Cops (film)

In this 1922 short, Buster Keaton is trying to become a successful businessman in order to woo the mayor's daughter (Virginia Fox), but unwittingly gets into a series of steadily escalating mishaps with members of the LAPD. Eventually he wanders into a policemen's parade, obliviously tosses a bomb into the crowd, and ends up chased by the entire police force.

This film is in the public domain, and can be viewed in the Source subpage.


 * All-Natural Snake Oil: "Dr. Smith, Goat Gland Specialist"
 * Angry Guard Dog
 * Black Comedy: Specifically, Kafka Komedy.
 * Bomb-Throwing Anarchists
 * Cartoon Bomb
 * Chase Scene
 * Con Man
 * Couldn't Find a Lighter: Buster lights his cigarette off the fuse of a bomb.
 * Did Not Get the Girl
 * Downer Ending
 * Dressing as the Enemy
 * Hot Pursuit
 * Irony: "Maybe he was arrested for speeding."
 * Lemming Cops
 * Nobody Here but Us Statues
 * Non-Fatal Explosions
 * Outside Ride: Combined with a Vehicle Vanish (see below).
 * Short Con
 * Spurned Into Suicide (Implied)
 * Suicide by Cop (Implied)
 * Tap on the Head
 * Under Crank: Used sporadically in the big Chase Scene.
 * Vehicle Vanish: Buster grabs a passing truck with one hand. It happens in plain sight of the camera, but it's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment.
 * Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Buster packing a vase and a pitcher.
 * Wire Fu: When Buster is launched from a seesaw.