Keystone Kops
The Keystone Kops were a group of chaotic, incompetent cops who were an integral part of the hectic car chases in the Mack Sennett- produced silent slapstick comedies at Keystone Studios between 1912 and 1917 .
The idea for this comical troupe, which was made up of former circus clowns and prize boxers, came from actor Hank Mann , who also appeared as Chief Tehiezel in the Kops debut film, the now-lost Hoffmeyer's Legacy (1912) . George Jeske , Bobby Dunn , Mack Riley , Charles Avery , Slim Summerville and Edgar Kennedy completed the first line-up. In the second short film, The Bangville Police (1913), "police work" was the focus of the action for the first time. Here Fred Mace played the boss of the Kops, a role that today is mainly associated with Ford Sterling . The driver of the emergency car was due to his breakneck driving skills for a time the future director Del Lord . The cast of the troupe changed constantly, and many well-known comedians began their careers here, including Fatty Arbuckle , Al St. John and Chester Conklin . In the film A Thief Catcher (1914) Charlie Chaplin was also present as Keystone Kop.
The head chases had a major impact on subsequent slapstick films in which the subject was varied over and over again. Even after his Keystone days, Sennett himself made use of a similarly chaotic police force, for example in Wandering Willies (1926) with Billy Bevan . In addition, there were later several cinematic homages to Sennett's men.
In American film literature, the term Keystone Chase has established itself for a slapstick-like chase in which both the pursued and the pursuers carry out their activities with a great deal of energy, but in utter chaos and mutual hindrance. The behavior, which appeared clumsy and ludicrous in the film, required high demands on the actors in terms of physical effort and coordination.
In addition to the spelling Keystone Kops , the orthographically correct spelling Keystone Cops is also used , as was also used in many contemporary newspaper articles. The one with K possibly goes back to the film Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops ( Abbott and Costello als Gangsterschreck , 1955).
Film title (selection)
A selection of films with the participation of Keystone Kops:
- 1912: Hoffmeyer's Legacy (believed to be lost)
- 1913: Bangville Police (with Mabel Normand )
- 1913: The Gangsters
- 1913: Barney Oldfield's Race for a Life
- 1913: Mabel's New Hero
- 1913: Mabel's Dramatic Career
- 1913: The Speed Kings
- 1913: A Muddy Romance
- 1914: In the Clutches of the Gang (considered lost)
- 1914: Making a Living (with Charles Chaplin)
- 1914: The Sky Pirate (lost?)
- 1914: The Noise of Bombs
- 1914: Tillie's troubled romance
- 1915: Love, Speed and Thrills
- 1915: Mabel, Fatty and the Law
- 1915: Wished on Mabel
- 1915: Ambrose's Nasty Temper
- 1915: Love, Loot and Crash
- 1915: A Hash House Fraud
- 1916: Fatty and Mabel Adrift
- 1916: Wife and Auto Trouble
- 1917: Her Torpedoed Love
Individual evidence
- ↑ Wes D. Gehring: Parody as film genre: Never give a Saga an Even Break , Greenwood Publishing Group (1999), p. 52
- ↑ Kalton C. Lahue and Terry Brewer: Kops and Custards; the Legend of Keystone Films , University of Oklahoma Press (1968), 40-41
bibliography
- Carl Davis: Keystone Kops: Score & Parts , Faber & Faber (2003)
- Rob King: The Fun Factory: The Keystone Film Company and the Emergence of Mass Culture , University of California Press (2009)