Top Five Gags: Out West

January 20^th, 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

Okay, so I don’t know why Fatty empties around three liquor bottles into a horse’s water bucket (he’s just kind of puckish that way,) but the results are pretty great.  After putting its hoof up on the bar’s foot rail, the horse staggers out in the most spectacular way.  Buster’s career features all kinds of great horse gags, but this might have been the most talented individual horse who ever appeared in the same film as him.  Sorry, fashion-conscious horse from The Blacksmith!