Cocaine And The Silent Film Part 3: FATTY ARBUCKLE
For decades Fatty has been thought of as an innocent victim. But what if he was guilty?
The scandal of the silent era is examined and the many rumors and reports about the death of Virginia Rappe.
Then, the narrator asks a question no one has asked in all the decades since.
What if Fatty was guilty?
At a boozy party over Labor Day weekend 1921, Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, silent Hollywood’s superstar plus-size comedian, followed sometime actress Virginia Rappe into a hotel room. They were alone together for only a few minutes, but in that time, Rappe fell ill, and died several days later from her sickness. Arbuckle was tried for murder, and accused of rape in the newspapers. The story of the definitive sex-and-death scandal in early Hollywood history, which left a woman dead and effectively killed off a star comedian’s career, has been plagued with misinformation and distortions for nearly 100 years.
Folks, we need to listen to this argument:
Suite 1221 of St. Francis Hotel after Fatty Arbuckle Party
Did you know that no one was ever asked to explain the room Fatty and Virginia were in?
That 2 men bathed her before the doctors were called?
That the last jury that acquitted Fatty met for exactly 10 minutes, examined all the evidence and wrote, together, an eloquent statement clearing Fatty?
There is no question he was unfairly tried in the press.
But what if he was guilty? The YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS podcast is the first time I have ever come into contact with a new theory on the Fatty scandal. All film historians state Fatty lied her down on a bed because she felt sick, then left. How did the room get destroyed? Why is that part always left out of the story? How could the jury in the final trial meet for less than 15 minutes, go over all the evidence and come up with an eloquent and legal statement about his innocence?
Click this link here for the resolution to the Fatty Arbuckle case!
We shouldn’t forget that Fatty was a brilliant comedian:
Fatty's wife drags him to Coney Island for a beach day. Seeking an escape, Fatty buries himself in the sand and dashes to the amusement park. His wife, joined by an old friend, searches for him but becomes entangled with a romantic pursuit.
On a dreary, rain-soaked night, Arbuckle, inebriated and oblivious to the downpour, faces repeated rejections from a drug store due to his intoxicated state. In a whimsical attempt at goodwill, he endeavors to mail a fellow drunkard home by adorning him with stamps and placing him atop a mailbox. Along his intoxicated journey, Arbuckle crosses paths with street performers who, despite the inclement weather, serenade him with the National Anthem. Grateful for their kindness, he invites them into his home for shelter, much to his wife's dismay.
This is the first film that Buster Keaton made with Roscoe "Fatty Arbuckle also it is Buster Keaton's First Film.
Roscoe, his wife and his mother-in-law run a seaside resort.
Arbuckle and Keaton play a pair of incompetent bellhops who are constantly careless with guest's luggage and slack on the job. "Ouchgosh's finest: The Elk's Head Hotel - First Class prices. Third Class service." One of the few films in which Buster Keaton smiles.
Click this link for a fresh look at the Fatty murder case
Behind the paywall: Singlebeds and Double Standards
Hollywood responds to multiple scandals
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