The Waiters Ball
The premise of 1914's Fatty's Magic Pants/Fatty's Suitless Day is ported to a hash house, where the cook and the waiter are in fierce rivalry for the fickle affections of the cashier, both trying to be the one chosen to go with her to The Waiters Ball. Along the way, the restaurant is used as a stage to showcase Roscoe's kitchen acrobatics and a variety of fast-paced comic skits.
This gem feels like a milestone in Arbuckle's growth from the often limited and flimsy material of Keystone to the wild and unhinged inventiveness of Comique. Most of the best elements of Comique-style comedy are here - even though Buster hasn't arrived yet. There's more craziness than the eye can keep up with, so the more this is viewed, the better it gets.
Metatheatrics rating (Number of smiles, winks, and other asides to the audience): 13 (Roscoe 6, Al, 6, Kate Price 1)
NOTE: Restoration posted on Internet Archive is visually better, but reconstruction posted on YouTube has additional scenes.
