love interest Miss Cuticle who is the hotel’s manicurist skip the hotel’s work day to take a romantic carriage ride. At this point, the movie might have ended since Arbuckle is cozy in the carriage and gets a kiss from Miss Cuticle.
In order to further secure his love interest affections, Arbuckle devises a plan to which he can emerge as a hero by foiling a robbery. The plot takes a departure to the absurd as Arbuckle enlists the aid of Buster, his bellboy counterpart, and hotel clerk, St. John. Director Arbuckle demonstrates his comedic sensibility in this next scene. Buster in league with St. John are behind the hotel counter preparing for their scheme by throwing pick axes, shovels and all manner of tools from a seemingly endless arsenal. Once outfitted, our two bungling burglars head to the bank where they encounter the real criminals. Delayed by the encounter, Buster and St. John fly around the bank like gymnasts. Of course, you might wonder how they will finally reconnect with Arbuckle who seems to be doing quite well on the dance floor with Miss Cuticle. Arbuckle ventures into the bank we assume to check on the progress of his wayward friends. And after another scuffle, and two ceramic pots to the face, Arbuckle sends the buglers out of the bank by ripping a door off its hinges and throwing it at the lot of them. After an elaborate chase scene, they are apprehended in the hotel lobby and Arbuckle is rewarded with glory, a cash reward, and the affection of the girl he was attempting to impress.
This film is very important to Buster's history as this one of the first films where Arbuckle lets Buster assume a major role. Arbuckle excels by using his stature in simple rough and tumble gags with little to no deviation (except for a brief bizarre nod to pop culture icons in the barber shop scene). Seemingly limited by straight-man role, Buster still wows with the aerobatic feats and stupendous stunts all the while carrying a slightly melancholy expression that hints at something more. Although Arbuckle and Buster have distinct comedic styles (taking note that Buster's is still developing and Arbuckle had the last say as writer and director of the film) they seamlessly complement each other by providing the audience with separate but necessary visual elements. While Arbuckle has found his niche in silent comedy, Buster will go to create more complex and profoundly athletic stunts while further developing his signature stone face expression and soulful eyes that continues to captivate audiences, commanding their attention to hang on every hint of a smile, frown, or sigh.
Bibliography:
[1] Keaton, Buster, and Charles Samuels. "Ch. 1." My Wonderful World of Slapstick. New York, NY: Da Capo, 1982. Print.
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