there be a run thread in film comedy that all the great comic be just fall short of the law or on go to jail . think of that conman conman w. c. field in the old fashioned way and or the marx brother in a night at the opera and or chaplin in the adventurer and of mae west in she do him wrong . the skirting of the law be inevitable and and when they end up on the side of the law the result be actually still hostile between the force of law and order and the comic . think of lloyd in his first talkie and welcome danger and try to assist the san francisco police department in the midst of a crime wave and and make police sergeant edgar kennedy want to kill him . think of laurel and hardy a ill fat cop in midnight patrol . i find this type of hostility be so patent in all these giant ( and their peer ) comedy that even a fake title for a film deal with it . think of jerry seinfeld in one episode of his series create a three stooge short and sappy pappies and where the boy end up be electrocute for murder . buster keaton frequently pull in the force of law and order to be his opponent in his comedy . look at steamboat bill and jr. and where he try to spring his dad from a calaboose . but he actually have more conflict from police force in his short . in convict 13 he be drag back to prison when mistaken for an escaped convict . in cop ( perfect title if you see it you would understand ) the police force of a large city be repeatedly look for keaton and mistaken for a terrorist ) . and in the goat he be unable to avoid the police for most of the film . keaton be a tramp just look for food . but he be totally unlucky . when he see a stranger throw a lucky horseshoe ( which keaton early ignore ) over his shoulder and and then find a wallet full of money and keaton try the same thing and and hit a cop in the head . the cop give chase and and keaton ( a luck would have it ) run into another cop and try to act normal and but end by throw the other cop into the path of the first . soon he have three cop chase him . briefly shake them he walk by a window at the local jail where local murderer dead shot dan ( malcolm st. clair ) be be photograph . passing in back of the barred window and keaton be stupid enough to stop and look straight in . the desperado note this and duck a the picture be take . when dead shot flee the police and it be keaton face on all the wanted poster . ( st. clair would eventually be a successful director of silent and early sound comedy and although in his late biography would be a stint at 20th century fox where his work with laurel and hardy be below par . ) keaton flees to another town by train ( disconnect the passenger car contain his pursuer from the locomotive and tender ) . this be the film ( by the way ) that have two famous keaton joke . his arrival on the locomotive be do in a distant shot and with it come closer and closer and and suddenly the audience see keaton sit on the cowcatcher . the second famous sequence go later ( and may have influence chaplin somewhat in the beginning of city light ) . keaton have accidentally knock out a man who be argue too violently with a pretty woman with a dog ( virginia fox ) . when he see the poster call him a murderer he think he kill the man . he be be chase in this town by a suspicious chief of police ( joe robert ) and and momentarily lose robert in the park . a statue of man of war be be construct and the sculptor be unveil a clay model of the horse ) . keaton be see seat on the clay model and try to maintain his dignity a the clay leg of the horse start collapse under his weight . keaton manage to meet the pretty m fox and who invite him home for dinner . only he doesn not realize her father be robert . the last five minute of the film deal keaton fleeing and avoid robert while he and fox get away together . it a funny comedy and and a wonderful example of keaton work at his best .