Customer Reviews

The Knockout (1914)

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All Editorial Review Product Descriptions for RCF's red box discs are a c&p text that includes their "100 greatest classic films of all time" blurb. These mostly obscure works are hardly as advertised. Also, picture and sound quality depend on condition of unrestored source material. Good to fair is about average.

Highlight of THE KNOCKOUT is two monstrous boxers slugging each other while a diminutive ring referee tries to keep from getting killed. The fight soon goes beyond the squared circle, and includes handguns, and a flight over rooftops with the Keystone Kops in close pursuit.

This Fatty Arbuckle one-reel short features Charlie Chaplin in support as the referee. Also here is Fatty's wife, Minta Durfee, and the usual cast of Keystone players: Edgar Kennedy (Fatty's ring opponent and an ex-boxer later famous for his "slow burn"), Mack Swain (of the Keystone Kops) and Al. St John (Fatty's nephew-- he eventually joined his uncle at COMIQUE Studios, where he did a lot of odd jumping whenever startled or moved to action).

Includes an outstanding "uncredited" cast:
Ford Sterling - Chief of Mack Sennett's nutty police force.
Billy Gilbert - The angry homeowner in Laurel & Hardy's Oscar winner, "The Music Box."
Charley Chase - Star of a series of sophisticated comedy shorts in the last years of silent movies.
Slim Summerville - Lanky actor featured in many country-flavored sound comedies.
Mack Sennett - Kingpin of KEYSTONE Studios, who appears as a crowd scene spectator.
Eddie Cline - Worked with Buster Keaton; directed many classic comedies, like W.C. Fields' THE BANK DICK (1940).

For another Chaplin/Arbuckle pairing, try A FILM JOHNNIE (also from RCF).

Parenthetical number preceding title is a 1 to 10 imdb viewer poll rating.

(5.6) The Knockout (1914) - Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle/Minta Durfee/Edgar Kennedy/Charles Chaplin/Al. St John/Mack Swain (uncredited: Mack Sennett/Ford Sterling/Charley Chase/Billy Gilbert/Glen Cavender/Slim Summerville/Edward F. Cline)