The Knockout | |
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![]() Theatrical poster | |
Directed by | Charles Avery |
Produced by | Mack Sennett |
Starring | Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle Minta Durfee Edgar Kennedy Charlie Chaplin Frank Opperman Al St. John Hank Mann Mack Swain |
Cinematography | Frank D. Williams |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Mutual Film |
Release date |
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Running time | 27 minutes |
Country | United States |
Languages | Silent film English (Original titles) |
The Knockout is a 1914 American silent comedy film starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. It also features Charlie Chaplin in a small role, his seventeenth film for Keystone Studios. [1] It is one of only a few films in which Chaplin's Little Tramp character appears in a secondary role, not appearing until the second half of the film. It also stars Arbuckle's wife, Minta Durfee, Edgar Kennedy and Keystone owner, Mack Sennett in a minor role as a spectator. The film was directed by Charles Avery.
Two down-and-out hoboes pretend to be pugilists in order to make some money to eat. One of them claims to be Cyclone Flynn, the boxing champion. In the meantime Pug, a good-hearted local strongman, has fought and defeated several mashers who were bothering his girlfriend. The mashers make up with Pug and propose to enter him to fight the fake Cyclone Flynn at a local theater.
Enter the real Cyclone Flynn, who expels the hoboes and takes over the engagement. The fight starts, comically refereed by Chaplin's character. It quickly deteriorates into chaos, after Pug steals a gambler's revolvers and chases the champion from the ring. A long chase sequence involving the boxers, spectators, Pug's girlfriend, and the Keystone Kops follows.
A reviewer from Moving Picture World wrote, "Roscoe Arbuckle, ably supported, makes barrels of fun in this two-reel comedy release. In its early stages, the story has a particularly well connected plot, but things go to smash a little in this line when a big chase is introduced in the second reel. This chase, as well as a comedy prize fight, is unusually funny."
The Keystone Cops are fictional, humorously incompetent policemen featured in silent film slapstick comedies produced by Mack Sennett for his Keystone Film Company between 1912 and 1917.
Fatty's Tintype Tangle is a 1915 comedy short film. A man (Fatty), tired of his mother-in-law's henpecking, leaves home in anger and sits on a park bench, where a photographer takes a picture of him sitting next to a married woman, whose husband is not pleased. Conflict ensues.
Tillie's Punctured Romance is a 1914 American silent comedy film directed by Mack Sennett and starring Marie Dressler, Mabel Normand, Charlie Chaplin, and the Keystone Cops. The picture is the first feature-length comedy and was the only feature-length comedy made by the Keystone Film Company.
The Masquerader is a 1914 film written and directed by Charlie Chaplin during his time at Keystone Studios. This film stars Chaplin and Roscoe Arbuckle and has a running time of 13 minutes. It is the tenth film directed by Chaplin.
Cruel, Cruel Love is a 1914 American comedy silent film made at the Keystone Studios and starring Charlie Chaplin.
The Rounders is a 1914 comedy short starring Charlie Chaplin and Roscoe Arbuckle. The film involves two drunks who get into trouble with their wives, and was written and directed by Chaplin.
Tango Tangles is a 1914 American film comedy short starring Charles Chaplin and Roscoe Arbuckle. The action takes place in a dance hall, with a drunken Chaplin, Ford Sterling, and the huge, menacing, and acrobatic Arbuckle fighting over a girl. The supporting cast also features Chester Conklin and Minta Durfee. The picture was written, directed and produced by Mack Sennett for Keystone Studios and distributed by Mutual Film Corporation.
His Favorite Pastime is a 1914 American comedy film starring Charlie Chaplin.
A Quiet Little Wedding is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle. It features the earliest known film appearance of Arbuckle's wife, Minta Durfee.
Fatty at San Diego is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle and Mabel Normand.
Wine is a 1913 short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle.
Fatty Joins the Force is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle. It features the Keystone Cops in a background role.
Fatty's Flirtation is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle and Mabel Normand.
His Sister's Kids is a 1913 American short comedy film featuring Fatty Arbuckle.
The Water Dog is a 1914 American short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle. The film primarily follows the attempts to rescue a young girl who has been stranded on a rock in the ocean as the tide comes in, necessitating the involvement of local police and bystanders. The conflict is resolved when the girl is rescued by her pet dog, hence the title of the film.
The Alarm is a 1914 American short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle. This silent film was produced by Mack Sennett and The Keystone Film Company and distributed by Mutual Film Corporation. It was released on May 28, 1914.
Fatty Again is a 1914 American short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle.
Fatty and the Broadway Stars is a 1915 American short comedy film directed by and starring Fatty Arbuckle.
Al St. John (1893–1963) was an American comic actor who appeared in 394 films between 1913 and 1952. Starting at Mack Sennett's Keystone Film Company, St. John rose through the ranks to become one of the major comedy stars of the 1920s, though less than half of his starring roles still survive today. With the advent of sound drastically changing and curtailing the two-reel comedy format, St. John diversified, creating a second career for himself as a comic sidekick in Western films and ultimately developing the character of "Fuzzy Q. Jones", for which he is best known in posterity.
Luke the Dog (1913–1926) was an American Staffordshire Terrier that performed as a recurring character in American silent comedy shorts between 1914 and 1920. He was also the personal pet of actress Minta Durfee and her husband, the comedian and director Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.