The Silent Cinema: For Heaven's Sake (1926)

Directed by Sam Taylor. Starring Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Noah Young, Jim Mason, Paul Weigel, Oscar Smith, Blanch Payson. Released April 5, 1926. Running time: 58 minutes.

So many films from the silent era remain lost, it is hard to qualify what constitutes "best" from that era, as we have only so many survivors for comparison. But sometimes we can be comfortable in realizing a true classic. Such is the case regarding "For Heaven's Sake," a Harold Lloyd silent feature that was the 12th highest grossing film of the entire silent era.

Unlike the other silent screen comedians who were noted for playing down and out characters struggling in a conflicted world, Harold was often the wealthy, privileged go-getter of the 1920s. In "For Heaven's Sake," he is so rich and carefree, nothing really bothers him. When his chauffeur cracks up his expensive car, he casually walks into a dealership and buys another. When that one is corralled by police and used to chase a criminal, also getting crashed, Harold merely walks away feeling more inconvenienced than anything else.

However, when he accidentally ruins a mission stand in a rough neighborhood, he gives the owner, Brother Paul, far more than it's worth, allowing the Brother to start up a major mission for troubled souls. When Harold falls for Brother Paul's pretty daughter (Jobyna Ralston), he tries to generate business by causing trouble throughout the neighborhood and getting a bunch of thugs to chase him to the mission.

Lloyd's sense of visual comedy, his firmness of character, and his ability to display nuance without ever becoming too broad, are all on display here. The first comedy highlight occurs early in the film when cops jump into Lloyd's newly bought auto and insist he engage in a high speed chase. The danger and flying bullets do not frighten Harold, they merely annoy him. This whole matter is an inconvenience. The next highlight is when he accosts several various thugs throughout the district, causing them to chase him, which leads them all to the Mission. The slapstick is funny enough, but the structure is even more amusing. When the group gets sidetracked, Harold must chase after them to redirect. At one point he hops into his car and drives up alongside them, then gets out so he can resume the chase.

But the funniest sequence in the film is when Harold, late for his wedding, must corral a group of staggering drunks, all groomsmen, and get them to the church on time. It is the proverbial "herding casts" effect. As one wanders away and is retrieved, another staggers off. They keep going around in a revolving door, so Harold must yank each one as he passes by. One climbs atop a milk wagon's horse. Another gets into the milk wagon. A couple wander off into traffic on a busy street, still another tries to argue with a stuffed bear outside a taxidermy shop. When he pushes them into a cab, they walk out the outside door and wander off. He finds them all on stationary bikes on display outside of a store pedaling away. When all but one of them board a bus, Harold carries the remaining one and runs up to catch the bus. It concludes with one of the drunks getting behind the wheel and driving quickly to the wedding in one of THE great chase scenes of the silent era. It is not only the highlight of this very funny movie; it is one of the funniest scenes in all of Lloyd's films.

And, as with all of Harold Lloyd's silent features, "For Heaven's Sake" really exemplifies 1920s America. Lloyd embodies that free-spirited determination that defines an era when nobody realized the decade would conclude with a stock market crash and be followed by a Depression and then a World War. It is one of many reasons why Harold Lloyd is one of the most appealing personalities in the history of cinema.