The Garage (1920)

Roscoe and Buster operate a combination garage and fire station. In the first half they destroy a car left for them to clean. In the second half they go off on a false alarm and return to ... See full summary »

Director:

Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle

Writer:

Jean C. Havez (story)

Stars:

Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Buster Keaton, Molly Malone

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle	...	Fatty - Mechanic / Fireman / Dog Catcher
Buster Keaton	...	Buster - The Assistant
Molly Malone	...	Molly - Rube's Daughter
Harry McCoy	...	The Dude
Dan Crimmins	...	Rube - the Garage Owner (as Daniel Crimmins)

Storyline

Roscoe and Buster operate a combination garage and fire station. In the first half they destroy a car left for them to clean. In the second half they go off on a false alarm and return to find their own building on fire.

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Plot Keywords:

fire | car wash | service station | auto repair

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Genres:

Short | Comedy

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 January 1920 (USA)

Also Known As:

Fire Chief

Company Credits

Production Co:

Comique Film Company

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White Color (tinted)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

After Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle gets in the bed, he gets up again and kisses a picture on the wall. The picture is of Mabel Normand, his co-star in the Mack Sennett comedies.

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Connections

Referenced in Twilight Zone: Once Upon a Time (1961)

User Reviews

Has a Lot of Pretty Good Material

This Arbuckle/Keaton short comedy has a lot of good material and is quite enjoyable. It's all done in Arbuckle's free-wheeling style, so the story is held together less by the plot than by its setting and by the antics of the two stars.

The setting in "The Garage", where Arbuckle's and Buster's characters work both as mechanics and as firemen, lends itself to all kinds of humor, and the various props and situations are used to good effect. The first part gets lots of mileage out of the cars, tools, and various gadgets in the garage, and later there is an amusingly chaotic fire-fighting scene. There are quite a variety of good gags, with even a billboard getting in on the act.

Although there isn't really a story to speak of, there are lots of frantic goings-on and some great comic moments, making it well worth seeing for any fan of these two great silent screen comedians. In the classic series of comedies that paired the two, this is one of the best ones.