Editing Cops (film)

{{short description|1922 film}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox film
|name            = Cops
|image           = Cops 1922 poster.jpg
|caption         = Theatrical poster 
|director        = [[Edward F. Cline]] <br> [[Buster Keaton]] 
|producer        = [[Joseph M. Schenck]]
|writer          = Edward F. Cline <br> Buster Keaton 
|starring        = Buster Keaton <br> [[Virginia Fox]] <br> [[Joe Roberts (actor)|Joe Roberts]] <br> Edward F. Cline <br> Steve Murphy
|music           =
|cinematography  = [[Elgin Lessley]]
|editing         = 
|distributor     = [[First National Pictures|First National Pictures Inc.]]
|released        = {{Film date|1922|03|11}}
|runtime         = 18 minutes
|language        = [[Silent film]]<br>[[English language|English]] (original intertitles)
|country         = United States
|budget          =
}}

'''''Cops''''' is a 1922 American [[Short film|two-reel]] [[Silent film|silent]]  [[comedy film]] about a young man ([[Buster Keaton]]) who accidentally gets on the bad side of the entire [[Los Angeles Police Department]] during a parade and is chased all over town.  It was written and directed by [[Edward F. Cline]] and Keaton. This very [[Kafka]]-esque film was filmed during the rape-and-murder trial of [[Fatty Arbuckle]], a circumstance that may have influenced the short's tone of hopeless ensnarement.<ref>Neibaur, James L., and Terri Niemi (2013). ''Buster Keaton's silent shorts, 1920-1923''. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 148. {{ISBN|081088741X}}.</ref><ref>Oldham, Gabriella (1996). ''Keaton's silent shorts: Beyond the laughter''. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press. p. 203. {{ISBN|0585108064}}.</ref>

It was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States [[Library of Congress]] and selected for preservation in their [[National Film Registry]] in 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/loc/lcib/9712/nfr.html|title=New to the National Film Registry (December 1997) - Library of Congress Information Bulletin|website=www.loc.gov|access-date=April 24, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|access-date=June 3, 2020|website=Library of Congress}}</ref>

==Plot==
[[File:Cops (Edward F. Cline and Buster Keaton, 1922).webm|thumb|thumbtime=27|left|''Cops'']]







The main character is spurned by his love interest, who wants him to become a businessman. Once he leaves her estate, he ends up acquiring a large amount of money from a businessman’s wallet. He uses this money to buy up a comically large amount of furniture and a horse to carry this furniture in a carriage. While moving the furniture around town, he faces a variety of comical issues, such as his horse tiring out and accidentally knocking out a cop with his homemade turn signal. Later, he accidentally joins a police parade. A bomb gets thrown off a rooftop and Keaton’s character catches it and unwittingly throws it into the parade. This leads to him being chased by a horde of cops.

At the end of the film, Keaton's character manages to lock all the cops in a police station. However, the girl he tried to woo at the beginning of the film (revealed to be the Mayor’s daughter) disapproves of his behavior and gives him the cold shoulder. Therefore, he unlocks the police station and is immediately pulled in by the cops. The film ends with the title "The End" written on a tombstone with Keaton's [[pork pie hat]] propped on it.

==Edits==

During its initial release individual states had their own censor boards and would cut the film to meet their states requirements.
Surviving prints of this title bear the State of Pennsylvania Censors Board Approval logo, Pennsylvania cut out the Goat Gland Doctor sequence and for decades this was missing. Around 1980 a surviving uncut print was located and this sequence was re-inserted into the film. Still, many older prints exist without this sequence restored.

==Cast==
* [[Buster Keaton]] as The Young Man
* [[Joe Roberts (actor)|Joe Roberts]] as Police Chief
* [[Virginia Fox]] as Mayor's Daughter
* [[Edward F. Cline]] as Hobo
* [[Steve_Murphy_(actor)|Steve Murphy]] as Conman selling furniture (uncredited)

==See also==
* [[Buster Keaton filmography]]
* [[List of United States comedy films]]
* [[1922 in film]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{wikisource|Cops}}
*''Cops'' essay by Randy Haberkamp  at [[National Film Registry]] [https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/cops.pdf]
*''Cops'' essay by Daniel Eagan in America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry, A&C Black, 2010 {{ISBN|0826429777}}, pages 81–83 [https://books.google.com/books/about/America_s_Film_Legacy.html?id=deq3xI8OmCkC]
*{{Internet Archive short film|id=Cops|name=Cops}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0013025|title=Cops}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20191214115443/http://www.busterkeaton.org/cops ''Cops''] at the [[International Buster Keaton Society]]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160513193919/http://indigestmag.com/blog/?p=2058 Article at ''InDigest Magazine'' about the film recently being scored by guitarist Steve Kimock]

{{Buster Keaton}}

[[Category:1922 films]]
[[Category:1922 comedy films]]
[[Category:1922 short films]]
[[Category:1920s American films]]
[[Category:1920s English-language films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Films directed by Buster Keaton]]
[[Category:Films directed by Edward F. Cline]]
[[Category:Films produced by Joseph M. Schenck]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Buster Keaton]]
[[Category:First National Pictures films]]
[[Category:Silent American comedy short films]]
[[Category:Surviving American silent films]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:English-language comedy short films]]