Fatty's Faithful Fido

Luke the dog, engaging as always, is the highlight in this uneven but generally entertaining Keystone comedy. Although Luke is out of the action for much of the time, he still gets the best scenes, giving him a chance to show considerable resourcefulness and agility. The rest of it is hit-and-miss, combining some very funny moments with some stretches that are less entertaining.

The story has a familiar setup, with Roscoe Arbuckle and Al St. John playing rivals for the hand of Minta Durfee. St. John is helped of a crew of ruffians, but Arbuckle has Luke on his side, which makes it an even battle. Some of the more knockabout stretches are less funny, but there are some good highlights. Luke chasing St. John across the rooftops is probably the funniest, and there are also some good moments when St. John hires a henchman to get Arbuckle during a dance.

Part of the screen time is taken up with a stereotyped Chinese laundry owner played by Frank Hayes. Nothing at all against Hayes, whose distinctive appearance and style are a plus in any one-reeler. But the character is treated too roughly for those parts to be particularly funny.

The rest of it, though, is entertaining, and it has some good gags. It just would have been nicer to see more of Luke, since his scenes are both funny and engaging.