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<font size="4"><br>Arbuckle and Keaton</font>
<font size="2">The Original Comique/Paramount Shorts, 1917-1920
<br>video review by Gary Johnson</font>
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<P>When Arbuckle broke ranks with Mack Sennett's Keystone Studios in 1917 to make comedies for producer Joseph M. Schenck, he finally had the opportunity to show the distance between the Sennett approach and his own. However, if anything, Arbuckle's own shorts are even more manic than Sennett's. They're a madhouse of commotion--which is surprising considering the presence of Buster Keaton. Arbucle had enlisted Keaton's support after seeing his stage act. He felt Keaton's amazing pratfalls and quiet presence would work well with his own predilection for physical comedy. Keaton dropped his stage career entirely for a stint with Arbuckle.
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