That Little Band of Gold

Mabel Normand, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, and Ford Sterling make this short comedy rather amusing, despite only the sketchiest of plots. The gag material allows all three to get the chance to use their slapstick abilities and to have plenty of screen time. There are also a couple of moments when the story turns ever-so-slightly poignant, not for long, but enough to suggest that there is some depth behind the slapstick story.

The plot has 'Fatty' as a recently married husband, who has already begun to neglect his wife (Mabel). When Sterling, as Arbuckle's disreputable friend, happens on the scene, the domestic problems burst into conflict and slapstick. Most of it is pretty amusing, and the material is generally pretty good. Certainly it's the kind of thing that Arbuckle and Sterling, in particular, can do effortlessly.

Normand has fewer comic moments, but she makes her character very sympathetic, and amidst the comedy, she is able to communicate the hurt feelings caused by a carousing husband. She is also both funny and engaging in the finale. It's a pretty good movie overall.