He Did and He Didn't

He Did and He Didn't (1916)

*** (out of 4)

Extremely black comedy about an overweight doctor (Fatty Arbuckle) who eats too much and then dreams that his wife (Mabel Normand) is cheating on him. If you go through the films of Fatty Arbuckle then you're going to notice that he usually played soft, good guys but when he was given a chance to do something else he usually really delivered. This could be playing a hobo, a drunk or the rather crazy character here. I think this film works so well simply because it's something you're not used to seeing him do. There were a few funny scenes throughout but when it's not working in regards to laughs it still remains interesting just because of how dark it is and how it goes about trying to get laughs (murder, abuse and other dark targets).

This clever and amusing short comedy features engaging performances from Roscoe Arbuckle and Mabel Normand, with some good slapstick and entertaining story ideas. Al St. John also appears, in the kind of hyper-energy roughneck role that was typical of his earlier years.

Arbuckle and Normand play a doctor and his wife, and as usual they seem very natural in the role, showing the mutual affection and occasional peevishness that immediately tell us all about their marriage. They are joined by an old friend of the wife's (William Jefferson), and later they tangle with St. John's character.

The plot is purely lightweight, but it has some clever turns, it makes good use of the settings, and it provides Arbuckle and Normand with some good material, both in their interactions with each other and by themselves. The overall effect is a light but quite entertaining feature.

(1916) He Did and He Didn't SILENT COMEDY

Written, directed and starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle that has him being suspicious of his wife's infidelity. It is then viewers see bizarre scenarios some of which can be labelled as a dream while they can also be interpreted as thoughts.

Anyways, I may need to watch this one again as despite it's short running time, it still put me to sleep.

Once again a jealousy motif is used to set up a fast moving comedy involving a husband and wife (FATTY ARBUCKLE and MABEL NORMAND) and a visitor from her past who spends the night under their roof.

Fatty is the suspicious husband when he catches the two of them flirting in the parlor and from then on the plot takes on a few other turns involving robbery, guns and mayhem when burglars enter the scene.

Not the usual elements found in a typical Fatty Arbuckle short, and he does well as the doctor who harbors strong suspicions about his wife's behavior with her old boyfriend.

A clever ending adds a little more zest to the whole story.

Summing up: Passes the time pleasantly and it's fun to watch the well-timed physical comedy.

The first thing we have to say is, 'What happened?' Roscoe is still Roscoe,but toned down and not that funny. Mabel however is totally transformed. She is now a serious dramatic actress, and carries through the part very well. The problem is that she is now one of a thousand actresses, who did this type of work on a daily basis. She had become, as Charlie Chaplin later said, 'commonplace'. Good as the film is, her audiences were probably appalled - where was the Keystone Girl? Furthermore, what was everyone's favorite ingenue doing getting amorous with a man in her bedroom, while wearing a nightie? The very thought! From a mass-market point of view, films like this would have drained the very essence from Mabel, and ended her career. Fortunately, good sense prevailed, and Mabel was able to eventually produce funny, but dramatic, films under the good direction of the great Dick Jones. I can give 8 for the film, but only 4 for Mabel's performance - so 6 it is.