It is a performances centric movie

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

"Bangville Police" is another black-and-white silent film from the earlier days of film as this one is also over 100 years old. it only runs for 8 minutes and if you hear the title, this is probably what an adult movie today could be named, but here "bang" really only refers to all the noise and chaos that exists in this movie. Director Henry Lehrman is probably as unknown to most today as are all the other cast members with one exception, even if they were really prolific and successful a century ago. The exception is Mabel Normand of course, who plays a young woman suspecting criminals at her farm. She locks herself in and calls the police. The other townsfolk also quickly rushes to her place and a lot of the comedy is about people mistaking others for criminals. Actually almost all of it. At eight minutes, it is okay of a story, even if not too convincing either. The only memorable aspect eventually is once again the stunningly beautiful Mabel Normand with her great aura where one cannot have doubts for a second why she was such a huge star in her early 20s already, even if this one here does not carry her name in the title. Everything else is negligible though and it's only worth seeing for the very biggest silent film fans. I give it a thumbs-down, even if the ending was admittedly kinda cute and this film did somehow have a suspense/thriller element next to the 90% comedy.

This seems to be one of the most common Keystones out there, and is usually regarded as the first appearance of the "Keystone Kops" (their actual first appearance was in 1912's Hoffmeyer's Legacy). This is a pretty good half-reel comedy with a good plot line for a 7 minute film. Mabel, the daughter of a farmer (played by Nick Cogley), asks her father if she can have a baby calf. Later, she sees two mysterious men entering the farm and thinks they are burglars. She hides in a shed and phones the police, who are led by a portly, doddering old bumpkin. When Mabel's mother tries to enter the shed, Mabel blocks the door causing the mother to think a burglar is hiding inside! The police rush to the farm to catch the supposed burglars. Mabel's parents learn it was her hiding in the barn, and the strange men were actually delivering a baby calf.These aren't the legendary Keystone Kops most people are familiar with. They're really just a militia here; a group of country folk who carry guns and shovels and defend their small town when needed. Ford Sterling is funny as a skinny little hick who rounds up all the "cops", and Fred Mace as the police chief is the highlight of the whole film.Overall, this is a good film that you should have no problem locating a copy of.

Very simple, very short Keystone Kops film, about a farmgirl who causes panic when she thinks she spots a couple of burglars. Not as raucous as the wilder Kops films, and thus not as funny. An interesting relic of more primitive times, but in truth this is throwaway fodder.

Not to worry, pretty Mabel, the Bangville Police are on the job! Actually, they resemble the peasant militia in appearances and armaments. However, they always get their man!In this film we see part of the early stage of evolution of the Keystone Cops, which proceeded from rural bungling to big city ineptitude.Although Mabel stands out in acting, the rest of the cast is just fine. The story, however, is bare bones, but that doesn't detract from the film. It is a lot of fun to watch.As an afterthought here, I should say that Mabel Normand is beautifully photographed. I can understand why she was so popular with artists and photographers of her day.