| Coney Island | |
|---|---|
French theatrical poster to Coney Island |
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| Directed by | Roscoe Arbuckle |
| Produced by | Joseph M. Schenck |
| Written by | Roscoe Arbuckle |
| Starring | Roscoe Arbuckle Buster Keaton Al St. John |
| Cinematography | George Peters |
| Editing by | Herbert Warren |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | 29 October 1917[1] |
| Running time | 24 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film English intertitles |
Coney Island (also known as Fatty at Coney Island) is a 1917 short silent film comedy written and directed by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle, and starring Arbuckle and Buster Keaton.
Contents |
The twenty-four minute film follows Arbuckle's antics at Coney Island, the New York City amusement park and beach resort, where he sneaks away from his wife to enjoy the attractions, gets a rival for another woman arrested, and disguises himself as a woman. The Keystone Kops are also featured.
Coney Island was filmed before Keaton had fully established his screen persona. Because of this, he employs a wide range of facial expressions, including mugging and laughing, differing drastically from his subsequent unsmiling, but still eloquent, expression.
Arbuckle breaks the fourth wall in one scene where, about to change his clothes, he directly looks at the camera and gestures for it to raise its view above his waist; the camera obligingly does so.
The film was shot on location at Coney Island, and prominently features many contemporary rides and attractions as venues for the slapstick action. These include The Witching Waves and Shoot-the-Chutes.