the Keystone Kops
/ðə ˌkiːstəʊn ˈkɒps/
/ðə ˌkiːstəʊn ˈkɑːps/
- a team of actors who appeared as a group of comic police officers in a series of US silent films (1912-20) produced by Mack Sennett and his Keystone Comedy Company. The leader was played by Ford Sterling, and one of the other Kops was Fatty Arbuckle. They had long and funny scenes in which they pursued criminals or wrongly chased innocent citizens, often in cars.