Coney Island (1917 film)
Encyclopedia
Coney Island is a 1917 short silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 comedy written and directed by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, and starring Arbuckle and Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...

.

Synopsis

The twenty-four minute film follows Arbuckle's antics at Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....

, the New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 amusement park and beach resort, where he sneaks away from his wife to enjoy the attractions, gets a rival for another woman arrested, and disguises himself as a woman. The Keystone Kops
Keystone Kops
The Keystone Kops were incompetent fictional policemen, featured in silent film comedies in the early 20th century. The movies were produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917. The idea came from Hank Mann who also played police chief Tehiezel in the first film...

 are also featured.

Coney Island was filmed before Keaton had fully established his screen persona
Persona
A persona, in the word's everyday usage, is a social role or a character played by an actor. The word is derived from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatrical mask. The Latin word probably derived from the Etruscan word "phersu", with the same meaning, and that from the Greek πρόσωπον...

. Because of this, he employs a wide range of facial expressions, including mugging and laughing, differing drastically from his subsequent unsmiling, but still eloquent, expression.

Arbuckle breaks the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...

 in one scene where, about to change his clothes, he directly looks at the camera and gestures for it to raise its view above his waist; the camera obligingly does so.

Cast

  • Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Fatty
  • Agnes Neilson - Fatty's wife
  • Al St. John
    Alfred St. John
    Al St. John in his persona of Fuzzy Q. Jones basically defined the role and concept of "comical sidekick" to cowboy heroes from 1930 to 1951. St...

     - Old friend of Fatty's wife
  • Buster Keaton
    Buster Keaton
    Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...

     - Rival / cop with mustache
  • Alice Mann - Pretty girl
  • Joe Bordeaux
    Joe Bordeaux
    Joe Bordeaux was an American film actor. He appeared in 73 films between 1914 and 1940.He was born in Colorado, and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* The Great Dictator...

     - Sledgehammer Man / Cop (as Joe Bordeau)
  • Jimmy Bryant
  • Alice Lake
    Alice Lake
    Alice Lake was an American film actress. She began her career during the silent film era and often appeared in comedy shorts opposite Roscoe Arbuckle.-Career:...


Production notes

The film was shot on location at Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....

, and prominently features many contemporary rides and attractions as venues for the slapstick action. These include The Witching Waves
Witching Waves
Witching Waves is an amusement ride.It was first introduced at Luna Park on Coney Island, New York, USA, in 1907.It was one of the most popular rides at Luna Park, invented by Theophilus Van Kannel, who also invented the revolving door....

 and Shoot-the-Chutes
Shoot-the-Chutes
Shoot-the-Chutes is an amusement ride consisting of a flat-bottomed boat that slides down a ramp or inside a flume into a lagoon. Unlike a log flume, a Shoot-the-Chutes generally has larger boats and one single drop....

.

See also

  • List of American films of 1917
  • Fatty Arbuckle filmography
    Fatty Arbuckle filmography
    These are the films of Roscoe Arbuckle. Films marked with a diamond were directed by and featured Arbuckle. He used the name William Goodrich on the films he directed from 1924 onwards.----...

  • Buster Keaton filmography
    Buster Keaton filmography
    - Starring Roscoe Arbuckle, featuring Buster Keaton :- Starring Buster Keaton :- Starring Buster Keaton, for Educational Pictures :- Starring Buster Keaton, for Columbia Pictures :- Starring Buster Keaton, for independent producers :...


External links

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