Fatty’s Tintype Tangle
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This film has been preserved in the National Film Registry in 1995. | ||
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Fatty's Tintype Tangle is a 1915 comedy short film (2 reel). The movie stars Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle (who also directed), Louise Fazenda, Edgar Kennedy, Minta Durfee and Frank Hayes. Arbuckle performs several feats of dexterity in the first few minutes and, near the end, runs and bounces on 17 closely spaced apparent telephone wires over 20 feet (6 m) above the ground.
Why It Rocks
- At the peak of his fame, Roscoe Arbuckle was one of the best-loved comedians in the country. He officially began working at Keystone in 1913, where he devoted himself to film, which was then a new medium. As a way to stand out in the flood of screen comedies, Arbuckle branded himself for moviegoers, with his characters being brash but intelligent, outgoing but still shy, inventive but prone to weakness. Comedians like Arbuckle and Chaplin helped refine knockabout slapstick.
- With this short being 2-reels rather than one-reel, it gives comedians more opportunities to explore more elaborate narratives or character development. This two-reeler is basically two one-reel shorts that are only vaguely attached with similar situations. In the first half, an innocent encounter photographed out of context makes it look like Fatty is cheating on his wife with a married woman, which unleashes this jealous fury of Fatty's harpy of a wife and the girl's burly Alaskan husband. The second half has these combatants relocated to a hotel, in adjacent rooms, where they can continually bump into one another in a state of constant misunderstanding.
- This short is typical for its time, as it features a philandering husband, a jealous wife, a suspicious mother-in-law, assorted rubes, a suspicious cop, a sunny day in the park, minimal sets and props, a functionally placed camera, and the story devolving into pratfalls and slapstick at every opportunity. But Arbuckle, who was determining the content and style of his films at this point in his career, carefully established his characters as individuals with distinct personalities. Unlike a lot contemporary comedies, the story makes narrative sense, with scenes that build tension as Arbuckle cuts from one story line to another. This may have something to do with the fact that it's a two-reel short rather than one, as mentioned in the previous pointer.
- While the camerawork could have been handled better, the look of the film is exceptional with gags staged clearly and chases put together logically. The performances are restrained by slapstick standards, and the actors are always aware that the characters they are playing are trying to maintain semblances of dignity. Everyone involved seems to be delighted to spin comedy out of the tiniest of plot ideas. Like Arbuckle’s best shorts, the joy and excitement in this short is very clear.
- The climax of the movie features Fatty on the high wires, walking, running, jumping, and bouncing along for a minute or more, which is a very impressive stunt, as well as a famous one.
Bad Qualities
- It's a minor nitpick, but the camerawork tends to be a bit perfunctory.
The Film