Cops is a 1922 American two-reel silent comedy film about a young man (Buster Keaton) who accidentally gets on the bad side of the entire Los Angeles Police Department during a parade and is chased all over town. It was written and directed by Edward F. Cline and Keaton. This very Kafka-esque film was filmed during the rape-and-murder trial of Fatty Arbuckle, a circumstance that may have influenced the short's tone of hopeless ensnarement.
It was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry in 1997.
Plot
The main character is spurned by his love interest, who wants him to become a businessman. Once he leaves her estate, he ends up acquiring a large amount of money from a businessman’s wallet. He uses this money to buy up a comically large amount of furniture and a horse to carry this furniture in a carriage. While moving the furniture around town, he faces a variety of comical issues, such as his horse tiring out and accidentally knocking out a cop with his homemade turn signal. Later, he accidentally joins a police parade. A bomb gets thrown off a rooftop and Keaton’s character catches it and unwittingly throws it into the parade. This leads to him being chased by a horde of cops.
At the end of the film, Keaton's character manages to lock all the cops in a police station. However, the girl he tried to woo at the beginning of the film (revealed to be the Mayor’s daughter) disapproves of his behavior and gives him the cold shoulder. Therefore, he unlocks the police station and is immediately pulled in by the cops. The film ends with the title "The End" written on a tombstone with Keaton's pork pie hat propped on it.
Edits
During its initial release individual states had their own censor boards and would cut the film to meet their states requirements. Surviving prints of this title bear the State of Pennsylvania Censors Board Approval logo, Pennsylvania cut out the Goat Gland Doctor sequence and for decades this was missing. Around 1980 a surviving uncut print was located and this sequence was re-inserted into the film. Still, many older prints exist without this sequence restored.
Cast
- Buster Keaton as The Young Man
- Joe Roberts as Police Chief
- Virginia Fox as Mayor's Daughter
- Edward F. Cline as Hobo
- Steve Murphy as Conman selling furniture (uncredited)
See also
- Buster Keaton filmography
- List of United States comedy films
- 1922 in film
References
External links
- Cops essay by Randy Haberkamp at National Film Registry [1]
- Cops essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 ISBN 0826429777, pages 81–83 [2]
- The short film Cops is available for free viewing and download at the Internet Archive.
- Cops at IMDb
- Cops at the International Buster Keaton Society
- Article at InDigest Magazine about the film recently being scored by guitarist Steve Kimock
