''The Garage'' is a 1920 American

two-reel A short film is any motion picture that is short enough in running time not to be considered a feature film. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of 40 minutes ...

silent

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending ( black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by and starring

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle Roscoe Conkling "Fatty" Arbuckle (; March 24, 1887 – June 29, 1933) was an American silent film actor, comedian, director, and screenwriter. He started at the Selig Polyscope Company and eventually moved to Keystone Studios, where he worked w ...

and featuring

Buster Keaton Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton (October 4, 1895 – February 1, 1966) was an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He is best known for his silent film work, in which his trademark was physical comedy accompanied by a stoic, deadpan expression ...

. This was the fourteenth and last film starring the duo before Keaton set up his own studio and Arbuckle started making feature-length films. The film also stars Luke the Dog, who starred in many other short comedies with Arbuckle. The film was also known as ''Fire Chief''.

Plot

Fatty and Buster play automobile mechanics and firemen at a garage in a fire station. Molly Malone plays the boss' daughter who is constantly pestered by a stranger named Jim (McCoy) who wishes to make her his girlfriend, though she turns him down after the flowers he brings her end up accidentally soaked in motor oil thanks to Fatty and Buster. Livid, Jim raises the alarm in the fire station to make Fatty and Buster think there is a fire and forcing them to rush across town. However, Jim accidentally starts a real fire while trying to exit the station and Fatty and Buster immediately return to put out the fire and rescue Molly who is trapped inside. They attach the fire hose to a hydrant, but the hose has a leak, forcing Fatty to sit on it. After a streetcar runs over the hose, Fatty, Buster and several of the townspeople rescue Molly using a life net but she bounces up into the telephone wires. Fatty and Buster eventually get Molly down but become trapped themselves; luckily Molly moves a car beneath them just before they fall and all three ride off together.

Cast

as Mechanic / Fireman *

as Mechanic / Fireman * Molly Malone as Garage Owner's Daughter *

Harry McCoy Harry McCoy (December 10, 1893 – September 1, 1937) was an American film actor and screenwriter. He appeared in more than 150 films between 1912 and 1935. Early years McCoy was born on December 10, 1893, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, ...

as Jim * Dan Crimmins as Rube the Garage Owner (as Daniel Crimmins) * Luke the Dog *

Alice Lake Alice Lake (September 12, 1895 – November 15, 1967) was an American film actress. She began her career during the silent film era and often appeared in comedy shorts opposite Roscoe Arbuckle. Career Born in Brooklyn, New York, Lake began he ...

in undetermined role (uncredited) (unconfirmed)

Product placement

A favorable review of this movie by the weekly trade publication ''

Harrison's Reports ''Harrison's Reports'' was a New York City-based motion picture trade journal published weekly from 1919 to 1962. The typical issue was four letter-size pages sent to subscribers under a second-class mail permit. Its founder, editor and publisher ...

'' was followed by the statement: Brand name

product placement Product placement, also known as embedded marketing, is a marketing technique where references to specific brands or products are incorporated into another work, such as a film or television program, with specific promotional intent. Much of th ...

in movies may have occurred before the 1920s, but this is the earliest movie cited by ''Harrison's Reports'' for that practice. For the next four decades, ''Harrison's Reports'' frequently denounced product placement.

References

External links

* *
''The Garage''
at the

International Buster Keaton Society The International Buster Keaton Society Inc.— a.k.a. "The Damfinos"—is the official educational organization dedicated to comedy film producer-director-writer-actor-stuntman Buster Keaton. Mission According to the Damfinos, their mission is "t ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garage, The 1920 films 1920 comedy films Silent American comedy films American silent short films American black-and-white films Films about firefighting Films directed by Roscoe Arbuckle 1920 short films Articles containing video clips Paramount Pictures films American comedy short films 1920s American films

Plot

Cast

Product placement

See also

References

External links