Fatty's New Role

Fatty's New Role (1915)

*** (out of 4)

At times hilarious comedy from Keystone has a hobo (Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle) going into a bar to try and get some of its free food but the owner (Mack Swain) kicks him out. To play a prank on the owner, a few people there tell him that the hobo was actually a madman who has been bombing places that kick him out. FATTY'S NEW ROLE is certainly right as we get to see Arbuckle in a whole new light and I thought he did a wonderful job with the transformation. Playing a drunken bum was actually a great role for the comedian as he gets off to a great start as he wakes up with some chickens and he really delivers throughout the film. His performance is certainly the main reason to watch this and especially towards the end when he goes back into the bar and doesn't realize why everyone leaves him there alone. Swain also does a very good job in his part of the owner who fears that his place is going to be bombed any moment. The entire subject has a somewhat dark tone to it but I think this leads to some very big laughs. This here certainly shows Arbuckle at the top of his skills.