The Knockout

The second half or so of this Keystone comedy is quite enjoyable, with a lot of good material. The first half is sometimes amusing, but for the most part it really only serves to set up the last part. Roscoe Arbuckle was skilled at performing almost any kind of comic material, but he is much more fun to watch when he has something good to work with. Charlie Chaplin's appearance in the last part of the movie also adds quite a bit.

The setup has Arbuckle getting hoodwinked into a boxing match with a champion opponent. It takes rather a while to prepare for the 'main event', and some of the material in the first half really isn't that creative. But once the match begins, with Chaplin appearing as a timid, hapless referee, things really get rolling. It's a lengthy, amusing sequence that's not unworthy of being mentioned with the boxing sequences in some of Chaplin's own movies. It's well worth watching this part over again to catch all of the subtle gags that Chaplin throws in.

Arbuckle is still the star here, though, and it ends up being a decent showcase for him to perform slapstick and feats of agility, plus a few mannerisms and facial expressions. It would have been better if some of the unnecessarily complicated setup material had been streamlined, but even as it stands it has some good laughs.