Good Night, Nurse! (1918)

“Good Night, Nurse!” is a silent comedy film produced in 1918, originating from the United States. It was both written and directed by Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, who also stars in the film alongside Buster Keaton. The story unfolds within the confines of a sanitarium, where Arbuckle’s character is brought against his will by his spouse. The purpose of his arrival is for Keaton’s character to perform an operation aimed at curing him of alcoholism.

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Cast

• Roscoe ‘Fatty’ Arbuckle is credited as Fatty.
• Buster Keaton is credited as Dr. Hampton and also plays the role of a woman with an umbrella.

• Al St. John is credited as the Surgeon’s Assistant.
• Alice Lake is credited as the Crazy Woman.
• Joe Bordeaux is credited as Joe Bordeau.
• Kate Price is credited as the Nurse.
• Dan Albert, although uncredited, plays the roles of both the Butler and the Hospital orderly.
• Joe Keaton, though uncredited, appears as the Man in Bandages.
• Snitz Edwards, although uncredited, portrays the Drunken Man.

Good Night, Nurse! (1918) – Story line

On a gloomy, rainy night, a heavily intoxicated Arbuckle roams the wet streets, oblivious to the rain drenching him. Repeatedly turned away from a drug store due to his inebriation, he’s left to endure the downpour. Arbuckle befriends another drunk, whom he tries to send home by scribbling an address on his shirt, covering his face with postage stamps, and placing him atop a mailbox. Later, he strikes up a friendship with a pair of street performers who brave the rain to play the National Anthem for him. In gratitude, Arbuckle invites them to take refuge from the rain in his home.

However, his wife is roused from sleep by the couple’s pet monkey, becoming furious. She evicts the street performers and declares her frustration with Arbuckle’s drinking. Reading about a rumored alcoholism cure, she gives him an ultimatum: undergo the operation or leave the house.

The hospital, as it turns out, is actually a sanitarium. Arbuckle is horrified when the doctor scheduled to perform his operation is revealed to have a blood-stained apron. Attempting to flee with a female patient (Alice Lake), Arbuckle is quickly apprehended. The doctors claim the girl is crazy and warn Arbuckle to stay away from her. Eventually, Arbuckle is prepped for surgery in Operating Room 13. His attempts to delay the operation with a trick involving a concealed clock fail, and he succumbs to anesthesia, falling unconscious.

Upon waking, Arbuckle resolves to escape the sanitarium and encounters the same female patient from his previous escape attempt. She pleads her sanity and mistaken commitment, and they flee, sparking a massive pillow fight between inmates and guards in the communal patients’ ward, which aids their escape. Arbuckle asks the girl how he can help her, but he soon realizes her true craziness. In a bid to escape her, he feigns drowning in a pond, forcing her to seek help. Doctors chase after her, and Arbuckle unintentionally finds himself back at the sanitarium. He tries to flee once more, this time disguising himself as a nurse. But his escape attempt is thwarted when he encounters Keaton, who mistakes Arbuckle for a real woman and flirts with him.

Arbuckle plays along to maintain his disguise until the real nurse arrives and exposes him. He makes a desperate dash, leading to a chase across a farm and onto a racetrack. Surprisingly, Arbuckle outruns the other racers, winning the prize money, which he considers spending on alcohol. However, the doctors catch up to him once again. He attempts one last escape but is subdued by the doctors.

Abruptly, the scene shifts back to Arbuckle’s hospital bed, where the doctors awaken him after the operation, revealing that the entire escape attempt was nothing more than a dream.