A Reckless Romeo

Just watched this Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle short, one that was lost for a while, on the DVD called "The Cook and Other Treasures". In this one, Arbuckle has arrived home drunk late at night and neither his wife nor her mother are happy about it. To make it up to them, he takes them to Palisades Park and leaves them alone while he goes off on his own. Bad idea since Fatty not only flirts with pretty women again, one of those women's boyfriend catches him and starts a fight. Not only that, newsreel cameramen catch it on film...Unlike his previous Keystone shorts, Arbuckle takes his time in giving gags as he paces the story enough so we're at least taking time to know his character who's a bit on the naughty fun side but still seems innocent despite it all. Kudos especially to his nephew Al St. John for playing the jealous boyfriend with all the subtlety of James Finlayson! (Loved especially his reaction to Roscoe near the end.) Wonderful slapstick set pieces throughout. So on that note, I highly recommend A Reckless Romeo.

The film was shot at Palisades Amusement Park in Fort Lee NJ (owned by Nick & Joe Schenck from 1910-1935) and also on Main Street in Fort Lee outside the exterior wall of the Triangle Studio which Arbuckle used to shoot films for Keystone in 1915-1916 such as He Did and He Didn't and The Waiter's Ball. Mack Sennet, who worked with DW Griffith in Fort Lee from 1909-1912 and formed Keystone Studio in Fort Lee in the summer of 1912 prior to the move west, sent Arbuckle to Fort Lee to his Triangle Studio in 1915-1916. Arbuckle directed and starred in some of his best shorts including some with Mabel Normand. Fort Lee was a crucial spot for Sennett in that he starred in and likely directed portions of the first American slapstick comedy, 1909's The Curtain Pole. This film by Griffith for Biograph, was also shot on Main Street in Fort Lee.

After a somewhat slow start, this 'Fatty' Arbuckle short feature picks up steam and is pretty amusing. It has Arbuckle as a somewhat restless husband trying to hide his escapades from his wife and mother-in-law. The first part has a couple of good gags, but otherwise things move a little slowly for the first few minutes. Then 'Fatty' really gets in a jam, and things pick up quickly. The second half has a film-within-a-film sequence that is cleverly done and that is also very funny, and this part works well. Overall, this is an entertaining comedy that any Arbuckle fan should like.

A husband gets his come-uppance after forcing himself on young women in a park. Better-than-average Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle vehicle which only features his sidekick Buster Keaton in a small role in which he is unrecognisable. Arbuckle's humour relied too much on his bulky frame and propensity for dressing up in women's clothes for my liking, but this one shows he didn't have to get in drag to win laughs. A violently knockabout fight in which he takes on four opponents at once is the highlight.

I had heard about Fatty Arbuckle for years but had never seen his movies until now. "A Reckless Romeo" is a funny one, starring the comedian as a husband who comes home drunk, causes some problems, and takes his wife to the park, where another mishap arises!

Thought lost for years, a copy got discovered and restored. We can now revel in it. Great stuff.

Watch for a young Buster Keaton.