Cops (film)

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Cops
Cops 1922 poster.jpg
Theatrical poster
Directed by Edward F. Cline
Buster Keaton
Written byEdward F. Cline
Buster Keaton
Produced by Joseph M. Schenck
StarringBuster Keaton
Virginia Fox
Joe Roberts
Edward F. Cline
Steve Murphy
Cinematography Elgin Lessley
Edited byBuster Keaton
Distributed by First National Pictures Inc.
Release date
  • March 11, 1922 (1922-03-11)
Running time
18 minutes
CountryUnited States
Languages Silent film
English (original intertitles)

Cops is a 1922 American two-reel silent comedy film about a young man (Buster Keaton) who accidentally runs afoul of the entire Los Angeles Police Department during a parade and is chased all over town. It was written and directed by Edward F. Cline and Keaton. This very Kafka-esque film was filmed during the rape-and-murder trial of his former collaborator Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, a circumstance that may have influenced the short's tone of hopeless ensnarement. [1] [2]

Contents

It was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry in 1997. [3] [4]

Plot

Cops




The main character is spurned by his love interest, who wants him to become a businessman. Once he leaves her estate, he ends up acquiring a large amount of money from a businessman's wallet. He uses this money to buy up a comically large amount of furniture and a horse to carry this furniture in a carriage. While moving the furniture around town, he faces a variety of comical issues, such as his horse tiring out and accidentally knocking out a cop with his homemade turn signal. Later, he accidentally joins a police parade. A bomb gets thrown off a rooftop and Keaton's character catches it and unwittingly throws it into the parade. This leads to him being chased by a horde of cops.

At the end of the film, Keaton's character manages to lock all the cops in a police station. However, the girl he tried to woo at the beginning of the film (revealed to be the Mayor's daughter) disapproves of his behavior and gives him the cold shoulder. Therefore, he unlocks the police station and is immediately pulled in by the cops. The film ends with the title "The End" written on a tombstone with Keaton's pork pie hat propped on it.

Production

Prior to the film's production, John R. Brinkley, an American quack doctor, had become famous for his xenotransplantation of the testicular glands of goats into humans, claiming his procedure could cure male impotence and enhance virility. [5] Cops references this in a short sequence in which Keaton's character takes his horse to a "goat gland specialist"; when the horse emerges, it has become much faster and more energetic.

During the film's initial release individual states had their own censor boards, which would cut films to meet their state's requirements. Surviving prints of this title bear the Pennsylvania State Board of Censors approval logo; Pennsylvania removed the goat gland sequence, and for decades the footage was missing. Around 1980 a surviving uncut print was located and the sequence was re-inserted into the film. Still, many older prints exist without this sequence restored.

Cast

See also

References

  1. ↑ Neibaur, James L., and Terri Niemi (2013). Buster Keaton's silent shorts, 1920-1923. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 148. ISBN   081088741X.
  2. ↑ Oldham, Gabriella (1996). Keaton's silent shorts: Beyond the laughter. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. p. 203. ISBN   0585108064.
  3. ↑ "New to the National Film Registry (December 1997) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin". www.loc.gov. Retrieved April 24, 2020.
  4. ↑ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved June 3, 2020.
  5. ↑ "Goat Gland Doctor (1986)". Texas Archive of the Moving Image. Retrieved August 9, 2025.
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