I have seen the VHS version of this which is exactly the same as the DVD. It is worth it alone for THE COOK which I feel may be Arbuckle’s masterpiece. All of his best comic bits including his incredible acrobatic ability with objects (throwing knives, flipping pancakes behind his back) are on full display as well as a merciless parody of Theda Bara in CLEOPATRA which is wickedly funny even if you don’t know the source. Buster Keaton as the “pest/waiter” has some great moments including nearly being beheaded with a meat cleaver by Fatty. Al St. John is the “toughest guy in the world” and even Fatty’s dog Luke gets to play a prominent part in the proceedings. This short must be seen to be believed.
A RECKLESS ROMEO is typical silent comedy fare with Fatty taking his wife and mother-in-law to the local cinema only to see his earlier flirting in the park shown on the screen with the obvious results. Both of these long lost films were discovered in archives in Norway. They are 95% complete with both prints in very good but not great shape. The Harold Lloyd short NUMBER PLEASE? included to fill out the disc is not top notch Lloyd but is funny nevertheless. It too is in very good condition but has some rough spots thus 4 stars instead of 5. THE COOK however is the real find here. Milestone Films has done their usual fine job by providing tinted prints with an appropriate piano score. If you’re a big fan of Arbuckle then you’ll want to get this DVD even if you have the earlier Kino or Image releases. If you don’t have those then this is the ideal introduction to the “Prince Of Whales”, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle.
The Capsule Critic 