Fatty bistro

This is a pretty weird parody of Westerns by Fatty Arbuckle and Buster Keaton. Unlike some of their other films together, Keaton actually plays a larger supporting role.

The film is full of bizarre and violent jokes that kind of work but are a bit atypical of what you'd expect from these usually sweet comedians. At one point, a guy is obviously cheating at poker and bystander Keaton shoots the guy about 5 times and then opens a trap door and kicks the body inside and slams down the lid! THAT was certainly unexpected! Later, Fatty displays gunsmanship that would make anyone proud--if we'd have had him in WWII, the war might have only lasted a week! All in all, a strange but funny departure and worth seeing just for its weirdness.

The year 1918 became a very lucrative year for director/writer/actor comedian Roscoe Arbuckle. Receiving the rare opportunity to operate his own production studio under a major motion picture company's umbrella, Arbuckle, by his proven popularity, was able to renegotiate his contract with Paramount Pictures to one of the highest financial pacts in Hollywood at the time. He signed for three million dollars to make 18 two-reelers within three years, putting his salary in the stratosphere with the likes of Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford.

In late 1917, he transferred his Comique production team from New York City to California for better weather and a more diverse typography. He utilized the new environment to great use in his first film on the West Coast in January 1918's "Out West." Arbuckle constructed an entire Old Western town to serve as a backdrop to his and his surrounding cast's antics. He plays the town saloon's bartender while Buster Keaton is its sheriff and Al St. John serves as the bad guy, Wild Bill Hiccup.

"Out West's" story was composed by Keaton's future wife, Natalie Talmadge, who used every Western movie cliche to poke fun at the genre. From a train chase to a gang of mischievous baddies disturbing the town, "Out West" contains every element that made Westerns so popular for movie goers.

Criticism has been heaped on "Out West" for one particular insensitive scene where the only purpose is to introduce heroine Alice Lake, a Salvation Army worker, who stands up to the saloon's bullies against a defenseless African American. Otherwise, comedies on the Old West don't get any funnier than this movie and is on par with Mel Brooks "Blazing Saddles."

Much of the material in "Out West" works well, at least as long as you understand its intent. It combines some of the usual Arbuckle/Keaton slapstick with a satirical look at some of the conventions of the Western genre of its time, and it has a decent variety of scenes and settings.

The story starts off with some amusing antics by Arbuckle on a train, and then goes on from there as he meets up with the other characters. Keaton gets some good moments, and Arbuckle regular Al St. John has a funny role as a villainous gun-slinger.

They take some chances with some of the material, and it's easy to see how today's audiences could misinterpret it. There are a couple of morbid gags that work pretty well, but there are a couple of other things are just not at all funny now, even given that they were parodying the Westerns of the time.

Overall, it has some good moments that most fans of Arbuckle and Keaton would enjoy, but there are other parts of it that even their fans will probably find somewhat uncomfortable.

The best part of the whole short--Roscoe's routine: the famous one-handed cigarette roll, striking the match on the train, then leaping into the caboose as the train speeds by--in less time than it takes to read this. Worth the price of admission alone!

In the Old West, drifter Fatty teams up with saloon owner Buster Keaton to rid the town of Wild Bill Hiccup (Al St. John). Enjoyable romp filled with inventive gags which sees both Arbuckle and Keaton on top form as they lampoon what were already Western cliches.