Cops starts with Keaton apparently behind bars. The camera cuts and reveals he's talking to a woman who rejects his marriage proposal until he becomes successful. Despite success not being an objective measure, it starts the film. He sees a wallet and quickly returns it. Just like the scout in the famous Twix commercial (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ExpZI12IoDI), he deserves a reward but doesn't get it fairly. He keeps the cash. Despite that, we always seem to root for Buster as he gets into more and more hi-jinx with dozens of the cities police officers. It ends with one of the crazier title cards I've ever seen. It's short and fun, but it's not my favorite Keaton short.

This one didn’t do much for me.

Stream of consciousness hilarity from Buster Keaton and a few of his favorite collaborators. Despite the title, _Cops_ only briefly involves the police. Most of its eighteen-minute runtime is spent tailgating an enterprising young man on his quest for a quick buck, observing from a distance as he stumbles over a number of too-good-to-be-true business opportunities and repeatedly, naïvely, compounds his troubles. By the end of the picture, he carries a long tail of inevitable repercussions, a year's worth of fallout for one short afternoon's flighty misadventure, and that's where the grand, climactic police chase comes in. Young Keaton's not a total dunce - in fact, his impulsive shrewdness provides one of the film's first big laughs (not to mention a serious bankroll) - he's just self-centered and oblivious to the max. This sense of ignorant innocence rears its head constantly, usually to the detriment of the innocent parties who happen to cross his path, and it always hits its comedic mark. Keaton's effortless in the act, averting his eyes to fluff a pillow or light a cigarette while he KOs a poor traffic cop and ruins a large-scale parade. Buying into this act is essential, as his seemingly well-intentioned character would probably come off as a real jerk if we believed he'd done any of it on purpose. Instead, he's more like a cursed dreamer who can't outrun his own fate.