Top Five Gags: Cops

*Spoilers.*

March 11^th, 1922—the day Cops was released. This is of course a classic, though I always forget how short the iconic cop chase really is. While Buster has some run-ins with police officers throughout, it’s not until the last five minutes that the full-blown Keystone Cop pursuit starts. But it’s iconic for a reason—the majority of my favorite Cops gags come from that chase scene.

 

Turn Signals

Buster is trying to drive a horse and cart through the city. At first, he uses hand signals to announce his turns, but when a dog tries to bite his outstretched arm, he pulls on a boxing glove to protect his hand. He then does one better, attaching the glove to an extendable device on the side of his cart to make a mechanical signaling arm. This works great… until he passes a policeman directing traffic in the crosswalk. Buster manages to accidentally punch him twice with the boxing glove in less than a minute!

 

A Disguise

And it’s all chase-scene gags from here on out! Once Buster has the whole police force on his tail, he employs all kinds of evasions and deceptions to avoid capture. In this delightful sight gag, he clips his tie under his nose to disguise himself with an impromptu mustache. Hee!

 

Hiding in the Trunk

Buster had abandoned his horse and cart, along with all the furniture he was hauling, in the street when the cops started chasing him. Here, he circles back around and hides in a trunk as the cops rush by. Unbeknownst to him, one officer has observed him getting into the trunk. The cop locks it but doesn’t realize he hasn’t actually trapped Buster—the bottom has fallen out of the trunk, so when the cop tries to lift it up, Buster crawls right out.

 

Fast Getaway

Classic. Buster runs down an alley away from the cops, then grabs onto a passing car to get whisked away! He really was a marvel. It’s a shot that’s as whimsical as it is impressive.

 

The Ladder Seesaw

Another very famous gag. Buster has cops coming towards him from both sides of a wooden fence. There’s a tall ladder propped against the fence, so he climbs it, turning it into a seesaw that comes down on either side of the fence as he tries to avoid the cops. My favorite bit in this sequence is when he has a cop pulling on the ladder from the opposite side. Buster is trying to bring the “seesaw” down but he isn’t heavy enough, and he bounces up and down on his end, not realizing there are more cops creeping up behind him on his side of the fence, ready to grab the ladder and pull him down. So fun and imaginative!