This very Kafka-esque film is Keaton's response to the Fatty Arbuckle scandal.[citation needed] Even though the central character's intentions are good, he cannot win, no matter how inventively he tries. He gets into various scraps with police officers throughout the film. Eventually, he unwittingly throws a bomb into a police parade and ends up being chased by a horde of cops.
At the end of the film, Keaton's character locks up the cops in the police station. However, the girl he is trying to woo disapproves of his behavior and gives him the cold shoulder. Therefore, he unlocks the police station and is immediately pulled in by the cops. The film ends with the title "The End" written on a tombstone with Keaton's pork pie hat propped on it.
One of Keaton's most iconic and brilliantly-constructed short films, Cops was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in their National Film Registry in 1997.。本片主要讲述一个拥有鲜花情结的漂亮女孩(苏羽沫),在自己追求者(莫名堂)的帮助下一直寻找着14岁那年失联的儿时玩伴(韩冰),某日莫名堂为了兑现自己与羽沫的特殊约定,莫名堂头戴鲜花行走在大街上,正是这朵鲜花让其卷入曾经轰动全城的“藏青花事件”之中。直到带着“藏青花事件”绝密资料回国为姐复仇的韩冰神秘出现,真相才逐渐浮出水面。最危险的时刻韩冰为了保护苏羽沫、莫名堂二人献出了生命,生死离别之际,苏羽沫才明白用生命营救自己的人正是当年不辞而别的韩冰。在韩冰的墓面前,莫名堂看见羽沫极度悲伤,回忆起了自己与那个韩冰的特殊约定。。