Buzzin' Around (1933) User Reviews (15)

Derivative but Surprisingly Funny

[BJJManchester · 7/10 · 1 June 2008]

One of a series of sound shorts that Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle made after the publicity surrounding the Virginia Rappe scandal (perhaps the most notorious in Hollywood history) had seemingly died down from a decade earlier,BUZZIN' AROUND plays on Arbuckle's persona from his silent screen peak of an amiable ne'er-do-well,and often reprises many familiar gags from those days,but it actually all works rather nicely,with plenty of funny,well-timed slapstick involving hornets nests,ramshackle transportation and crockery which only occasionally become repetitive,and an amusing use of sound and visual effects which although hilariously dated add to the film's charm.

It does play like a silent comedy itself,with little dialogue,particularly for Arbuckle,though his voice registers effectively,and he is well supported by his nephew Al St.John and a somewhat obscure supporting cast.

If memory serves correctly,I watched BUZZIN' AROUND as a child on early morning British TV in the 1970's (unaware at the time of the controversy that had previously surrounded him),and still find it as amusing then as I presently do.Arbuckle was unfairly pilloried by Hollywood even after being acquitted in the infamous murder case that ruined his life and career;it was perhaps not unexpected that his comeback as a leading film comedian took place at the Vitagraph Studios (later renamed Vitaphone with the emergence of talking pictures) in New York,away from the hypocritical glare of the movie capital's self righteous moralists.He certainly proved here that he still had the talent to make people laugh and indeed had seemingly just signed a contract for the production of several feature films before his untimely death.Arbuckle is sadly remembered nowadays for events that went out of his control off-screen rather than for his considerable abilities as a comedian/actor/writer on screen.For those few film buffs that prefer the latter,BUZZIN' AROUND is a genial hint of what could have been achieved if Roscoe Arbuckle had lived longer in the new and unfolding world of sound film.

RATING:6 and a half out of 10.

Fatty comeback

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 16 September 2020]

Farm boy Cornelius (Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle) invents a liquid coating which makes anything unbreakable and bounce. He gets a request for a demonstration. His brother Al accidentally switch the jars. A bee hive falls into his vehicle. He swallows a bee. Things keep happening causing non-stop chaos.

First, that's the Target dog. I wonder if there is a copyright situation. I've only seen a couple of Fatty Arbuckle movie and this is probably the best so far. It's one of his comebacks and as a talkie, it has his voice. With nephew Al, they look like Laurel and Hardy. It's a lot of slapstick and mindless destruction. I don't mind it. It's lesser Laurel and Hardy with the Target dog.

Quite amusing, and great to see Roscoe back

[SnorrSm1989 · 6/10 · 15 October 2007]

BUZZIN' AROUND was the third two-reeler Roscoe Arbuckle appeared in, as part of a series produced at Vitagraph studios. As any fan will know, these short films marked the official comeback of Arbuckle as a performer, having been able to find work only as a director in the years following the infamous scandal that ruined in career in 1921. By the time Vitaphone became interested in him, ten years later, silent films belonged to the past, and Roscoe had to synchronize his slapstick style to dialogue and sound effects. All in all, he did the transition very well; his strong voice suits his character perfectly, and the dialogue is rather functional, as it never takes too much focus away from the slapstick-routines which were Roscoe's specialty (Buster Keaton suffered much more in this regard at MGM during these years). BUZZIN' AROUND provides little truly extraordinary, perhaps, but at least ranks among the average comedy shorts of the time. This film is also of some particular interest as it teams up again Roscoe with his real-life nephew Al St. John; the two had appeared together in numerous films during the silent era, St. John usually playing "the villain." Here, however, the two are on quite good terms. And while it must be assumed that Roscoe's brilliant Luke the Dog had sadly passed away by this time, the dog Pete (known from Our Gang-comedies) is also quite clever and charming.

In the film, Roscoe appears as Cornelius, a boy from a farm whose big ambition in life is to become an inventor. He receives words that a company is interested in his most recent triumph; a liquid which makes all objects unbreakable, including the most expensive ming vase. As our hero excitedly leaves the farm for the city in order to perform a demonstration, he happens to bring along a jar of moonshine rather than the invention. Several unexpected problems occur on his way; he is attacked by bees, one of which he manages to swallow, and later on wrecks a stranger's car by accident. I choose not to reveal much more, other than that expensive glass and vases are much present in the culmination of this mayhem. You've seen it before in some other form, and there is certainly not much refinement to be found here. Even so, the crudeness in the humor seldom comes off as overly cartoonish, much due to Roscoe's presence; he appears just "human" enough as a character for us to care about him. Although a bit older, he is just as charming as in his heyday; the cleverness with objects which was often reflected in his silent films is also present here. Only the "buzzing" itself, when a doctor tries to allure the bee out again from Roscoe's mouth, seems a bit over-done to me (though it's quite funny up to a point).

Apparently, BUZZIN' AROUND was the last film Arbuckle appeared in to be released before his death in June, 1933, though he did manage to make three more after this one. The comeback which these short films marked was long overdue and sadly turned out to be all too brief. But I am certainly glad Roscoe Arbuckle did make these; having been deprived of his performing career when it was at its peak, he could in the end call himself a "true comedian" again. (This review has since been revised, Dec. 2012)

Bees in Brooklyn

[nickenchuggets · 7/10 · 27 July 2023]

Despite Fatty Arbuckle's career mostly being over by the early 1930s due to an infamous sex scandal, this short proves that even just 4 months before his death, he still found the passion to be entertaining. The plot begins with him leaving his mother's farm and going into the city in a noisy jalopy. He has with him a chemical that he claims can make fine plates, vases, and other delicate objects indestructible. However, in his hurry to get out of the house, he brings a jar of cider and leaves the chemical behind. A beehive then falls into his car on his way to the city and he throws it to some football players who mistake it for a football. When one of the bees is swallowed by Arbuckle, he tries to get a bartender to fix him by holding his mouth open while the other guy lures the bee out with a sugary treat. After the bee emerges and flies in his mouth instead, the football players storm the bar and request assistance after being stung numerous times. Arbuckle then makes his way to a shop that sells china and vases. Upon attempting to impress the storeowner by coating the objects in his "chemical" and then trying to smash them, Arbuckle finds to his horror that the objects are able to be broken. Someone catches up to him and says he left the real chemical at home, and he's been coating the things in cider. After the chemical still fails to make things unbreakable, a fight erupts in the store as Arbuckle, the store owner, and someone hauled away by the cops earlier (for following Arbuckle) throw plates and things at each other. Arbuckle then manages to escape in a vehicle resembling a bathtub with a propeller on the back, alongside a dog. This is the first Fatty Arbuckle film I've seen so far, but for him, it was his last. While I didn't find the short that funny, I have to admire how Arbuckle was daring enough to release films under his own name after the scandal which basically put an end to his career. Many think that he died a forgotten entertainer, but he was on his way to fame again right when he died, and had actually signed to do a Warner Bros movie the same day. We'll never know what this might have looked like, something that sadly applies to most things he was in. Producers in this era didn't really like keeping film around after it had been completed, so many films containing Arbuckle are gone for good, and this is compounded by the fact that studios didn't want to hold onto films starring an alleged rapist. Even though he was arguably the first movie star to fall victim to a sex scandal, Arbuckle's films are up there with the likes of Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and other physical comedy geniuses. It's not surprising he basically taught them all in the art of making people laugh. One other thing, the dog in this short is the same one from The Little Rascals.

Arbuckle in full force

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 30 April 2019]

"Buzzin' Around" is an American black-and-white live sction short film from 1933 that runs for under 20 minutes and features silent film legend Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle in one of his later works. Goulding, henley and Lambert were those in charge of script and direction and even if they were very prolific back in the day, there's probably not too many that know them today still. But mentioning their names despite them being listed on here on imdb anyway is something they deserve. But of course, this film is all about Arbuckle other than that, even if Al St. John, another icon from his era is also on board. At least as interesting as the cast in here is the sound as the year (over 85 years ago) of course makes it obvious that this was still the early days of sound film and there are some pretty fun inclusions of sound effects that make this film better than many other sound movies from around that time that looked a bid shoddy and rusty frequently. By the way the title of this one here could very well stem from a cartoon by WB or so if we look at the year. It sure sounds like that. But it is not. Instead of being part of the Golden Age of Amination back then, it is one of the finest works by Arbuckle and I was well entertained here on quite a few occasions. One highlight would be the long ending sequence when the protagonist thinks he brought along his magic invention, but sadly there has been a mix-up, so he keeps breaking one priceless vase/artefact after the next. It has been a while since I laughed that much during a black-and-white (short) film I think. Had this level been there also in the slightly underwhelming middle part, then this would have been a truly great film. But the way it actually turned out, it is still fairly solid I would say. Arbuckle shows that he much more than a mere silent film star, even if admittedly he looked a bit too much like Hardy here at times, especially when they put a Laurel lookalike right next to him. I think you might wanna check this one out, also to see one of the really rare inclusion of bees (and sports teams being the victim of these bees) in old movies. Go for it!

Fatty's Comeback

[Michael_Elliott · 27 February 2008]

Buzzin' Around (1933)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

The second film in Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle's comeback has him playing a farm boy who creates a special liquid that when applied to dishes makes them unbreakable. He goes to take this into the city so that he can make some major cash but he ends up taking the wrong stuff and all sorts of trouble follows. BUZZIN' AROUND isn't a masterpiece and it can't hold a candle next to the classic Arbuckle pictures but for the most part I found it to be mildly entertaining thanks in large part to the star. He manages to really come across as likable, which is something that made his silent pictures so entertaining. You certainly believe him as this farm boy who creates this special chemical and we're given several funny situations where Arbuckle simply gets to use his charm for laughs. I think the highlight of the picture is when he gets his car attached to that of a rich man and what follows is certainly full of laughs. Another funny sequence involves what happens once he finally gets to the location wanting to buy his chemical. The weirdest moments are at the start of the picture when Arbuckle comes under attack from bees. The special effects, using animation, are weak to say the least but at the same time you've never really seen this type of comedy attempt. Al St. John is good as well in his supporting role.

Near The End

[boblipton · 7/10 · 10 July 2023]

Roscoe Arbuckle has invented a liquid that, when painted on pottery, makes it bounce instead of breaking. He's on his way into town to show it off to manufacturers. However, Al St. John has accidentally switched a jar of hard cider for the invention, and a nest of angry wasps has fallen into Roscoe's car on the way in.

It's a funny and old-fashioned comedy, full of slapstick and sight gags, and sound gags too. More than that, it was a way back for Arbuckle, who had been banned from appearing in the movies after he had been acquitted of murdering Virginia Rappe. Yes, that's right, acquitted, with an apology from the jury. For more than ten years he had worked as a comedy director under a false name. Now Warner Brothers was giving him a chance to appear in front of the camera again in six shorts.

No sign of the old Arbuckle genius

[planktonrules · 4/10 · 11 October 2007]

This is a very mediocre film at best. And, considering this is one of the last films by the legendary Fatty Arbuckle, that's pretty sad. In his heyday (before the scandal that torpedoed his career), Arbuckle's comedies were among the best of the silent era--showing great imagination and finesse. However, all the originality and charm of his old films is barely noticeable here--even if he is teamed up with his old supporting comedian, Al St. John (Arbuckle's real-life nephew). This is because some gags are just not funny (the way too long and poorly done bee bit) and others are just recycled from other films (such as Arbuckle's following a policeman in order to keep the tough guy from slugging him). The end result just looks very tired and a mere shadow of his former glory. Like the old saying goes, "you can never go back". Too bad--as I really wanted to like this comeback film.

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's Final Curtain Call

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 8 August 2000]

A ROSCOE `FATTY' ARBUCKLE Comedy Short

A farm boy invents a solution that prevents china from breaking. He eagerly heads off to the Big City to show off his discovery. But when a swarm of bees start BUZZIN' AROUND his jalopy, all manner of chaos begins to break loose...

Roscoe Arbuckle (he hated the nickname of `Fatty') was one of the silent era's most beloved comics. At the apex of his fame he rivaled even Chaplin in popularity. But in 1921, Roscoe became the victim of Hollywood's first great scandal. Accused of raping & causing the death of a young harlot starlet in San Francisco, he was forced to endure the hideous ordeal of 3 criminal trials. Even though the final jury fully exonerated him, he was hounded by the media, and his career was all but destroyed.

But Roscoe was not completely finished in films. Sympathetic friends arranged for him to appear in 2 cameos, and from 1925 to 1932, under a pseudonym, he directed 28 comedy shorts. Finally in 1932 he signed with Vitaphone to appear in 6 shorts, under his real name. BUZZIN' AROUND, released in February 1933, was the last of these. It was to be his final film appearance.

In June of 1933, because of the success of the shorts, Roscoe signed with Warners to begin starring in feature films. His long years in the Hollywood Wilderness over, Roscoe was delighted. Tragically, he died in his sleep of a massive heart attack a few hours after signing the contract. He was only 46 years old.

Fortunately, since it was to be his cinematic farewell, BUZZIN' AROUND is quite a funny film. Played like a silent short with sound & dialogue, Roscoe is in his element. Amazingly graceful for a man of his size, he provides solid laughs, along with his sidekick Al St. John & Pete the Dog, from the OUR GANG films. Although amusing, it is an ultimately sad experience to watch, leaving the viewer wondering what was lost to the movies because death, tragedy & scandal intervened.

Nice to See Him Back

[arfdawg-1 · 6/10 · 17 July 2023]

This is one of a handful of Fatty Arbuckle movies made as his return to starring in two reelers, now in sound.

The movie has ots of pantomie with sound effects, but it also has speaking roles, including Fatty.

It's directed by a seasoned director who specialized in two reel comedies but also directed Laurel & Hardy in a couple of their best films (and one of their worst).

Pete the Dog from the Little Rascals is also in this.

The movie has a lot of decent gags and although Fatty is a bit aged and a bit slower, he's still pretty funny. I enjoyed it as a curio piece.

Filmed around the Vitagraph/Warner Studios in Brooklyn, NY.

Fatty Arbuckle teams with pre-'Fuzzy' St. John!

[classicsoncall · 5/10 · 20 December 2016]

I've only seen one or two of Fatty Arbuckle's film shorts, and I've yet to sample any of his comic genius. At least that's what his fans claim. This twenty minute story is okay, but I'm not generally big on slapstick elements and there were plenty of them on display here. Being a major Western movie fan, the bigger deal for me in this short was seeing Al St. John a decade before he got all those whiskers and came to be known as 'Fuzzy', sidekick to a host of Western heroes like Robert Livingston, Buster Crabbe and Lash La Rue. Even so, by the time this short was made, he already had twenty years under his belt as a silent film player, both credited and uncredited!

The other item of note I'd like to mention had to do with some inadvertently neat product placement on a drug store front used in the picture. I'm always on the lookout for stuff like this, especially in early films, and wasn't disappointed to see advertising signs for Ex-Lax (the 'ideal' laxative), Bromo-Seltzer, Coca-Cola (using the original and still familiar cursive logo), and Hoffman Beverages. That last one might have been a local brand, but one I'm familiar with.

Other reviewers for this flick have already mentioned the story line, so I'll pass on that. Of all the gags, the one that did catch my attention was the bit with the bee hive, more so for the animation aspect of the sequence which looked rather original for a picture going back this far.

A nice pair of jugheads

[F Gwynplaine MacIntyre · 10/10 · 25 July 2002]

"Buzzin' Around" is the funniest (and most action-packed) of the six Vitaphone shorts which comprise Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's entire talking-picture career. (Of the other five, "Close Relations" and "In the Dough" are only a whisker less funny than "Buzzin' Around".)

More significantly, "Buzzin' Around" features the ONLY team-up of Roscoe Arbuckle and Al St John in a sound film. St John was Arbuckle's nephew, who got into films (at Keystone) with Arbuckle's help. A natural athlete and acrobat, St John did some virtuoso pratfalls and daredevil stuntwork in many silent films for Keystone and other studios ... usually in support of other comedians, but also (with less success) in his own starring series. When Arbuckle starred in his own series of silent comedies at the Comique studio, Al St John came along and did dazzling work as Arbuckle's third banana (seconded by Buster Keaton).

Throughout their silent-film collaborations, Al St John nearly always played Arbuckle's rival ... usually for the affections of the girl. The first time I saw "Buzzin' Around", I expected them to play rivals or enemies here. To my delight, I was wrong. In this movie, Arbuckle and St John are working towards a mutual goal, although mostly in separate scenes. Roscoe plays Cornelius, a hayseed who has invented a varnish which renders pottery unbreakable. He goes off to the big city to demonstrate his invention to some investors, but the varnish has vanished and he accidentally brings along the family's moonshine jug instead of the jug containing his varnish. When St John discovers this, he grabs the proper jug and goes off to rescue Roscoe. But then the two jugs (and the two jugheads) get mixed up with a hive full of bees. Oh, beehive yourself! The precise relationship between the characters played by Roscoe and Al in this film is never explained; they live together in a hillbilly shanty and are apparently brothers, or possibly cousins. Cue the theme from "Deliverance".

It's a joy to see Arbuckle and St John playing allies for once, in their last appearance together. They both do dazzling pratfalls during the climax of this movie, although they appear separately in most of the footage. After this film, alas, Al St John's career dwindled into supporting roles in cheap westerns, and Arbuckle died tragically young.

The "bees" in this movie are actually animation, but they are extremely well drawn and animated, and look quite realistic. Silent-film veteran Arbuckle uses sound quite effectively, especially in a sequence in which Cornelius has swallowed a bee, and weird buzzing sounds replace Arbuckle's voice.

One footnote, or paw-note: In this film, Arbuckle and St John appear alongside a dog named Pete who is a dead ringer for Pete the dog in the 'Our Gang' comedies, including the ring round his left eye. I'm positive that this is NOT the same dog, though he has clearly been made up to look like the original.

IMDb reviewer Ron Oliver has called this film Arbuckle's final curtain call. Not quite. "Buzzin' Around" was the second of Arbuckle's six Vitaphone shorts: it was, however, the last of his films released during Arbuckle's lifetime. The third ("How've You Bean?") was released less than a week after Arbuckle's sudden death. The sixth and last, "Tomalio", is by far the least funny.

"Buzzin' Around" benefits from some interesting location work in a semi-rural section of Brooklyn near Coney Island. "Buzzin' Around" is required viewing for anyone who cares about American film comedy. Rate it ten out of ten: no; let's cheat and rate it an eleven. Make every possible effort to see this hilarious short movie.

Arbuckle still had it

[RDenial · 9/10 · 1 April 2007]

Thankfully Hollywood forgave Arbuckle in time that he was able to make 6 talking shorts before passing away. I gave this short a 9. It is not hilariously funny for a modern audience but probably as good or better than any other shorts of it's day and does have it's moments. You can tell his ordeals have taken their toll on him as a man, but Arbuckle still had the knack of being funny. The scene where the doctor examines him after swallowing a bee is very funny indeed. One reviewer here mentioned that Arbuckle was a long time heroin addict by the time this film was released. I have read about everything there is on Arbuckle and have never heard that from any other source and do not believe it for a second. Arbuckles alcoholism was well known but that hardly made him a heroin addict. I would like to know where the reviewer got that info.

Buzzin' Around is a funny talkie from silent comic Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle

[tavm · 8/10 · 27 July 2007]

Just discovered on YouTube this rare talkie short starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle who had resurfaced on the silver screen after suffering for years his trials, eventually acquitted from, of raping a young woman. In Buzzin' Around, he plays Cornelius, an inventor of a fluid that's supposed to make anything it comes in contact with unbreakable. He accidentally takes some moonshine left by Al St. John instead as his car hits a tree backing up and gets a beehive dumped in the back seat. Those bees annoy Cornelius as he gets out in the middle of the road where a football game is playing nearby. The bees go from him to the players and one of them flies in Cornelius' mouth! He goes to a university lab where the scientist tries to get the bee out of his mouth. I think I'll stop there and tell you there's other funny scenes concerning a car sticking to another one and broken vases. And a nice appearance of a dog who looks a lot like Pete the Pup of the Our Gang shorts and is addressed as such here. Well worth seeing for fans of Arbuckle.

Stung

[tedg · 10 July 2005]

Its pretty amazing to watch the old physical comedy deals.

Some seem to stand the test of time, namely they make me laugh, and I'm a sucker for the pratfall. But this is neither charming nor remotely funny.

I searched this out because it was Fatty's last picture, a dozen years after the scandal.

He was by this time several decades a heroin addict it seems, and still clinging to an endearing, agile fat character.

This short has two halves: an encounter with a beehive and subsequently swallowing a bee, followed by the unrelated destruction of a chinashop.

The events are all designed from well established formulas so what really mattered was the tone of the thing. That tone is set and maintained by the comic nature of the reality created: a funny car, funny pants and walk and so on.

Fatty was able in prior years to create some of that magic; here he simply echoes it, relying on his frequent costar and some gags that have little to do with him.

He was already effectively gone when this was made, showing up only to lend a familiar face at 46.

This is considered the best of his last period. It lacks the manic pace of even moderate Keaton or Chaplin and is at about the level of tiredness as much of Abbot and Costello.

Ted's Evaluation -- 1 of 3: You can find something better to do with this part of your life.