Top Five Gags: Coney Island

October 29^th, 1917 – the day Coney Island was released.  This might not be the funniest of the Fatty Arbuckle shorts, but it’s still a good time.  What’s more, I think it marks when Buster’s niche really gets carved for the first time.  He’s still maybe a tiny bit outside the proceedings (going forward, Fatty and Buster present as a duo/team more often than not,) but he’s featured quite a bit and is getting more into the persona he maintains through the later shorts.  In the earlier ones, he feels a little more generic and is just kind of used as needed, but starting here, he seems like a much more integral part of the shorts.  As such, you’ll notice that more of my Top Five Gags are specifically Buster-related.

Watching the Parade

An easy laugh, but a good one.  Buster shimmies up a pillar to get a good view of a parade over the heads of the crowd; however, his plan backfires when he applauds and, no longer gripping the pillar, tumbles back down to the sidewalk.  Bonus points for the actual moment of Buster clapping.  Not sure if he was rigged up at all or if he was simply staying up by clenching his legs around the pillar, but he’s suspended in midair for a moment just before he falls.  It’s like a Looney Tunes cartoon come to life!

On the Waves

Al snags Buster’s girl, and Buster follows them down this lazy-river-style ride.  There’s no actual water involved – they’re on some kind of track that undulates and propels their “boats” along – so when Buster catches up to them, he jumps out and picks a fight with Al in the middle of the “river.”  But when Al knocks Buster on his butt, Buster drags himself to a nearby “dinghy” and clings to it needlessly.  Terrific sight gag!

Hammer and Bell

There’s plenty of good business surrounding the strongman game, but Buster’s little confrontation here (with Al again) is my favorite.  After Al gives Buster a kick, throwing off his hammer strike, Buster takes a swing at Al with the hammer and whiffs it, offering up one of those awesome revolving flips he does where he flies into the air and does a complete 360 before landing on his bottom.  It’s a classic Buster move, and I enjoy it every time he does it.

In the Changing Room

Nice little breaking-the-fourth-wall moment, with a little cheekiness thrown in.  Fatty, preparing to change into his swimwear, suddenly catches sight of the camera as he’s about to undo his pants.  Giving it a sheepish grin, he then gestures for the camera to angle upward, shooting him only from the waist up for the remainder of the shot.  It reminds me a bit of the moment in One Week where the cameraman puts his hand over the lens when Sybil Seely rises from the tub to retrieve to the soap.  Good little bit of pre-code humor!

Catching Al’s Eye

Fatty, for Reasons, has wound up on the beach dressed as a woman, and it only takes one look for Al to be smitten.  Now, this is a drag comedy bit as old as time, but the reason I like it is that it flips the usual expectation.  Rather than being panicked at Al’s affections and trying to get away without revealing himself, Fatty thinks it’s hilarious and encourages Al, inviting Al to come sit by him and batting his eyelashes but good.  Buster coming along to expose the trick with the aid of a trusty fishing pole is a perfect capper.