Movie Crazy.

Review #2024: Movie Crazy.

Cast: 

Harold Lloyd (Harold Hall / Trouble), Constance Cummings (Mary Sears), Kenneth Thomson (Vance), Louise Closser Hale (Mrs Kitterman), Spencer Charters (J.L. O'Brien), Robert McWade (Wesley Kitterman, Producer), Eddie Fetherston (Bill - assistant director), Sydney Jarvis (The Director), Harold Goodwin (Miller), Mary Doran (Margie), DeWitt Jennings (Mr Hall), and Lucy Beaumont (Mrs Hall) Directed by Clyde Bruckman (#908 - The General, #1304 - Welcome Danger, #1621 - Feet First) and Harold Lloyd.

Review: 

I will admit that there it has been slow road to cover the talkie era of Harold Lloyd, who certainly deserves to be remembered for his contributions to comedy. He made the transition to sound at the age of 36 after countless silent comedies two-fold: Speedy was initially released as a silent feature in April of 1928 before a version that added a few sound sequences came out in December. The following year saw the release of Welcome Danger. Movie Crazy is the third Lloyd talkie film of the seven he would do as star, most of them with him as producer. Clyde Bruckman was recruited to direct Lloyd once again, having directed him for three previous features (which involved the sound version of Speedy, Welcome Danger, and Feet First). He had gone from would-be sportswriter to intertitle writer to gag man for Buster Keaton and later director for various comedy production. However, Bruckman soon fell under the influence of what curtailed his career: alcoholism. As such, it fell to Lloyd to assist in the directing chair (which wasn't too odd, as he had co-directed a few of his own films, such as The Kid Brother, which had four directors), although he did not claim credit. The dialogue and screenplay was done by Vincent Lawrence while the story was done by Agnes Christine Johnston, John Grey, and Felix Adler. Lloyd and Ernie Bushmiller also contributed un-credited work on the script. After Bruckman was relegated to writing for comedy rather than directing it by 1935, he got into the habit of "re-utilizing" certain gags from his older productions for comedy short-subjects that he was doing at Columbia Pictures (such as for The Three Stooges), and one of them is the magician's-coat sequence in Movie Crazy. He would crib the scene for multiple productions and was sued by Lloyd each time for copyright, which Lloyd would win (one might wonder why Lloyd was so easy to sue, but imagine being put in a spot where your director and usual gag-assistant is too drunk to really direct and then he decides years later to crib a scene that originally had you as star). Bruckman committed suicide in 1955 at the age of 60.

Stop if you have heard this before: a well-meaning boy or fumbler type of character tries to make it good in a place that seems to be too much for one too oblivious to know how to play the game. Lloyd may have been the shrewdest in marketing himself for selective appearances in the early sound era, but that does not certainly mean that he fared the best among the silent-to-sound transitioners. The film has been labeled by some as one of Lloyd's best in the sound era, and I suppose we shall see if that is fully true at the end of the road, although truthfully, I am salivating at the prospect seeing Leo McCarey direct him in The Milky Way (1936), just two films after this one. Of course, when compared to Feet First and Welcome Danger, Movie Crazy is practically an ice-cold water bottle on a hot day, so take that for what it is worth with a 98-minute movie built on a handful of sight gags and the classic misunderstandings that I am sure you all know from certain comedies and so on and so forth (such as the aforementioned use of a magician's coat to wreak havoc for a dance). Anyway, let's get to the point: the movie is fine. It definitely seems a bit more reliant on visual gags to go along with the fact that the movie is basically two-fold: the fumbling young man that stumbles through the motions of trying to make something in Hollywood and the fumbling young man that stumbles through his feelings for two totally-not similar looking women. Honestly, I could really do with more stuff involving him bumbling as an "innocent" when it comes to the movie industry rather than when trying to not fumble between "romances", because if he wants me to believe in something for a guy that doesn't exactly have that much time to make me think he is still the picture of innocence (the man was near 40), I would rather have the first part, but I'm sure getting the girl is giving what people want, not more scenes involving him try to not cause the camera to explode when he forgets a line or makes for a terrible extra. Actually, Cummings does do a pretty good job in terms of being as an assertive contrast required to help set the tone of what goes on with a rough industry that demands everything everywhere all at once, and her treating Lloyd as a relief rather than a hinderance makes it a curious experience. Of course, she is also playing a character that Lloyd also falls for and go figure that she has a problem with him falling for the "Mexican character" that she is playing in makeup. Thomson is a decent foil to the proceedings in terms of being someone for Lloyd to counter against when it comes to the most interesting sequence: the fight scene at the end, one told with little dialogue that takes place on a dripping wet ship set that is executed quite well in execution and pacing. As a whole, whether serving as Lloyd's best sound film or not, it is a fairly decent comedy film from its time that will prove just how long he had a grip on an audience that needed a laugh and found him comforting to go along with.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Feet First.

Review #1621: Feet First. 

Cast:
Harold Lloyd (Harold Horne), Barbara Kent (Barbara), Robert McWade (John Quincy Tanner), Lillian Leighton (Mrs. Tanner), Henry Hall (Endicott), Noah Young (Sailor), Alec B. Francis (Mr. Carson), Arthur Housman (Drunken Clubman), and Willie Best (Janitor) Directed by Clyde Bruckman (#908 - The General and #1304 - Welcome Danger)

Review:
What is there to say that has not been said about Harold Lloyd? There were numerous stars and icons of the early years of cinema, which ranged from shorts to feature-length, and Lloyd was a pillar of both in a career that spanned three decades. He was as distinct in his persona as other icons of the era like Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin with his thrill sequences and notable stunts (with a share done by Lloyd, but not all of them contrary to perception, with crewmen like Robert A. Golden doing stunts) that resulted in a fair share of triumph for silent and sound films, and it is his attention to archiving his work that means one can readily enjoy most of his short films and all of his features without trouble (incidentally, Lloyd had complied gags from films such as this one for Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy in 1962, although he edited the film to remove dated material). How one enjoys their comedic presence of yesteryear is up to debate, but Lloyd was surely consistent enough in his silent output of eleven features, with the three big highlights being Grandma's Boy (1922), Safety Last! (1923), and The Freshman (1925). Not to be forgotten in this film is director Bruckman, because he certainly left as big of an imprint on comedy as Lloyd. He worked with a variety of comic legends in regards to gags and direction/writing. He started his young years as a sports writer before moving to further writing ventures and then film in intertitle writing in 1919. He moved on to a chance to assist with writing gags for Buster Keaton (it was Bruckman that found a book about a locomative chase in the Civil War that led to one of Keaton's best features with The General). Work with others soon followed, such as directing Laurel & Hardy with The Battle of the Century (1927, short subject), or work with Monty Banks (A Perfect Gentleman, 1928) and eventual work with comedians like W. C. Fields and The Three Stooges. Of course, this was the second collaboration between Lloyd and Bruckman, with their first talking feature not exactly being a winner. In fact, Welcome Danger (1929) was actually pretty dull, a hodgepodge that exists in sound and silent versions that played too loose with itself in landing anything more than pale in nearly two hours of film.

So, if there was a problem with too many cooks in the writing room and pacing before, does this film solve those quandries? Sort of, since it runs at 93 minutes, but there were six (!) credited writers this time around: John Grey, Alfred A. Cohn, and Bruckman contributed the story, while Felix Adler & Lex Neal did the scenario and Paul Gerard Smith did the dialogue. Lloyd played the bespectacled "Glasses" kid to a T for years and years, where he usually had to prove something (whether for a girl or for courage), so here we are in what seems to be a case of trying to drain from the well for what seems like the seventh time in a decade (after all, those Lloyd masterpieces all followed the same pattern), with varying results. It can best be described with a famous line used involving change: The more things change, the more they stay the same. What we have is a comedy of dueling masquerades, since Lloyd is doing his "Glasses" schtick to try and make an impression of the shoe place he works at in terms of personality while thinking that the lady he is wooing is the daughter of his boss, which leads to stints spent with high society, a sequence with a fussy parent, a boat, and a skyscraper. It is a fairly episodic film that naturally decides to spend nearly half of its time with the ocean liner (with gags that range from trying to hide papers with his face on it to running away in a mailbag as it goes off the boat) that goes on for over thirty minutes. Interestingly, the film then goes to a trip up (and down) a building in a series of gags that seem reminiscent of Safety Last! in his hanging(s) - the aspects with Best is the most dated part of the film, adhering to stereotypes that were omitted on re-release for TV and the ensuing compilation. Best was one of the first well known African American actors/comedians, although he generally was used to play roles considered demeaning - this was his first credited role (although he is credited under the horrid nicknname "Sleep 'n' Eat") in a career of two decades. The sequence is tedious enough, playing on making Best play a clownish janitor role that is referred to as a word relating to his skin is worse. The skyscraper sequence was shot the same way as with that film, in which there was construction done to put parts of the facade of a building (in this case a gas building in Los Angeles) onto a rooftop where a camera tower would be adjacent (stark in contrast to resorting to tricks like rear projection, although that is used for one momentary shot in the end). This sequence of dangling off the building goes on for near twenty minutes, and we are talking about a movie that only goes on for basically a minute after it stops yo-yoing off the building just to wrap things up abruptly and set up one more joke. Simply put, putting sound to a scene of someone trying to not fall down a building is too lengthy to really contemplate. Lost in all this is the acting, because it basically seems like a lamp post waiting to be tripped over for some mild gags, for which Lloyd is yet again the only notable one to stick out. Thing is, he was 37 when this came out, and there are only so many times one can be a square before it becomes a flat-footed mess. This was the second of two films for Kent with Lloyd, and she was the last leading lady to star in multiple films with Lloyd, and she certainly gives off nothing of interest in terms of romance or amusement with Lloyd, where one might as well be watching two broomsticks try not to bump into the other. McWade and Leighton are there in small notes that one hopes for time to serve as a foil, and yet here we are. As a whole, the episodes of gags should work better than they do, but average Lloyd might be well enough if one wants to see the progression of Lloyd continue yet again with a sound product that would fit best when there are no less average ideas available or for a completionist. 

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

Welcome Danger.

Review #1304: Welcome Danger.

Cast: 
Harold Lloyd (Harold Bledsoe), Barbara Kent (Billie Lee), Noah Young (Patrick Clancy), Charles B. Middleton (John Thorne), Will Walling (Captain Walton), Edgar Kennedy (Police Desk Sergeant), James Wang (Dr. Chang Gow), Douglas Haig (Buddy Lee), and Blue Washington (Thorne's Henchman) Directed by Clyde Bruckman (#908 - The General) and Malcolm St. Clair.

Review: 
It does seem interesting to finally reach the sound era when it comes to Harold Lloyd. He appeared in eighteen feature films, with just seven of them being sound. The production of this film came a few months after the release of Speedy (1928), with the intent to shoot as a silent production with the same director in Ted Wilde. However, Wilde (who subsequently died of a stroke in 1930 at the age of 40) became sick during production, which would continue for nearly a year. The idea to change it into a sound feature coming after it had already been shot after Lloyd felt that sound would not be just a passing fad. Extensive re-shoots where done, namely by re-doing half of the silent version into sound and dubbing the other parts. If one thinks the film seems a bit long at 115 minutes, this evidently was even longer in previews, reportedly being edited from roughly 165 minutes. Admittedly, nerdy botanist (and son of a famed San Francisco police chief) meets dope ring in Chinatown does seem like the kind of thing to inspire shenanigans for a premise. 

It sure is a shame the resulting film is a jumbled mess, racked with inconsistency when it comes to delivering gags that actually land. I suppose this was bound to happen if one thinks of it like with the law of averages, where one is bound to deliver a clunker at some point when it comes to Lloyd. After all, there are four credited writers for this film in Paul Gerard Smith, Felix Adler, Lex Neal and Bruckman. Maybe there were too many cooks present, or maybe this is an example of a film that really just doesn't have it. At least one can't say Lloyd sounds terrible in sound, seeming a bit more nervous to follow with the times than anything. The times unfortunately come with a slightly annoying lead and a pathetic villain alongside some dated humor to boot (while I do enjoy being amused at complaints from social justice loons for "cancel culture" stuff, the government of China at the time was actually offended at this, which led to Lloyd offering a sincere apology). Kent comes and goes from the film, which doesn't help make this little romance seem any more real than a coloring book. The others range from okay to awkward, where being used to the microphone (or dubbing) is something one needs to get used to but never quite does. I do wonder if the silent version of this film turned out any better, but this happens to be the longest feature Lloyd would ever do (the aforementioned Speedy lasted 86 minutes), with this going from focusing on Lloyd and Kent (i.e. lame physical gags) to the police stuff to Chinatown antics, which goes on and on before I eventually start twiddling my thumbs and start eyeing things on my shelf. Following the story of what actually is going on isn't much better, whereas a silent film seemingly could do more with its premise through imagination. Here, it just seems a bit less loose, and it results in a film that perfectly fits the mold of average old-timey filmmaking. If you want to spend two hours with a film that you could get a chuckle at while spending time with the newspaper or phone, this might work out if you prefer your films from 90 years ago.

Overall, I give it 6 out of 10 stars.

The General (1926).

Review #908: The General.

Cast:
Buster Keaton (Johnnie Gray), Marion Mack (Annabelle Lee), Glen Cavender (Union Captain Anderson), Jim Farley (General Thatcher), Frederick Vroom (Confederate General), Charles Henry Smith (Annabelle's Father), Frank Barnes (Annabelle's Brother), Joe Keaton (Union General), Mike Donlin (Union General), and Tom Nawn (Union General) Directed by Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton (#757 - Seven Chances, #762 - College, #805- The Navigator, and #877 - Three Ages)

Review:
The General (distributed by United Artists - released on December 31, 1926 in Tokyo) was the 8th feature length film with Buster Keaton as the star, with the silent action-adventure-comedy inspired by the Great Locomotive Chase, a true story that occurred in the Civil War, involving a military raid of a train. The stuntwork that Keaton did himself at personal risk is played to great effect, with him jumping from engines to other parts of the train along with sitting on the front of the train along with sitting on a coupling rod, which is a particularly good gag to watch. The easiest positive one will notice early is the beautiful photography, which has the look and feel of the time it is supposed to portray, where the atmosphere doesn't look fake because of the technical design, all done to good detail. One could almost get lost in how great it looks, but the film is also filled with its share of gags that manage to keep the eyes on screen. There is a good deal of action and entertainment, with Keaton reacting as only he can, with his typical straight-laced reaction wrapping well with the tone of the film. Mack is a fairly decent romantic lead, doing fine in the scenes with Keaton. The rest of the cast isn't given too much time to standout, but they are fine in their roles. The train collapsing off the bridge is a wonderful way to end the movie, along with the last scene with the two leads, which goes off without much of a hitch (narrative wise anyway). Though the movie was later recognized for its brilliance in later years, it was not a success at the box office, in part due to the budget ($750,000, which was big for the time). Keaton soon had his creative freedom taken away from him for future films (with his deal to join MGM in 1928 being described by him as the worst business decision he ever made), but The General manages to live on as one of his great pieces of work in film due to how adventurous and ambitious it goes, with enough spectacle and charm for everyone.

Overall, I give it 10 out of 10 stars.