Film #112 - Back Stage (1919)
Viewed April 22, 2006
Back Stage is wonderful because it gives us an inside view (albeit an over-the-top comedic one) at the goings-on behind the scenes in vaudville. By the time this film was made, vaudville was already dying. That one of its great practitioners, Buster Keaton, had moved exclusively to film is an indication where it was going. But he and Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle take a moment with this film to immortalise some of Buster’s act, as well as many other oddballs that graced the stage in those days.
And it is in this glimpse that Back Stage has its greatest draw. It’s not for the story, I can tell you. It is yet another bare bones plot put together purely to hang the gags on. (Something about a strong man being mean to his assistant and Arbuckle and Keaton having to put on a whole show by themselves.) Unlike some of the other shorts in the Arbuckle/Keaton canon, however, in this case that’s perfectly acceptable.
The routines shown run the gamut from novelty dancing to drag acts (Buster, this time) and the strongman, who also serves as the piece’s villain. Buster really shows off his versatility in Back Stage, and it is obvious that this film is designed to help set up his eventual run of starring shorts. Arbuckle gets less to do in this film, despite serving as the nominal lead. The “guest” performers are quite impressive, particlarly the novelty dancing by Jack Coogan, Sr. This is one of only a handful of film appearances by Coogan (Jackie Coogan’s father) and its nice to know that a performer of his stature has been archived in this manner.
Back Stage is not going to satisy you if you are looking for a story, but it is in its documentation of vaudville and its performers that it finds its great value. That all the performances are of such high quality means that it stands as a record of the best that vaudville could be.