Love in Armor

Another flirting in the park comedy from Keystone, and still in a raw and chaotic form, sustained, for the modern viewer, by the careful editing -- at this stage, Keystone probably had the best editing in the industry. The slapstick is raw and unrefined, with many a kick in the backside.

Most interesting is the -- in the context of the Keystone mayhem -- naturalism of Charley Chase and the gorgeous Cecile Arnold as the young lovers. When Chase became a leading comedy star for Roach in the 1920s and the 1930s, he managed to combine that naturalism with a sharp comedy construction for some of the best comedy shorts of the period. Here, caught in the midst of the Keystone zanies, that makes him stand out as engaging and even funnier to the modern eye. The result, while not great, is worth a look.