One of a series of sound shorts that Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle made after the publicity surrounding the Virginia Rappe scandal (perhaps the most notorious in Hollywood history) had seemingly died down from a decade earlier,BUZZIN' AROUND plays on Arbuckle's persona from his silent screen peak of an amiable ne'er-do-well,and often reprises many familiar gags from those days,but it actually all works rather nicely,with plenty of funny,well-timed slapstick involving hornets nests,ramshackle transportation and crockery which only occasionally become repetitive,and an amusing use of sound and visual effects which although hilariously dated add to the film's charm.
It does play like a silent comedy itself,with little dialogue,particularly for Arbuckle,though his voice registers effectively,and he is well supported by his nephew Al St.John and a somewhat obscure supporting cast.
If memory serves correctly,I watched BUZZIN' AROUND as a child on early morning British TV in the 1970's (unaware at the time of the controversy that had previously surrounded him),and still find it as amusing then as I presently do.Arbuckle was unfairly pilloried by Hollywood even after being acquitted in the infamous murder case that ruined his life and career;it was perhaps not unexpected that his comeback as a leading film comedian took place at the Vitagraph Studios (later renamed Vitaphone with the emergence of talking pictures) in New York,away from the hypocritical glare of the movie capital's self righteous moralists.He certainly proved here that he still had the talent to make people laugh and indeed had seemingly just signed a contract for the production of several feature films before his untimely death.Arbuckle is sadly remembered nowadays for events that went out of his control off-screen rather than for his considerable abilities as a comedian/actor/writer on screen.For those few film buffs that prefer the latter,BUZZIN' AROUND is a genial hint of what could have been achieved if Roscoe Arbuckle had lived longer in the new and unfolding world of sound film.
RATING:6 and a half out of 10.
It does play like a silent comedy itself,with little dialogue,particularly for Arbuckle,though his voice registers effectively,and he is well supported by his nephew Al St.John and a somewhat obscure supporting cast.
If memory serves correctly,I watched BUZZIN' AROUND as a child on early morning British TV in the 1970's (unaware at the time of the controversy that had previously surrounded him),and still find it as amusing then as I presently do.Arbuckle was unfairly pilloried by Hollywood even after being acquitted in the infamous murder case that ruined his life and career;it was perhaps not unexpected that his comeback as a leading film comedian took place at the Vitagraph Studios (later renamed Vitaphone with the emergence of talking pictures) in New York,away from the hypocritical glare of the movie capital's self righteous moralists.He certainly proved here that he still had the talent to make people laugh and indeed had seemingly just signed a contract for the production of several feature films before his untimely death.Arbuckle is sadly remembered nowadays for events that went out of his control off-screen rather than for his considerable abilities as a comedian/actor/writer on screen.For those few film buffs that prefer the latter,BUZZIN' AROUND is a genial hint of what could have been achieved if Roscoe Arbuckle had lived longer in the new and unfolding world of sound film.
RATING:6 and a half out of 10.