Cops (1922)

A series of mishaps manages to make a young man get chased by a big city's entire police force.

Directors:

Edward F. Cline (as Eddie Cline), Buster Keaton (as 'Buster' Keaton)

Writers:

Buster Keaton (as 'Buster' Keaton), Edward F. Cline (as Eddie Cline)

Stars:

Buster Keaton, Edward F. Cline, Virginia Fox

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Buster Keaton	...	The Young Man (as 'Buster' Keaton)

Storyline

Through a series of mistaken identities Buster winds up with a load of furniture in the middle of parade of policemen. An anarchist's bomb lands in his carriage. After lighting his cigarette with it, he tosses it into the ranks of police. When it explodes the police chase him all over town.

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Plot Keywords:

national film registry | police | parade | furniture | anarchist | 

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Genres:

Short | Comedy | Family

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 March 1922 (USA)

Also Known As:

Buster et les flics

Filming Locations:

Hollywood Boulevard, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Joseph M. Schenck Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

18 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Filmed partially on location at Jewett Estate, 1145 Arden Road, Pasadena, California.

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Quotes

Mayor's Daughter: I won't marry you until you become a big business man.

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Crazy Credits

The "THE END" text appears on a tombstone, which has Keaton's signature pork pie hat on top.

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Connections

Featured in Nuts! (2016)

User Reviews

Keaton and the Chase

This seems to be Buster Keaton's most popular short film. I prefer his films with more cinematically based comedy, such as in "The Playhouse", "The Frozen North" and "Sherlock, Jr.", but "Cops" is a very entertaining little film. It features a large comedic chase--chases, especially involving policemen, being one of the most regularly reoccurring devices in Keaton's oeuvre, especially in his two-reelers. Cops chased Keaton in "Convict 13", "Neighbors", "Hard Luck", "The Goat" and--in an escalated chase very similar to that in "Cops"--"Daydreams". My favorite Keaton chase, by the way, is the chase of the brides in "Seven Chances".

The comedic chase has a long cinema tradition, perhaps dating back to James Williamson's "Stop Thief!" (1901) or "Chinese Laundry Scene" (1895), the latter of which was based on a vaudeville act. Then, there were the Pathé comedies and those of Mack Sennett's Keystone, which were greatly derived from them. Keaton came from vaudeville and worked under one of the premiere early comedians, Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, to begin his on screen career, so he was fully immersed in this tradition.

In "Cops", there are some good visual jokes that rely on film technique, such as following a close shot of Keaton behind bars with a reverse long shot that clarifies the opening scene. Keaton's mechanical inventiveness is demonstrated during the horse carriage sequence. And, there's plenty of physical comedy during the great chase finale. Keaton's sense of matured, restrained comedy is also important here, which is perhaps best characterized by his retained stoic expression throughout any chaotic misadventure. "Cops" is rather representative of Keaton's refined sense of what's funny and of his advanced understanding of film-making.