Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle Movies

A profile of Charlie Chaplin, most noted for his lovable "Little Tramp," from his childhood in England through his early career in vaudeville to his stardom in Hollywood. ~ All Movie Guide

One of a half-dozen comedy shorts that Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle made at Warner Bros. in the early 1930's, In The Dough is enjoyable slapstick in its own right, and also notable for featuring future character actor Lionel Stander at the very outset of his career, teamed up with none other than Shemp Howard as the leader and lead stooge, respectively, of a protection racket. Our rotund hero gets a job at a bakery and is doing well enough until the leader (Stander) of a local protection racket tries to muscle in on the business -- this sets off a series of altercations and misunderstandings that get more hysterical as they go along and also very messy, this being a bakery in a comedy short, with the inevitable lure of . . . edible missiles, of which there are many from which to choose. There's also a running gag involving a customer anxiously awaiting the baking of a rather large cake, and a related gag that we won't spoil here, except to say that this wasn't the first time it was used, and definitely not the last (that may have been on the Abbott And Costello television show). It's all good fun, albeit more gooey and sticky than "clean." ~ Bruce Eder, All Movie Guide

The second and last of Eddie Cantor's silent vehicles, Special Delivery casts the wide-eyed comedian as a hapless mailman. While going through his swiftly appointed rounds, Eddie stumbles upon a gang of crooks who are planning a large-scale confidence scam. He exposes the villains and wins the love of heroine Madge (Jobyna Ralston). Though Cantor was a fine physical comic, he didn't truly score in films until the arrival of talkies allowed his fans to hear as well as see him. Special Delivery was directed by "William Goodrich," who in reality was comedian Fatty Arbuckle, hoping to stage a comeback after the sex scandal that destroyed his career. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

The premise is clichéd -- it's the usual tale of a pretty girl from the sticks trying to break into movies -- but this satire gives it a number of unexpected turns. In addition, just about every star in Hollywood -- not just those at Paramount, the releasing studio -- has a cameo at one point or another during the film's eight reels. Ironically, nearly all of the lead actors are unknowns (although George K. Arthur would become a noted character comedian). Angela Whitaker (Hope Brown) of Centreville is convinced she has a chance in Hollywood -- all her friends tell her so. So she heads West with her Uncle Joel (Luke Cosgrave) in tow. But Angela has no luck in Tinseltown, while her uncle starts landing roles left and right because of his curious image. Eventually the rest of the family, including Angela's sweetheart Lem Lefferts (Arthur), her grandmother (Ruby Lafayette), and her aunt (Eleanor Lawson) come to Hollywood. All Angela's relatives get movie work because they're character types. Finally a screenwriter tries to help Angela out, but Lem winds up landing a role instead. He becomes a star, which suits Angela just fine because she has married him. The couple have twins, and the babies -- not to mention the couple's pet parrot -- wind up in films, while Angela remains at home. The most notable cameo in this picture is Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, who had been shunned in motion pictures since the 1921 scandal surrounding a Labor Day party that allegedly resulted in the death of starlet Virginia Rappe. Here he returns as a man standing in a casting line. When it's his turn to come up to the window, it is shut in his face and a "closed" sign put out. Unfortunately this gag turned out to be all too true; Arbuckle was not seen in front of a camera again until 1932. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide

Because of the scandal that befell comedian Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in 1921, his Paramount starring feature Gasoline Gus never received an American release. A pity, since the film was (from all accounts) his best feature-length vehicle thus far. Arbuckle of course plays the title character, a young man saddled with a phony oil well. Still, he manages to make a great deal of money off this fraudulent gusher, which inevitably proves to be the Real McCoy by film's end. Gasoline Gus was one of three Arbuckle features which were shelved by Paramount at great expense after the comedian was banned from the screen after his sensational rape trial (and never mind that he was acquitted). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This second of seven film versions of the old theatrical chestnut Brewster's Millions starred Roscoe Arbuckle, better known to his fans as Fatty. The rotund comedian plays a young lawyer who inherits a vast fortune. But in order to claim his legacy, he must spend a million dollars within a set time period. Adapted by Walter Woods from the play by Winchell Smith and Byron Ongley (which in turn was based on a novel by George Barr McCutcheon), Brewster's Millions had "box office hit" written all over it, and might have been as much were it not for the sex scandal that destroyed Arbuckle's career. The most recent incarnation of Brewster's Millions was lensed in 1985, with Richard Pryor in the lead. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

This is the final two-reeler that Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Buster Keaton made together. The two of them portray co-workers at a garage/fire house (guess which building, out of the whole town, catches fire?). This film shows a marked development in director Arbuckle's comedy; instead of frantic slapstick, the gags build slowly with a determined, but twisted, logic. Arbuckle and Keaton work seamlessly together, with a rapport that at times resembles the later comic duo Laurel and Hardy. After The Garage's completion, Arbuckle went on to make feature-length comedies, and Keaton began making his own two-reelers. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide