Cops and College

Monday September 19, 7:00pm The Paramount Theater

"Get some cops to protect our policemen!"

Cops is a symphony of misunderstanding, beginning with a stolen wallet and ending with a thousand men in blue chasing Buster down the street. In between, he makes off with a wagonload of furniture he has unknowingly stolen, pulled by a crazy old horse with false teeth. Keaton ends up bombing a police parade and the chase is on! He finds himself riding an enormous teeter-totter then snatching hold of a passing car to make his escape. Virginia Fox, a Keaton favorite proclaims "I won’t marry you until you become a big business man," to set the story in motion. The con man, played by Steve Murphy, was also featured as a pickpocket in Chaplin’s "The Circus" six years later. And who is this oddly familiar old dog macking down on Buster’s hand?

Ronald (Keaton) delivers his High School valedictory speech on the "Curse of Athletics" in "College" and his girl (Anne Cornwall) wants nothing more to do with him. "When you change your mind about athletics, then I’ll change my mind about you." Off he goes to Clayton College (USC) with a suitcase full of sporting goods and a picture of his sweetie only to fail miserably at every sport and every job he tries. His less than successful attempt as a soda jerk is particularly funny. Buster answers an ad for a "colored waiter" in blackface, an unfortunate and regrettable sign of the times. When the Dean, played by veteran character actor Snitz Edwards, forces the crew to use Buster as coxswain or "coaxer" in competition, he sinks the first boat and ends up steering with the rudder tied to his backside. Buster’s crew wins and his rival kidnaps the girl out of jealousy. In his race to rescue her Keaton ironically displays the athletic skills of a champion! Most notable is the use of Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, built just five years earlier, for the hysterical track sequence and the extremely rare use of a stunt double in a pole vaulting shot made with 1932 Olympic gold medallist Lee Barnes. The name of the ill-fated first boat in the crew sequence is an amusing inside joke.

Afterthoughts and late breaking news!

"I know I’ve seen that dog somewhere before."

Child star Baby Peggy, Diana Sera Carey, has confirmed the dog seen in "Cops" is in fact the Sennett Dog Teddy! Carey worked in films with the canine star from 1920 to 1923. Ms. Carey also confirms there was only one Teddy, contrary to accounts that several dogs worked under the name and that his owner was adamant the dog would not learn any "tricks".

A very special thanks to Stephanie at Cinema Books for her assistance.