Leap Year (Silent) (DVD)

Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle stars in this rare feature-length comedy, never released in the United States. Knowing that he will inherit his ailing Uncle Jeremiah's fortune, Stanley Piper has always chosen to be lazy. The only thing he has ever been interested in is girls, particularly his uncle's shapely nurse. In an attempt to cure him of his womanizing ways, Jeremiah sends Stanley to a resort on Catalina Island that purports to be free of females. This proves not to be the case, however, and the philanderer inadvertently becomes engaged to three different beauties while vacationing. With all the girls now ready to move into the Piper mansion, Stanley has to figure out how to explain his future life as a bigamist to Jeremiah before he disowns him.

Due to his immense popularity during the silent era, Roscoe Arbuckle was one of the first comedians to transition from short subjects to features. His first, The Round-Up (1920), was a huge hit at the box office. But in September of 1921, Arbuckle was charged with rape and manslaughter after actress Virginia Rappe died at his house in San Francisco. This led to Paramount immediately removing the recently completed Leap Year from its release schedule. Even after Arbuckle was acquitted the following year, the studio refused to let the film out of the vault, except for a limited European release in 1924. Untarnished by his association with the disgraced comedian, director James Cruze would go on to make classics such as The Covered Wagon (1923), The Great Gabbo (1929) and I Cover the Waterfront (1933). Starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Mary Thurman. Directed by James Cruze.

BONUS: Fatty And Mabel At The San Diego Exposition (Silent, BW, 1915): Arbuckle and his frequent comedic foil, Mabel Normand, take a tour of the Panama-California Exposition in Balboa Park with disastrous results. Edgar Kennedy cameos as a police officer. Starring Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle and Mabel Normand. Directed by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle.

• silent