SFCINEMATHEQUE

X

Bellboy (1918) by Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle

Sunday, April 10, 1988, 8:00 pm

The Slapstick Delights Of Keaton & Arbuckle

SAN FRANCISCO ART INSTITUTE

800 Chestnut Street

San Francisco, CA, 94133

Roscoe (Fatty) Arbuckle was one of the most popular figures of early silent film, making one- and two-reel comedies filled with spontaneous gags and general insanity. Eclipsed by succeeding artists like Lloyd and Langdon, he was nevertheless an important influence on them. He is also notable for introducing and training one of the greatest of them all, Buster Keaton. Tonight’s program features several rarely seen Arbuckle-Keaton collaborations. Enjoyable simply as a chronicle of the meeting point of the two comics, they are also historically significant in their portrayal of Keaton’s transformation from vaudeville actor to visual genius.

Films: The Butcher Boy (1917), Bellboy (1918), Goodnight Nurse (1918), Out West (1918)