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Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle
[1887-1933]

short profile movies by Fatty Arbuckle shorts with Buster Keaton other movies works about Fatty Arbuckle family & friends links

"A good laugh . . . is the most worthwhile thing in life."

Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle entry at Wikipedia
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle credits [1909-33] at Internet Movie Database
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle Broadway credits [1927] at Internet Broadway Database

Movies by Fatty Arbuckle
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle credits at Internet Movie Database

early shorts, 1913-16 • shorts with Keaton, 1917-20 • other movies, 1918-33

	"Slapstick Encyclopedia, 1909-1927" [2002] Curated by film historians David Shepard & Joe Adamson Image Ent. b&w DVD [4/2002] 5 disks for $62.99 includes 53 complete shorts plus snippets, from directors & comedians Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Monty Banks, Charley Bowers, Charlie Chaplin, Oliver Hardy, Buster Keaton, Harry Langdon, Stan Laurel, Max Linder, Harold Lloyd, Will Rogers, Larry Semon, Mack Sennett, Ben Turpin & Bert Williams The shorts in this package with Roscoe include "Mabel's Dramatic Career" [1913] with MN; "The Rounders" [1914] with Charlie Chaplin; "Fatty and Mabel Adrift [1916]; "Oh, Doctor!" [1917] with BK; "The Garage" [1920] with BK; and "The Iron Mule" ]1925] with BK
	"The Forgotten Films of Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle" 4 DVD set [Laughsmith May 2005] video release credits at IMDb Mackinac Media b&w DVD [5/2005] 4 disks - out of prodn/used contains Fatty's only surviving feature film "Leap Year" [1921], directed by James Cruze; 23 one- and two-reel silent shorts from 1913 through 1919: "The Rounders" [1914] co-starring Charlie Chaplin; "Fatty's Faithful Fido" [1915] with Charley Chase; "Fatty's Plucky Pup" [1915]; "Mabel and Fatty's Married Life" [1915] co-starring Mabel Normand; "He Did and He Didn't" [1916] co-starring Mabel Normand; "Coney Island" [1917] co-starring Buster Keaton; four 1925-26 silent shorts directed as William Goodrich, including "The Movies" [1925] starring Lloyd Hamilton; "My Stars" [1926] directed by Fatty, starring Johnny Arthur; rare "Character Studies" one-reeler [1927]; and the surreal sound short "Bridge Wives" [1932] directed as William Goodrich, starring Al St. John; plus a 35 page booklet
	"Krazy Keystone Komedies: Classic Short Subjects From The King of Comedy" [2007] 14 silent shorts starring (in various combinations) Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Billy Bevan, Charley Chase, Andy Clyde, Chester Conklin, Minta Durfee, Louise Fazenda, the Keystone Kids, Mabel Normand, Mack Swain & others Televista b&w DVD [9/2007] for $12.99

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Early  Shorts  [1913-1917]

"Fatty Joins The Force"
[Keystone/Mutual Nov 1913 silent short]

Fatty rescues a little girl from a lake; her father is the police commissioner, so he rewards Fatty with a job; at first things go well, but then problems arise. Written & produced by Mack Sennett; directed by George Nichols; starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Dot Farley, Edgar Kennedy, Mack Swain, Minta Durfee, Henry Lehrman, Hank Mann & Al St. John Synergy Ent. b&w DVD-R [5/2007] for $9.99 full credits at IMDb

"Mabel's Dramatic Career" [1913] starring Mabel Normand
"The Gangsters" [1913 short]
"A Noise From The Deep" [1913 short] with Mabel Normand
"Mabel’s New Hero" [1913 short] with Mabel Normand
"Safe In Jail" [1913 short]
"His Sister’s Kids" [1913 short] with Minta Durfee

"Peeping Pete" [Keystone 1913 short]
Directed by & starring Mack Sennett, co-starring Ford Sterling & Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle

"The Knockout" aka 'Counted Out'
[Keystone/Mutual June 1914 silent short]

Two tramps decide to fake an exhibition boxing match; local no-goods convince Pug to enter as Cyclone Flynn, the champion; Flynn shows up and battles Pug, and the Keystone Cops run them all out of town. Produced by Mack Sennett; directed by Charles Avery; starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Charlie Chaplin, Minta Durfee, Edgar Kennedy, Frank Opperman, Al St. John, Hank Mann & Mack Swain available as part of the 1999 Madacy Collection DVD Box Set on the Chaplin Page full credits at IMDb

"A Flirt’s Mistake" [1914 short] with Edgar Kennedy
"A Film Johnnie" [1914 short] with Charlie Chaplin

"The Rounders" [1914 short] with Charlie Chaplin, Minta Durfee, Al St. John & Charley Chase

"Fatty's Suitless Day" [1914 short]
starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle & Charley Chase /B000QRIL76/

"Mabel's Blunder" [1914 short] with Mabel Normand
"Lover’s Luck" [1914 short] with Minta Durfee
"Fatty’s Jonah Day" [1914 short] with Norma Nichols
"A Bath House Beauty" [1914 short] with Minta Durfee
"Those Country Kids" [1914 short] with Mabel Normand

"Miss Fatty's Seaside Lovers" [1915 short] with Harold Lloyd
"Fatty’s New Role" [1915 short]
"Fatty's Faithful Fido" [1915 short] with Charley Chase
"Fatty's Plucky Pup" [1915 short]
"Mabel and Fatty Viewing The World's Fair at San Francisco" [1915 promo short]
"A Glimpse of The San Diego Exposition" [1915 promo short]
"Mabel and Fatty's Married Life" [1915 short] co-starring Mabel Normand
"Mabel and Fatty's Simple Life" [1915 short] co-starring Mabel Normand
"Wished On Mabel" [1915 short] co-starring Mabel Normand
"Fatty’s Tintype Tangle" [1915 short] with Louise Fazenda & Edgar Kennedy
"Fatty’s Reckless Fling" [1915 short]
"That Little Band of Gold" [1915 short] with Mabel Normand & Ford Sterling

"Fatty's Spooning Days" [1915 short]
starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle & Mabel Normand /B000R9CO5I/

"Fatty and Mabel Adrift"
[Triangle/Keystone Jan 1916 silent short]

Fatty & Mabel live happily in a beach-front house, which is cast adrift and out to sea by the villains. Written & directed by & starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle; co-starring Mabel Normand, Al St. John, Wayland Trask, Glen Cavender, Joe Bordeaux & Jimmy Bryant VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available; full credits at IMDb "Keystone" music album with silent movie videos [2005] In an unusual strategy, the short film "Fatty and Mabel Adrift" is included on this Arbuckle tribute concept album by jazz trumpeter Dave Douglas; Grammy nomination for Best Jazz Album; the first disk is a music CD, the second disk is a DVD with two short films Koch Records music CD [2/2006] 11 tracks and 2 short films for $14.89

"He Did and He Didn't" [Jan 1916 short] co-starring Mabel Normand

"The Bright Lights"  aka 'The Lure of Broadway'
[Triangle/Keystone Feb 1916 silent short]

Directed by & starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle; co-starring Mabel Normand, Minta Durfee, Al St. John, Jimmy Bryant, Gilbert Ely & William Jefferson 11"x17" color poster from Amazon for $14.99 VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available; full credits at IMDb

"The Other Man" [April 1916 short] with Minta Durfee & Al St. John
"His Wife’s Mistakes" [April 1916 short] with Minta Durfee
"The Waiter’s Ball" [June 1916 short] with Al St. John
"A Creampuff Romance" [July 1916 short]

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Shorts  With  Buster Keaton  [1917-1920]
Magic Lantern's Buster Keaton [1895-1966] Pages

"The Butcher Boy" [April 1917]  
with Al St. John; full credits from IMDb

"A Reckless Romeo" [Paramount/Comique May 1917 short] Long considered a lost film, nitrate elements were discovered in Norway in 1999. Roscoe flirts with a girl in the park, then when he takes his wife & mother-in-law to the movies, he sees the flirtation show- ing on the screen. {Both DVD & VHS also include Roscoe's "The Cook" [1918] with Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd's "Number Please?" [1920].} Co-written & directed by & starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle; co-starring Buster Keaton, Al St. John, Alice Lake, Agnes Neilson & Corinne Parquet Image Ent. tinted b&w DVD [2/2003] 3 shorts for $22.49 Milestone Video b&w VHS [1/2003] 3 shorts - out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb

"The Rough House" [June 1917]  
with Al St. John; full credits from IMDb

"His Wedding Night" [Aug 1917]  
with Al St. John; full credits from IMDb

"Oh Doctor!" [Sept 1917]  
with Al St. John; full credits from IMDb

"Coney Island" silent short [Comique Film Co. Oct 1917]  

25-minute silent short, filmed at Coney Island; Roscoe tries to dump his wife so that he can chase young bathing beauties; Buster arrives with Alice who is taken away by Al, who loses her to Roscoe . . . Directed & written by and starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle; also starring Buster Keaton, Al St. John, Alice Mann, Agnes Neilson available on "The Best Arbuckle/Keaton Collection" 2-disk DVD set [2002] Image Ent. b&w DVD set [10/2002] 2 disks - out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • watch full movie [silent; 25:04] online at YouTube

"A Country Hero" [Dec 1917]  
with Al St. John; full credits from IMDb

"Out West" aka 'The Sheriff' [Jan 1918]  
with Al St. John & Joe Keaton; full credits from IMDb

"The Bell Boy" [March 1918]  
with Al St. John & Joe Keaton; full credits from IMDb

"Moonshine" [May 1918]  
with Al St. John; full credits from IMDb

"Good Night, Nurse!" [July 1918]  
with Al St. John & Joe Keaton; full credits from IMDb

"The Cook" [Paramount/Comique Sept 1918 short]   Long considered a lost film, nitrate elements were discovered in Europe in 1998 & 2002. A restaurant chef and his assistant attempt new efficiencies, which wreak havoc, then a robber shows up. {Both DVD & VHS also include Roscoe's "A Reckless Romeo" [1917] with Buster Keaton, andHarold Lloyd's "Number Please?" [1920].} Written & directed by & starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle; co-starring Buster Keaton, Al St. John, Alice Lake & Glen Cavender Image Ent. tinted b&w DVD [2/2003] 3 shorts for $22.49 Milestone Video b&w VHS [1/2003] 3 shorts - out of prodn/used 11"x17" poster available for $14.99 at AllPosters.com full credits at IMDb

"A Desert Hero" [1919]
with Al St. John; full credits from IMDb

"Back Stage" [Sept 1919]  
with Al St. John; full credits from IMDb

"The Hayseed" [Oct 1919]  
with Al St. John & Jack Coogan Sr.; full credits from IMDb

"The Garage" aka 'Fire Chief' [Jan 1920]  
directed by Roscoe, with Al St. John; full credits from IMDb

	"Arbuckle and Keaton: Their 14 Film Collaborations" [2006] by James L. Neibaur McFarland & Co. pb [12/2006] for $33.25 except that there were sixteen Arbuckle-Keaton collaborations {as above}
	"The Best Arbuckle / Keaton Collection" [2002] Volume 1: Blackhawk/Flicker Alley b&w DVD [5/2015] for $16.95 Volume 2: Blackhawk/Flicker Alley b&w DVD [5/2015] for $16.95 Image Ent. b&w DVD [10/2002] 2 disks - out of prodn/used includes "The Butcher Boy" [1917], "The Rough House" [1917], "His Wedding Night" [1917], "Oh Doctor!" [1917], "Coney Island" [1917], "Out West" [1918], "The Bell Boy" [1918], "Moonshine" (fragment) [1918], "Good Night, Nurse" [1918], "Back Stage" [1919], "The Hayseed" [1919] & "The Garage" [1920]
	Arbuckle & Keaton: The Original Comique Paramount Shorts [2001] Volume 1: "The Butcher Boy" [1917], "The Bell Boy" [1918], "Out West" [1918], "Moonshine" [1918] & "The Hayseed" [1919] Kino Video VHS [4/2001] out of prodn/used Kino Video DVD [4/2001] out of prodn/used Volume 2: "Coney Island" [1917], "The Rough House"[1917], "Good Night, Nurse!" [1918], "Back Stage" [1919] & "The Garage" [1920] Kino Video VHS [4/2001] out of prodn/used Kino Video DVD [4/2001] out of prodn/used Volume 3, perhaps? [shorts not included in Volumes 1&2] "Oh Doctor!" [1917], "A Country Hero" [1917], "His Wedding Night" [1917], "The Cook" [1918] & "A Desert Hero" [1919]

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Other Movies By Fatty Arbuckle

"Scraps of Paper" [1918 short] with Al St. John

"Camping Out" [1919 short] with Al St. John

"Love" [1919 short] with Al St. John & Winifred Westover

"The Life of The Party" [1920 feature] with Viora Daniel & Roscoe Karns

"The Round-Up" silent feature [Famous Players-Lasky Oct 1920]

The first feature film made near Lone Pine, California; tag line: "Nobody loves a fat man"; the film is not a comedy, per se, although Arbuckle and Keaton do a couple of pratfalls; tha main story is about rounding up the evil redskins so the white men can take over their land. Directed by George Melford; scenario by Tom Forman, based on the 1907 Broadway stageplay by Edmund Day; starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Mabel Julienne Scott, Irving Cummings, Tom Forman, Jean Acker, Edward P. Sullivan, Wallace Beery, Guy Oliver, Jane Wolfe & Fred Huntley, with Buster Keaton as an Indian; print at Library of Congress is described as beautiful; VHS tape was produced around 1999, long unavailable; as-of 2013, VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia

"Brewster's Millions" [1921]

"Leap Year" [1921] directed by Roscoe
Roscoe's only surviving feature film, directed by James Cruze

"Special Delivery" [1922 short] directed by Roscoe, with St. John & Vernon Dent

"No Loafing" [1923 short] directed by Roscoe,
with Poodles Hanneford & Joe Roberts {only 8-minute segment survives}

"Stupid But Brave" [1924 short]
directed as William Goodrich, with Al St. John & George Davis

"The Movies" [1925 short] directed as William Goodrich, starring Lloyd Hamilton

"Curses" [1925 short] directed as William Goodrich, with Al St. John & Bartine Burkett

"The Iron Mule" [1925 short] directed as William Goodrich, with Al St. John & Buster Keaton

"Dynamite Doggie" [1925 short] directed by Roscoe, with Al St. John

"His Private Life" [1926 short]
directed as William Goodrich, with Lupino Lane & George Davis

"Home Cured" [1926 short]
directed as William Goodrich, with Johnny Arthur & Virginia Vance

"Fool’s Luck" [1926 short]
directed as William Goodrich, with Lupino Lane & George Davis

"My Stars" [1926 short]
directed by Roscoe, starring Johnny Arthur & Virginia Vance

"Special Delivery" [1927 feature] directed as William Goodrich,
with Eddie Cantor, Jobyna Ralston & William Powell

"Character Studies" rare one-reeler [1927]

"Bridge Wives" surreal sound short [1932] directed as William Goodrich,
starring Al St. John & Fern Emmett

"Hey, Pop!" [Vitaphone 1932 short] with Billy Hayes
"Close Relations" [Vitaphone 1933 short]
with Charles Judels, Harry Shannon & Shemp Howard
"Buzzin’ Around" [Vitaphone 1933 short] with Al St. John
"How’ve You Bean?" [Vitaphone 1933 short] with Fritz Hubert
"In The Dough" [Vitaphone 1933 short] with Lionel Stander & Shemp Howard
"Tomalio" [Vitaphone 1933 short] with Charles Judels

"The Wild Party"

The lengthy narrative poem "The Wild Party" [1928] by Joseph Moncure March may have been inspired by the on-going Arbuckle scandal of 1921-23, but the tale bears little resemblance to Roscoe's actual troubles; the poem was often censored because of the racy content, especially the shooting murders by actor Jolly Grimm of his mistress and her lover in a bedroom.

	"The Wild Party" feature film [Merchant-Ivory Prodns/A.I.P. March 1975] Jolly Grimm, fading star of the Silent Era, stages a drunken bash in hopes of getting distribution for his final silent movie; but the film is a dud and the guests at his mansion feed on the grim mood and the free liquor, and the sexual hijinks get out of hand. When Jolly sees his mistress and a younger actor enter an upstairs bedroon, he gets a gun and waits for them outside the room. {Director Ivory disowned the film released by A.I.P., which was cut from 108 to 95 minutes; the DVD contains the Director's Cut and a 20-minute documentary.} Directed by James Ivory; written by Walter Marks, based on the 1928 narrative poem by Joseph Moncure March; starring James Coco, Raquel Welch, Perry King, Tiffany Bolling, Royal Dano, David Dukes, Christina Ferra-Gilmore & Eddie Lawrence M.G.M. Video widescreen color DVD [6/2004] for $13.49 full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia
	"The Wild Party: The Lost Classic by Joseph Moncure March" [1994] Drawings by Pulitzer Prize-winner Art Spiegelman Pantheon 8½x5¼ pb [3/99] for $11.68 Pantheon 8½x5½ hardcover [11/94] out of print/used
	"The Wild Party" dueling musical stage plays based on March's poem [2000] The off-Broadway musical play by Andrew Lippa is more positive, but weaker show credits at the Internet Off-Broadway Database Off-Broadway cast album: R.C.A. Victor cast recording [7/2000] 21 tracks for $9.49 The Joseph Papp production on Broadway had a darker book by Michael John LaChiusa & George C. Wolfe, music & lyrics by Michael John LaChiusa; directed by George C. Wolfe; starring Mandy Patinkin, Toni Collette & Eartha Kitt; 7 Tony Award nominations stageplay credits at the Internet Broadway Database Broadway cast album: Decca Broadway cast recording [5/2000] 29 tracks for $16.31

Works About Fatty Arbuckle
browse books about Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle at Amazon

	"The Day The Laughter Stopped: The True Story Behind The Fatty Arbuckle Scandal" [1976] by David A. Yallop Corgi pb [8/91] out of print/used St. Martin's Press hardcover [7/76] out of print/used author's official website
	"Frame-up!: The Untold Story of Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle" [1991] by Andy Edmonds Wm. Morrow 9½x6 hardcover [2/91] out of print/many used
	"Fatty Arbuckle: Betrayed By Hollywood" episode of Biography [1997] featuring archive footage of Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Eleanor Keaton & Virginia Rappe DVD/Blu-ray not available; credits at IMDb

"Buster Keaton and Fatty Roscoe Arbuckle" [France 2002]
26-minute TV documentary written & directed by Laurent Preyale; credits at IMDb

"I, Fatty: A Novel" [2004] by Jerry Stahl Written from the viewpoint of rags-to-riches silent movie star Roscoe Arbuckle, from his early days to his success in Hollywood to the frame-up for the murder of a starlet, with his friends and protogés Charlie Chaplin & Buster Keaton in the background. Bloomsbury USA 8¼x5½ pb [6/2005] for $11.66 Bloomsbury USA 8½x5¾ hardcover [7/2004] for $19.16 book entry at Wikipedia

"Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle: A Biography of The Silent Film Comedian, 1887-1933" [2005] by Stuart Oderman McFarland & Co. 8¾x5¾ pb [7/2005] for $35.00

"Hello Roscoe: The Fate of Fatty Arbuckle" [Cloverland 2008]
Produced, written & directed by John Cork; available on various Fox DVD releases; credits at IMDb

"Life of The Party" [Argus 2009]
Written & produced by Victor Bardack; directed by Kevin Connor; starring Preston Lacy (as Roscoe Arbuckle}
& Chris Kattan {as Buster Keaton}; DVD/Blu-ray not yet available; credits at IMDb

"Devil's Garden" [2009] by Ace Atkins Pinkerton agent (and future noir master) Dashiell Hammett was indeed hired by the defense team in the notorious San Francisco manslaughter trials of silent screen star Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle. From this seed of fact, Atkins weaves together the lives of Hollywood luminaries such as Arbuckle, his estranged wife Minta Durfee, newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst, and Hearst's very public mistress Marion Davies Berkley Trade 8¼x5½ pb [3/2010] for $11.70 Putnam 9x6 hardcover [4/2009] out of print/used

"American Classic Screen: Profiles" [2010] Edited by John C. Tibbetts & James M. Welsh, Preface by Ray Bradbury Scarecrow Press 8¾x6 pb [9/2010] for $40.00 American Classic Screen Magazine [1976-86] was published by The National Film Society; these exclusive profiles have long been difficult or impossible to access, but are now collected by editors Tibbetts & Welsh; the Profiles include: James Cagney and Mae Clarke; George Cukor and Kate Hepburn; Bette Davis and Claude Rains; Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, George Bancroft, Charles T. Barton, Warner Baxter, Ralph Bellamy, Beulah Bondi, George M. Cohan, Cecil B. DeMille, Charlotte 'Alice' Henry, Orval Hixon, Boris Karloff, Barbara La Marr, Elissa Landi, Joseph H. Lewis, Jayne Mansfield, Marilyn Monroe, child star Peggy-Jean 'Baby Peggy' Montgomery, Walter Plunkett, Eleanor Powell, Robert Redford, Mickey Rooney, Victor Sjöström, Kenneth Strickfaden, cowboy star Fred Thomson, Cornel Wilde & Natalie Wood

"The Day The Laughter Stopped" [H.B.O. 2013?]  
Announced 8/2011: Biopic treatment TV movie about pioneering silent film comedian Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, based on the 1976 book (above);
directed by Barry Levinson, screenplay by Kirk Ellis; "Modern Family" actor Eric Stonestreet stars • latest info at IMDb

L i n k s
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle credits [1909-33] at Internet Movie Database
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle Broadway credits [1927] at Internet Broadway Database

'Arbucklemania' fansite
JL's 'Call Me Fatty' fansite

Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle [1887-1933] Page at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store

top of page • short profile • movies by Fatty Arbuckle • shorts with Buster Keaton • other movies • works about Fatty Arbuckle • family & friends • links

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