January
20th, 1918 – the day Out West
was released. Hard to enjoy as fully as
I’d like to, as there are a couple disappointing scenes of pretty racist humor,
but apart from those, it’s a solid western spoof. This is the first real Fatty-Buster team-up,
cementing their place as a comedy duo in the Arbuckle-Keaton shorts.
Fatty on the Run
Having
stolen his dinner from a trio of passengers, Fatty sidesteps their attempts to
chase him by jumping off the train. He
then coolly rolls and lights a cigarette, jumps back on at the caboose, and
calmly detaches it, all the while his pursuers are still running across the
tops of the other cars. Pretty slick
move by Fatty – I especially like the funny little cocktail-shaker move he does
to magically roll his cigarette.
Cure-All Liquor
Buster,
proprietor of the local saloon, has his own all-purpose “firewater.” In addition to drinking his liquor, he also
uses it to flush out his eyes (shudder) and later cleans his gun with it.
The Card Cheat
Fantastic
demonstration of Buster the unflappable saloon owner. When a card player shoots a cheater, Buster
glances at their respective hands and tells the shooter, “You would’ve lost
anyway.” Then, he casually rolls the
body into a trap door, drops in the flower from his lapel while doffing his
hat, and just as neatly shuts the trap door with his foot. His easy collectiveness just kills me.
Hands Up
A few
nice sight gags when the outlaws hold up the saloon, like the guy who sidles up
behind Buster to drink the shot he’s still holding in his upraised hand. My favorite, though, is the hands on the
clock moving to 10 and 2, also “hands up” – ha!
Horse Barfly
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