Arbuckle & Keaton: Volume One

The Original Comique/Paramount Shorts 1917-1920

Virtually unseen by contemporary audiences until now, these two reel shorts offer a priceless view of the slapstick antics of two influential legends.Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was at the creative zenith of his career, second in popularity only to Chaplin, while Keaton was stepping before cameras for the first time.

The Bell Boy (1918) has Arbuckle and Keaton as bellboys at a small town hotel, which they eventually (of course) completely wreck, The Bell Boy features Arbuckle's classic "Shaving Routine" where he progressively turns a Rasputin-like character into General Grant, Abraham Lincoln, and then into the Kaiser.

The Butcher Boy (1917) contains Arbuckle's famous "Knife Juggling" bit, Keaton's first film appearance in his classic "Can of Molasses" routine, and the 265 pound Arbuckle romping around in drag - with "Mary Pickford" curls no less - at an all girl private school.

Out West (1918) is Arbuckle's first attempt at movie parody - poking fun at the already clich