Quick recap: Harold Lloyd Plays Harold Hickory, the youngest brother in a family of sheriffs. He is the very opposite of them-timid and always getting himself into trouble somehow.

he’s also prone to picking up snakes. What shenanigans!

Fun (?) fact: An elevator was constructed for the camera to follow Harold as he climbed a tree to see the woman he loved.

Considering 8 gagmen were hired for this film (which I didn’t even know was a profession) you can probably guess what is going to happen next

My thoughts: Apparently Harold Lloyd was a thing back in the day. Charlie Chaplain had the emotions, Buster Keaton had the stunts and this guy had the laughs. Or something like that. Now, I didn’t personally laugh out loud ( or ‘lol’, as the kids are calling it), but I did recognize that humor was being used. I can imagine an audience back in the 20s eating this stuff up, much like audiences today loving mindless humor now and then.

The thing that keeps me from fulling embracing this guy is that he’s like, 40. Ok, 34, at the time of this film, but still. WAY too old to be anyone’s ‘kid brother’. The opening scenes have him picking a fight with the neighbor boy (who’s also, like, 40) and then trying on his father’s sheriff vest (essentially playing dress up). It’s weird, a little creepy, and totally familiar. Instead of my usual indignation over actors playing much younger than they actually are, I realized that his movie might just be the inspiration for one of my favorite characters of all time:

Thinking of Harold as the original Buster Bluth made this film a little more enjoyable to watch than when I first started it. The plot was entirely predictable ( he saves the day AND gets the girl. What a country), but I liked seeing exactly how he would do it. The fight scene at the end of the movie was surprisingly complex and although I think a real person stuffed into lifesavers and rolled down the road would most likely die, it was was still fun to watch.

one more for the road

Final review: 2/5. Arrested Development, though is a solid 5 and you should go watch it

Up next: Gun Crazy