Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle was the second most popular film comedian behind Charlie Chaplin during the mid-1910's. Arbuckle had frequently teamed up with Mabel Normand during their early Keystone Studio days in 1913. Their January 1916 movie, "Fatty and Mabel Adrift" is considered the pair's best. "Adrift" is a departure from their usual slapstick-filled mayhem on the screen by containing a romantic angle, which boyfriend/producer Mack Sennett must have approved despite his inherent jealous demeanor.
"Adrift's" premise slots Arbuckle, a farmboy, marrying his sweetheart Mabel and spending their honeymoon in a cabin by the sea. An envious rival, played by Al St. John, who in real life was Arbuckle's nephew, makes things interesting for the newlyweds by hiring a gang to create some memorable moments.
Arbuckle hardscraple life began when his father refused to support his son at 11 years old upon the death of his mother. A velvety singing voice opened up doors for the young boy, introducing him to an early acting career in vaudeville. Touring internationally throughout the early 1900's, Arbuckle latched on to Chicago's Selig Polyscope Company in 1909 before signing on with Keystone in 1913. The over 300-pound comedian refused to be in skits involving his weight, like getting stuck in doorways, and lobbied to emphasize his physical dexteriety, of which he was super coordinated for his size.
Sennett remembers first seeing Arbuckle, that he "skipped up the stairs as lightly as Fred Astaire and without warning went into a feather light step, clapped his hands and did a backward somersault as graceful as a girl tumbler."
