Top Five Gags: The Garage

January 11^th, 1920 – the day The Garage was released. Buster’s first film of the ‘20s was the last Arbuckle-Keaton short, and it’s a great one, filled with all kinds of Bustery mechanical gags. I had a tough time picking just five gags for this post, but here’s what I came up with (spoilers.)

In the Washtub

Fatty and Buster get into one of their usual “let’s throw things at each other and make as big a mess as possible” matches at the garage, and their boss gets caught in the crossfire. He’s knocked into a giant tub of water, and Fatty and Buster have quite the time getting him out. It involves both of them falling into the tub as well and just generally shoving him deeper into the water as often as they lift him out.

The Collapsing Car

When a customer fails to tip Fatty before renting a car, Fatty gets his revenge, giving the customer an old junker that falls to pieces before his eyes. This feels like a precursor to the awesome collapsing-car gag in Three Ages, so I definitely see Buster’s hand in this bit. The cherry is when all four wheels fall off at the same time.

Oil Everywhere

Molly’s suitor stops by the garage with flowers, but as he hides them behind his back, he accidentally and unknowingly keeps dipping them into a pan of oil where Fatty and Buster are working. None the wiser, he gives the flowers to Molly, and she immediately gets a face of oil. Lots of arguing and passing the flowers back and forth ensues, which of course results in everyone getting covered in oil. My favorite part of this gag is Fatty and Buster’s efforts to clean the suitor off, making things infinitely worse as they wipe him down with their oil-covered hands.

What’s a Man to Do without His Pants?

Buster’s pants have been torn off by a dog (don’t you just hate it when that happens?), and a scandalized woman who sees him rushes off to find a policeman. Buster first cuts a kilt out of a poster of a Scottish dancer and uses that to disguise his underwear, but when he turns around, he accidentally exposes the fact that it only covers him in the front. He then runs off, hiding behind Fatty until he can grab a pair of pants off a sidewalk rack. I love the move they do where Fatty lifts Buster as they walk, with Buster neatly slipping the pants on in mid-stride. Classic!

Ready for Action

Another gag that clearly has Buster’s hand in it. Fatty and Buster double as volunteer firemen, and they attach ropes to their blankets and pajamas at night. When the fire alarm rings, the rope system yanks the blankets off the bed and then pulls off Fatty and Buster’s pajamas, revealing their street clothes underneath. Bonus points for the way Buster spins down the fireman’s pole afterwards.

Top Five Gags: The Hayseed

October 26, 1919 – the day The Hayseed was released. As far as Keaton-Arbuckle shorts go, this one’s pretty middling and feels more meandering than usual, but it still includes some fun gags. Here are my favorites (spoilers.)

Horse Upkeep

Easy but delightful gag. Buster pulls up to the post office in the horse cart and then jumps down with an oil can to oil the horse’s legs. The execution is well-timed, with the horse bending each knee as Buster oils its joints, and bonus points for Buster ducking underneath the horse to get at the other side.

Dear Departed Whiskey

This gag is totally random, but it cracks me up. While making his mail deliveries, Fatty stops to pick some flowers and comes across an empty whiskey bottle. He immediately buries it, sets up a stone to mark the “grave,” and scatters his flowers over it. It’s funny enough as it is, but it now occurs to me that Prohibition would been starting close to the time this short was being made, making the “death” of this whiskey bottle even more tragic for Fatty!

Ring Size

Cut and clever. Fatty “discreetly” measures his girlfriend’s ring finger by jamming it into a piece of cheese. He then sticks a pickle in the hole her finger made, notes where it “fits” comfortably, and sends away for a ring, with instructions to fit it to “the third bump on the enclosed pickle” to ensure the right size.

Measuring the Suit

Fatty sends away for a suit as well, and he enlists Buster to help him with the measurements. While it’s an obvious comedy bit, that doesn’t stop the various bits of business within it from being a hoot. I especially like Fatty repeatedly knocking Buster on the chin as he sticks his arm out and Buster attempting to measure Fatty’s generous backside with a yard stick.

Cutting a Rug

At the town dance, Fatty and Buster take turns with an enthusiastic partner. First, Fatty spins her around the floor like a rag doll (at one point knocking Buster off his feet.) Then, when Buster takes over and the two of them stumble together, he does a backward somersault over the top of her as she goes down. Even in a so-so short, Buster’s comic acrobatics are something to see!

Top Five Gags: Back Stage

September 7^th, 1919 – the day Back Stage was released. It’s been nearly a year since I last did a 100 Years of Buster Keaton post, and it was only recently that it occurred to me why: this would’ve been the stretch of time when Buster was serving in World War I. While Fatty Arbuckle continued to make shorts throughout 1919, this would have been the first he made after Buster returned home. A classic, and for good reason. Tons of great gags (and stunts!), but these are my favorites (spoilers.)

The Traveling Star

The stagehands are used to dealing with actors’ egos at the theatre. They have a single star attached to a pulley system that they use to hang it over each dressing room door in turn. That way, each arriving actor thinks they’re the star. Ha!

Unfortunate Sign Placement

Fatty has pasted up a wall ad for a new show, involving the famous actress Miss Gertrude McSkinny performing in The Little Laundress. However, the placement of the words on the ad, combined with its position right next to a sliding door, means that when the door is open, half the sign is covered and what remains are the words “Miss Skinny Will Undress Here at 2 P.M.” I love me a good sight gag.

Dancing Fails

This whole sequence is terrific. The stagehands are trying to imitate a dancer in the show. Fatty gets in on the action first, doing pretty well until he crosses his ankles and they get stuck that way, leaving him teetering. But Buster’s contribution is great, too. Attempting a complicated move, he winds up staggering around the backstage area in a precarious limbo position, unable to straighten back up. The cherry comes when Fatty winds up with a broom to knock him off his feet; as Buster sits up, he shakes Fatty’s hand in a matter-of-fact display of gratitude.

Wrestling with the Barbell

More awesome physical comedy from Fatty and Buster. After getting an electrical current to hit the barbell as the strongman is lifting it, they’ve knocked him out and are now struggling to get the barbell off him. Neither is up to the task, and Buster of course ends up trapped on the ground with the barbell lying across his neck. His gravity-defying attempts to free himself are a total Buster move, while Fatty’s efforts to help are well-meaning but wildly ineffective.

The King and Queen

You can’t talk about Back Stage without talking about this sequence. Everything about Fatty and Buster playing the king and queen in the show is a delight: their overly-dramatic posing, Fatty catching the leaping Buster in his arms, and the two of them lounging by their “throne” with Buster systematically yanking out Fatty’s leg hairs. There’s also Buster’s amazing series of no-handed cartwheels, which isn’t really a gag but still deserves mention just for being so damn cool.