Connie K. then replied:
The 'Dance of the Rolls' does appear in a Arbuckle film, but NOT in 'The Cook.' The title is really 'The Rough House' (1917). Raymond Rohauer found 'The Rough House' in eastern Europe, and mistitled it as 'The Cook.' The real 'The Cook' (1918) is still missing. One must assume that David Yallop - as well as David Robinson - saw the mistitled 'Rough House,' and thought that it was 'The Cook.' Only recently has the mistake been corrected.
There's a still of this scene on 'Arbucklemania' at
http://www.uno.edu/~drif/arbuckle/Com1917.htm.
It is pretty much the same gag, though - as Connie K. points out - it's a very different situation, and in no other way is 'The Rough House' remotely like 'The Gold Rush.'
As for this 'I suspect Chaplin did not get this from anyone in particular,' business... well... in 1917 Roscoe Arbuckle was the second most popular film comedian on the planet. As Charlie's number one rival, I think it's pretty darned likely that Chaplin looked at Roscoe's efforts.
Roscoe Arbuckle's comedy often revolved around 'Kitchen Humor,' as he grew up around working in restraurants around the west coast. His films are filled with Roscoe playing with kitchen utencils (juggling with kitchen knives, balancing food on plates, flipping food in mid-air, etc.) The 'Dance of the Rolls' is very much in this style, and it is clearly 'his.'
I must stress that Roscoe only does the 'Dance of the Rolls' for a few seconds, and it's very much 'off the cuff,' and the routine that Charlie does a lot more with the gag. I think that Roscoe - like Rene Clair, or Max Linder - felt greatly honored the Chaplin would used one of his ideas.
David B. Pearson 'Arbucklemania'
