Y'know, usually silent movies drive me a little batty. Charlie Chaplin makes me crazy -- he had to do every joke twice and he's too busy making a social statement. Buster Keaton is more interested in showing off the stunt than making you laugh. Harold Lloyd's character always seems a little too sad to be really funny.
But there's something about Fatty Arbuckle that just works for me. He's just silly and he doesn't seem to go over the top just to show off. Most important, I think, is that his characters don't seem lonely the way Chaplin Lloyd and Keaton's do.
Whatever, the reason, Arbuckle meets the real test...he makes me laugh more than the others. Particularly in this film, which has a nice little narrative and, like most really good silents, needs almost no text cards between scenes.
But there's something about Fatty Arbuckle that just works for me. He's just silly and he doesn't seem to go over the top just to show off. Most important, I think, is that his characters don't seem lonely the way Chaplin Lloyd and Keaton's do.
Whatever, the reason, Arbuckle meets the real test...he makes me laugh more than the others. Particularly in this film, which has a nice little narrative and, like most really good silents, needs almost no text cards between scenes.