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

Featured in The First 100 Years: A Celebration of American Movies (1995)

User Reviews

14th and final on-screen Arbuckle/Keaton duo

This two-reeler is bittersweet in that it's Keaton and Arbuckle's 14th and final on screen appearance together, as well as being Keaton's 14th film. Set in a garage, many of the gags were later reused by Buster in his own short, THE BLACKSMITH.

For once, neither Fatty nor Buster are involved in a love interest. She is the daughter of the garage owner. Her name is Fanny and her beau is Jim. Fatty and Buster run the combination garage/firehouse. At first they manage to get a clean car dirty, but Fatty puts it on a turntable and hoses it down, then dries it at high speed. There is a car that rents for a cheapskate and automatically falls apart once it leaves the building. There's Jim's visit and his bouquet managing to get in Fatty's grease, thus dousing Jim and Fanny. Jim is however washed and dried ala the turntable.

There's the dog that tears off Buster's pants and has him ripping a kilt off a billboard of Harry Lauder to protect himself when an offended woman tries to have him arrested. There's the fire that breaks out in the garage with Jim and Fanny trapped, while Buster and Fatty are out elsewhere with the equipment (including a hose that keeps springing leaks). Finally, there's the rescue of Fanny from the phone lines, suspended above the street.

KINO's print which is part of their Arbuckle and Keaton, Volume Two, contains drop outs, despite its being made up of an incomplete crisp nitrate print, into which overexposed, blurry bits are interpolated from a poorer print to ensure continuity. The Alloy Orchestra is adequate and sound effects include the sounds of bells. Note KINO's date for the film is 1920, although the IMDb lists it as 1919.

At the beginning Fatty repeats the gag of washing a non-existent window, one that Buster introduced in an earlier Keaton/Arbuckle short.