The Life of the Party

Roscoe Arbuckle as Algernon Leary, a lawyer who takes a milk-trust case for a woman (Viora Daniel) and ends up running for mayor in a child's romper, after a blizzard and a stolen coat. Joseph Henabery directed for Famous Players-Lasky, 1920, from an Irvin S. Cobb story; five reels, a print at the Library of Congress. It is Arbuckle between the Keystone body and the scandal: situational, almost a drama, the slapstick reduced to a costume. Released a year before Labor Day 1921. After Hays, it disappeared with the rest of his features. What survives is a star trying to become an actor, and almost making it.