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Fatty and Mabel Adrift
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Wikipedia article
'Fatty and Mabel Adrift' is a 1916 Keystone short comedy film starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, Mabel Normand, and Al St. John.
Plot
The story involves Arbuckle as a farm boy marrying his sweetheart, Normand. They have their honeymoon with Fatty's dog Luke, at a cottage on the seashore. At high tide that night, Al St. John (Fatty's rival) and his confederates set the cottage adrift. Fatty and Mabel awaken the next morning to find themselves surrounded by water in their bedroom, and the house afloat.
Cast
* Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle as Fatty
* Mabel Normand as Mabel
* Al St. John as Hiram Perkins' son
* Joe Bordeaux as Henchman
* Jimmy Bryant as Henchman
* Glen Cavender as I. Landem, Realtor
* Luke the Dog as himself
* Frank Hayes as Mabel's father
* Wayland Trask as Brutus Bombastic, Chief Criminal
* Mai Wells as Mabel's mother (as May Wells)
Critical response
'Variety' in its 1916 review gives the film a positive review, commenting that "the picture is amusing with some new and good effects, without the customary dose of messy slapstick one expects in a Keystone with these principals.""Fatty and Mabel Adrift" (film review) in 'Variety Weekly'. February 4, 1916. As was often the case in contemporary reviews of Arbuckle films, the direction of the film is singled out for praise, although it is not mentioned that Arbuckle himself is the director. The review mentions "a dandy lightning storm is a feature of the film and there are some pretty views of breakers rushing on to the shore." The review also contends that Al St. John's performance is not as good as his usual work for Keystone but adds, "The picture is a sure laugh maker and as it is fairly clean, it is the more worthy."
'Fatty and Mabel Adrift' was the closing movie of the 56-film Arbuckle retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City in April and May 2006. Prior to the presentation of this short, the event's curators cited the film as their favorite of Arbuckle's screen productions.[https://www.moma.org/calendar/film/909 "Rediscovering Roscoe: The Careers of 'Fatty' Arbuckle"], Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), Manhattan, New York, April 20May 15, 2006; curators' comments archived in MoMA's schedule of film offerings at that event. Retrieved February 27, 2021.
See also
* List of American films of 1916
* Fatty Arbuckle filmography
* Dave Douglas' Keystone (album), a new soundtrack for the film.
References
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