Roscoe Arbuckle
Actor · 1887 – 1933 · Smith Center, Kansas, USA
Roscoe Arbuckle (March 24, 1887 - June 29, 1933), widely known to audiences as “Fatty” Arbuckle, was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked with Mabel Normand and Harold Lloyd as well as with his nephew, Al St. John. He also mentored Charlie Chaplin, Monty Banks and Bob Hope, and brought vaudeville star Buster Keaton into the movie business. Arbuckle was one of the most popular silent stars of the 1910s and one of the highest-paid actors in Hollywood at the time. In one of the earliest Hollywood scandals, Arbuckle was the defendant in three widely publicized trials between November 1921 and April 1922 for the rape and manslaughter of actress Virginia Rappe. Rappe had fallen ill at a party hosted by Arbuckle at San Francisco's St. Francis Hotel in September 1921, and died four days later. A friend of Rappe accused Arbuckle of raping and accidentally killing her. The first two trials resulted in hung juries, but the third acquitted Arbuckle. The third jury took the unusual step of giving Arbuckle a written statement of apology for his treatment by the justice system. Despite Arbuckle's acquittal, the scandal largely halted his career and has mostly overshadowed his legacy as a pioneering comedian.
Movies22
Movie8.0DocumentaryTV MovieBased on the first centenary of the largest exporter of films in the world, that is Hollywood, is the story told by its protagonists, actors and writers and other people who made life in this business, interspersing images of famous movies.
The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies
1995 · 9 votes
Movie5.8Comedy"Fatty", a poor good hearted farm boy is deeply in love with Winifred, a farmer's daughter. A rich neighbor offers the farmer a large plot of land if Winifred marries his slow witted son Al. "Fatty" has less then one day to save heartbroken Winifred from the rushed ceremony.
Love
1919 · 9 votes
Movie5.3ComedyA young man transforms his uncle's palatial residence into a sanitarium only to end up paying back the money his patients gave him.
The Sanitarium
1910 · 3 votes
Movie6.9ComedyWesternWith little luck at keeping a job in the city a New Yorker tries work in the country and eventually finds his way leading a herd of cattle to the West Coast.
Go West
1925 · 160 votes
Movie7.0TV MovieFamilyIn this one-hour special taped between March 9-17, 1981, Lily Tomlin and Dudley Moore join the Muppets in a tribute to film classics. Kermit the Frog hosts the program, which begins with an all-cast rendition of "Hey a Movie!" from The Great Muppet Caper.
The Muppets Go to the Movies
1981 · 12 votes
Movie4.3DocumentaryBefore the G, PG and R ratings system there was the Production Code, and before that there was, well, nothing. This eye-opening documentary examines the rampant sexuality of early Hollywood through movie clips and reminiscences by stars of the era. Gloria Swanson, Mary Pickford, Marlene Dietrich and others relate tales of the artistic freedom that led to the draconian Production Code, which governed content from 1934 to 1968. Diane Lane narrates.
Why Be Good?: Sexuality & Censorship in Early Cinema
2007 · 5 votes
MovieComedyThe manager of a small town hotel installs a cabaret in an attempt to achieve the standard set by restaurants in the large cities. His effort is ludicrous because of the fact that his talent is all recruited from the help in the hotel. Roscoe, the cook, is forced to appear in a dress suit and when Al St. John appears from the bar there is a lively rivalry between the two for the applause of the crowd. Mabel, the waitress, vies with a professional dancer from the city. Into this setting comes William Jefferson, a polished sharper, who takes the innocent Mabel by storm.
Bright Lights
1916
Movie8.0DocumentaryThe whole world knows him. Burlesque comedy genius, popular actor, author, director, producer, composer, choreographer, Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977) used his talent to serve an ideal of justice and freedom. But his best scenario was his own destiny, a story written into the political and artistic history of the 20th century.
Movie5.7ComedyCharlie plays an actor who bungles several scenes and is kicked out. He returns convincingly dressed as a lady and charms the director, but Charlie never makes it into the film.
The Masquerader
1914 · 75 votes
MovieComedyA Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle & Mabel Normand comedy short. The film is considered lost.
The Alarm
1914
Movie6.4ComedyActionIn an attempt at greater efficiency, the chef and waiter of a fancy oceanside restaurant wreak havoc in the establishment. Adding to the complications is the arrival of a robber.
The Cook
1918 · 90 votes
Movie5.2ComedyRoscoe begins work on his new job as janitor of the Shortacre Building in New York. While performing his duties he enters the offices of a broker, I. Steele. The broker is out, but his wife, who knows that her husband expects a rich customer in with a check for $10,000 to close an option, mistakes Roscoe for this Mr. R.U. Stout of Showme, Missouri. Thinking to be of assistance to her husband in his business, Mrs. Steele is very affable and finally invites the supposed Mr. Stout to go to luncheon with her. Steele returns with the necessary papers and is told by his office boy that his wife has gone to a gay café with the new janitor.
His Wife's Mistake
1916 · 5 votes
Movie6.2ComedyCarter DeHaven announces that he will perform a series of "impressions." For each we see him applying makeup and changing the combing of his hair or putting on a wig. When he tilts his head down during each supposed makeover, up pops the actual celebrity (Keaton, Lloyd, Arbuckle, Valentino, Fairbanks, Coogan) he appears to have been making himself up as.
Character Studies
1927 · 14 votes
Movie5.8ComedyTo show his girl how brave he is, Pug challenges the champion to a fight. Charlie referees, trying to avoid contact with the two monsters.
The Knockout
1914 · 57 votes
Movie6.5DramaComedyA compilation featuring comedic stars of the silent era including Fatty Arbuckle, Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Charley Chase, and Laurel and Hardy.
When Comedy Was King
1960 · 11 votes
Movie5.9ComedyArbuckle escapes the watch of his domineering wife and heads for Coney Island. Keaton arrives that same day with his attractive, and rather easy, girlfriend, who is immediately stolen from him by St. John.
Coney Island
1917 · 77 votes
Movie5.7ComedyRoscoe's wife, tired of his endless drunkenness, reads of an operation that cures alcoholism and has him admitted to No Hope Sanitarium to get the surgery. Roscoe, wanting out, eventually disguises himself as a nurse to effect his escape.
Good Night, Nurse!
1918 · 59 votes
Movie5.5ComedyThe Tramp, a film Johnnie (someone who loiters near theaters or studios to meet stars or get a job), attempts to meet his favorite movie actress at the Keystone Studio, but does not win friends there.
A Film Johnnie
1914 · 78 votes
Movie5.5ComedyCrimeRoscoe is a doctor who falls in love with a pretty woman whose boyfriend, in turn, falls in love with Roscoe's wife's jewelry.
Oh, Doctor!
1917 · 55 votes
- Movie7.0Comedy
Al St John loves Lena, but he also loves to sleep. Will he get out of bed soon enough to take Lena from his dull rival, so he can have an argument with the girl where he cries "LISTEN, LENA"? Or will he roll back over, and later get busted by a mean cop for sleepwalking in his bed clothes?
Listen Lena
1927 · 2 votes
Movie6.0DocumentaryAn appreciative, uncritical look at silent film comedies and thrillers from early in the century through the 1920s.
Days of Thrills and Laughter
1961 · 3 votes
Movie6.4ComedyRoscoe and Buster give a bullying Strongman the what-for, but after the performance troupe quits it's up to Fatty and Buster to keep the show going.
Back Stage
1919 · 53 votes