Bangville Police

Very simple, very short Keystone Kops film, about a farmgirl who causes panic when she thinks she spots a couple of burglars. Not as raucous as the wilder Kops films, and thus not as funny. An interesting relic of more primitive times, but in truth this is throwaway fodder.

To appreciate why this comedy is so very funny, you need to stop and think about the story: a youngster, home alone. Gangsters come and break in. Desperately the child calls on the phone for help. Parents race to save the child. No, it's not HOME ALONE, it's several of D.W. Griffith's better known shorts. In THE LONELY VILLA, it is the phone that provides the call for help, and daddy races home in an auto. In THE GIRL AND HER TRUST, she is a telegrapher, and help comes on railroads.

Yes, indeedy. THE BANGVILLE POLICE is a lampoon of a contemporary genre, just like the SCARY MOVIE franchise. And while the police force took on a life of its own, it had its origins in the works of Griffith, for whom Sennett had worked for years, and whom he called 'the Master'. Even if Griffith rarely put cows in his pictures.... at least, not as major supporting actors.

Bangville Police supposedly marked the debut of the Keystone Kops, named after the studio they worked for. In this one, however, they don't dress in the silly cop costumes or drive the fast-paced car that's their trademark. Anyway, Mabel Normand is a farm girl here who's begged her dad for a calf. She later sees some strange men in the barn and quickly calls the police. One answers and the chase is on. Next, Mabel slams her door just as someone is coming in. Turns out it's her mother who jumps to the conclusion robbers are in there! So while Mabel blocks her door with furniture, the mother and father try to fight their way in! This was perhaps the most amusing part of the short along with some explosions of the cop car. This was a short 7 minutes that went by so fast it's over before it's begun. The only real characterization that's developed is Mabel's who exudes charm with just her face and big eyes and seems so optimistically cheery here except, of course, when she's frightened. It's easy to see why she became a star. It's largely because of her that I'd recommended seeing this at least once and why I'm giving this a 4.

Mabel Normand recruits the mad Kops to get rid of strangers in her barn; this is a very short piece (around 7 minutes) which isn't as frenetic as some of the others in the series. Normand has a fair bit of emoting to do and the Kops get their chase, but overall it feels like there is something missing.

This seems to be one of the most common Keystones out there, and is usually regarded as the first appearance of the "Keystone Kops" (their actual first appearance was in 1912's Hoffmeyer's Legacy). This is a pretty good half-reel comedy with a good plot line for a 7 minute film. Mabel, the daughter of a farmer (played by Nick Cogley), asks her father if she can have a baby calf. Later, she sees two mysterious men entering the farm and thinks they are burglars. She hides in a shed and phones the police, who are led by a portly, doddering old bumpkin. When Mabel's mother tries to enter the shed, Mabel blocks the door causing the mother to think a burglar is hiding inside! The police rush to the farm to catch the supposed burglars. Mabel's parents learn it was her hiding in the barn, and the strange men were actually delivering a baby calf.

These aren't the legendary Keystone Kops most people are familiar with. They're really just a militia here; a group of country folk who carry guns and shovels and defend their small town when needed. Ford Sterling is funny as a skinny little hick who rounds up all the "cops", and Fred Mace as the police chief is the highlight of the whole film.

Overall, this is a good film that you should have no problem locating a copy of.