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The Rough House is a 20 minute short written, directed, and starred by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Buster Keaton. It follows a series of shenanigans that occur at the house of Mr. Rough (Arbuckle) as he wakes up, has breakfast, and handles two quarreling lovers and a pair of thieves.
This is pretty much a Roscoe Arbuckle vehicle. He was an already established comedic actor with a 10-year career at the moment. Arbuckle is credited as a mentor to Charlie Chaplin, and as the discoverer of Bob Hope and Buster Keaton, who plays three different roles here within the three different segments of the film.
The film has a simple premise and works mostly as a series of sketches loosely tied, but they all work fairly well together. Most of the physical comedy is on point, and I really laughed at some of the gags they pulled. Keaton's roles are fairly small, but Arbuckle has a nice comedic timing and a funny aloof persona.
This was actually Keaton's second short film, and his first directing job, so considering the turns their careers took in the next years, one could see it as an involuntary passing of the torch. There's a new cook in the kitchen indeed.
Grade:
THE ROUGH HOUSE
(1917, Arbuckle & Keaton)
The first film from any director you like • A film from before 1920
(1917, Arbuckle & Keaton)
The first film from any director you like • A film from before 1920
"A new cook in the kitchen"
The Rough House is a 20 minute short written, directed, and starred by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Buster Keaton. It follows a series of shenanigans that occur at the house of Mr. Rough (Arbuckle) as he wakes up, has breakfast, and handles two quarreling lovers and a pair of thieves.
This is pretty much a Roscoe Arbuckle vehicle. He was an already established comedic actor with a 10-year career at the moment. Arbuckle is credited as a mentor to Charlie Chaplin, and as the discoverer of Bob Hope and Buster Keaton, who plays three different roles here within the three different segments of the film.
The film has a simple premise and works mostly as a series of sketches loosely tied, but they all work fairly well together. Most of the physical comedy is on point, and I really laughed at some of the gags they pulled. Keaton's roles are fairly small, but Arbuckle has a nice comedic timing and a funny aloof persona.
This was actually Keaton's second short film, and his first directing job, so considering the turns their careers took in the next years, one could see it as an involuntary passing of the torch. There's a new cook in the kitchen indeed.
Grade: