Safe in Jail

Safe in Jail is a short 1913 silent comedy that centers on a blustering constable trying to keep order in a small community. When two inept crooks are rounded up, mishaps follow as neighbors get involved and everyday objects become sources of mayhem. Ford Sterling plays the constable, and Edgar Kennedy is one of the crooks; Raymond Hatton fills the other crook role, while Roscoe Arbuckle appears in a comic disguise as the neighbor woman, with Charles Avery as her husband. The film strings together quick sight gags, pratfalls, and misunderstandings, piling up short scenes that aim for laughs rather than character depth. It moves fast and relies on physical timing and exaggerated reactions more than plot and local politics.

Directed by Mack Sennett and released in 1913, the film is an example of early Keystone-style slapstick shorts. It was produced as a silent black and white comedy and showcases performers who were regulars in Sennett's troupe for contemporary audiences.

Contemporary box office records for many 1913 shorts are incomplete, and no reliable gross is available today for Safe in Jail. Films like this circulated through nickelodeons and early film exchanges, earning steady program use rather than record-setting theatrical receipts.

Modern appraisal comes mainly from silent film enthusiasts; user ratings are sparse but positive, reflecting an 8.0/10 vote average from one recorded source. The piece leans on slapstick, authority-versus-hooligan routines, gender-based comedy through disguise, and swift visual jokes that highlight timing and ensemble interplay over narrative complexity and period audiences.

While Safe in Jail isn't singled out as a landmark, it belongs to an output that helped define early film slapstick, with brisk pacing and visible stuntwork. The cast includes performers who later became better known in silent comedy, so the short is often of interest to historians and collectors.