Keystone Cops

The Keystone Kops were a bunch of chaotic, incompetent police officers who were 1912-1917 indispensable part of the frantic chases in the produced by Mack Sennett slapstick comedies of the Keystone Studios.

The idea for this comic troupe, composed, among others, from former circus clown and price boxers had Hank Mann, who was involved in the debut film of the cop, the now lost Hoffmeyer 's Legacy (1912 ), also known as Chief Tehiezel. George Jeske, Bobby Dunn, Mack Riley, Charles Avery, Slim Summerville and Edgar Kennedy completed the first cast. In the second short film The Bang Ville Police ( 1913) that became " policing " the first time in the middle of the action. Here Fred Mace played the head of the cop, a role that is today but mainly associated with Ford Sterling. The driver of the police car was a while later the director Del Lord because of his breakneck driving skills. The occupation of the troupe changed constantly, and many well-known comedians began their careers, including Fatty Arbuckle, Al St. John and Chester Conklin. In the film, A Thief Catcher (1914 ) Charlie Chaplin was present as a Keystone Kop.

The chases with the cops had great influence on subsequent slapstick films in which the subject was always varied. Sennett himself made even after his Keystone - time or from a comparable chaotic police force use, for example, in Wandering Willies (1926 ) with Billy Bevan. There were also several later cinematic tributes to Sennett's men.

In the American film literature, the term Keystone Chase has established a slapstick -like chase, but perform in both the persecuted and the persecutors their activities with a lot of energy, and unrelieved chaos and mutual disability. The appearing as clumsy and ludicrous in the film behavior required of the actors high demands on physical exertion and coordination.

In addition to the notation Keystone Kops also is the orthographically correct spelling Keystone Cops use, as it was also used in many contemporary newspaper articles. Those with K possibly goes to the film Abbott and Costello Meet the Keystone Kops back (Abbott and Costello as a gangster Schreck, 1955).

Movie Title ( selection)

A selection of films with the participation of the Keystone Kops: