Out West (1918)

A satire of western movies. Roscoe comes into town after riding the rails. The saloon has a trap door over a pit where bodies are tossed as they are shot. A black patron is taunted and shot... See full summary »

Director:

Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle

Writers:

Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Natalie Talmadge (story)

Stars:

Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Al St. John

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle	...	Train Rider, Bartender
Buster Keaton	...	Sheriff, saloon owner
Al St. John	...	Wild Bill Hickup
Alice Lake	...	Salvation Army Woman
Joe Keaton	...	Man on train
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernie Morrison Sr.

Storyline

A satire of western movies. Roscoe comes into town after riding the rails. The saloon has a trap door over a pit where bodies are tossed as they are shot. A black patron is taunted and shot at. Roscoe and Buster do everything they can to keep Al from Alice.

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Plot Keywords:

saloon | horse | mirage | poker | cheating | 

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Genres:

Short | Western | Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

20 January 1918 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Sheriff

Filming Locations:

San Gabriel Canyon, Angeles National Forest, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Comique Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

One of the few films in which Buster Keaton smiles.

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Connections

Featured in Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow (1987)

User Reviews

Out West was another funny Arbuckle/Keaton comedy short that was marred a bit by a racist gag

This short silent comedy starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle with Buster Keaton and Al St. John in support is a mixed bag as a spoof of westerns. In begins on a train where Arbuckle ingeniously steals some food from three men one of whom was Buster's father, Joseph. After being thrown off and getting chased by Indians (or in today's parlance, Native Americans), Roscoe stumbles into the town saloon where he foils robber St. John's holdup and takes his guns. This is when he and Buster meet and become teaming acquaintances. There are many very funny gags up to this point to where they tickle St. John victoriously but then there's a racist gag involving one Ernie Morrison Sr. (the father of original "Our Gang"s Ernie "Sunshine Sammy" Morrison who would also occasionally appear in Harold Lloyd shorts) that threatens to put things to a halt. Fortunately, there's still some decent laughs after that. Oh, and there's a woman involved as well. So on that note, I'd recommend Out West. P.S. The version I watched was on the Image Entertainment "The Best Arbuckle-Keaton Collection" DVD.