The Cook
Encyclopedia
The Cook is a silent film
starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Buster Keaton
. The movie is a slapstick
comedy and focuses on goings-on at a high-end restaurant with Arbuckle as the Cook and Keaton as the Waiter.
The film is notable for a scene spoofing
the 1918 Theda Bara
film Salomé
, with Arbuckle dancing around in drag.
for several decades before a damaged nitrate print was uncovered in the Norwegian Film Archive in 1998 in an unmarked canister with A Reckless Romeo
(1917). More footage was found in The Netherlands
in 2002.
The film is currently available on DVD
as The Cook and Other Treasures.
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
. The movie is a slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
comedy and focuses on goings-on at a high-end restaurant with Arbuckle as the Cook and Keaton as the Waiter.
The film is notable for a scene spoofing
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
the 1918 Theda Bara
Theda Bara
Theda Bara , born Theodosia Burr Goodman, was an American silent film actress – one of the most popular of her era, and one of cinema's earliest sex symbols. Her femme fatale roles earned her the nickname "The Vamp" . The term "vamp" soon became a popular slang term for a sexually predatory woman...
film Salomé
Salomé (1918 film)
Salomé is a silent film produced by William Fox and starring actress Theda Bara. The film is now considered to be lost.Henri Langlois, a French film preservationist, said he had the opportunity to buy this film but dismissed it as Fox, Theda Bara, and American spectacle...
, with Arbuckle dancing around in drag.
Preservation status
The movie was believed to be a lost filmLost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
for several decades before a damaged nitrate print was uncovered in the Norwegian Film Archive in 1998 in an unmarked canister with A Reckless Romeo
A Reckless Romeo
A Reckless Romeo is a 1917 short silent comedy film directed by and starring Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle.-Production background:The film was produced by the Comique Film Corporation when it and many other early film studios in America's first motion picture industry were based in Fort Lee, New Jersey...
(1917). More footage was found in The Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
in 2002.
The film is currently available on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
as The Cook and Other Treasures.
Cast
- Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle - Chef
- Buster KeatonBuster KeatonJoseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
- Assistant Chef - Al St. JohnAlfred St. JohnAl St. John in his persona of Fuzzy Q. Jones basically defined the role and concept of "comical sidekick" to cowboy heroes from 1930 to 1951. St...
- Holdup Man - Alice LakeAlice LakeAlice Lake was an American film actress. She began her career during the silent film era and often appeared in comedy shorts opposite Roscoe Arbuckle.-Career:...
- Waitress / Cashier - Glen CavenderGlen CavenderGlen Cavender was an American film actor. He appeared in 259 films between 1914 and 1949.He was born in Tucson, Arizona, and died in Hollywood, California.-Selected filmography:* Cruel, Cruel Love...
See also
- List of American films of 1918
- Fatty Arbuckle filmographyFatty Arbuckle filmographyThese are the films of Roscoe Arbuckle. Films marked with a diamond were directed by and featured Arbuckle. He used the name William Goodrich on the films he directed from 1924 onwards.----...
- Buster Keaton filmographyBuster Keaton filmography- Starring Roscoe Arbuckle, featuring Buster Keaton :- Starring Buster Keaton :- Starring Buster Keaton, for Educational Pictures :- Starring Buster Keaton, for Columbia Pictures :- Starring Buster Keaton, for independent producers :...
- List of rediscovered films