Coney Island (1917 film)

Coney Island

French theatrical poster to Coney Island
Directed by Roscoe Arbuckle
Produced by Joseph M. Schenck
Written by Roscoe Arbuckle
Starring Roscoe Arbuckle
Buster Keaton
Al St. John
Cinematography George Peters
Edited by Herbert Warren
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release dates
  • October 29, 1917 (1917-10-29)[1]
Running time
 24 minutes
Country United States
Language Silent (English intertitles)

Coney Island (also known as Fatty at Coney Island) is a 1917 American silent short comedy film written and directed by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, and starring Arbuckle and Buster Keaton.

Full film

Synopsis

Fatty rides "The Whip" in Coney Island

The twenty-four-minute film follows Arbuckle's antics at Coney Island, the New York City amusement park and beach resort, where he sneaks away from his wife to enjoy the attractions, gets a rival for another woman arrested, and disguises himself as a woman. The Keystone Kops are also featured.

Coney Island was filmed before Keaton had fully established his screen persona. Because of this, he employs a wide range of facial expressions, including mugging and laughing, differing drastically from his subsequent unsmiling, but still eloquent, expression.

Arbuckle breaks the fourth wall in one scene where, about to change his clothes, he directly looks at the camera and gestures for it to raise its view above his waist; the camera obligingly does so.

Cast

Production notes

The film was shot on location at Coney Island, and prominently features many contemporary rides and attractions as venues for the slapstick action. These include The Witching Waves and Shoot-the-Chutes.

Reception

Like many American films of the time, Coney Island was subject to cuts by city and state film censorship boards. The Chicago Board of Censors required a cut of a scene with a girl raising her dress above her knee.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Knopf, Robert (August 2, 1999). The theater and cinema of Buster Keaton. Princeton University Press. p. 180. ISBN 978-0-691-00442-6. Retrieved 21 October 2010.
  2. ↑ "Official Cut-Outs by the Chicago Board of Censors". Exhibitors Herald. New York City: Exhibitors Herald Company. 5 (20): 33. November 10, 1917.

External links

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