DVD Review: Harold Lloyd – One Reel Comedy Classics

As most film historians realize, there are many brilliant men and women responsible for hundreds of clever, funny comedies during the creative silent movie era. However, there are three that stand above all: Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, and Harold Lloyd. Thus, any film featuring any of them demands our attention.

Through the library of archivist John Carpenter, Alpha Video has released a DVD collection of one-reel short comedies that present Harold Lloyd during the early stages of his screen career. His earliest films as the character Lonesome Luke were typical and offered standard raucous comedy that failed to make much of an impact. Lloyd was more clever, more skilled, and more insightful than the material he was providing. Wearing a pair of glasses, and presenting himself naturally, as a handsome young man confronting comic situations, Lloyd had an edge on performers who did not use so minimalist an approach. It caused him to stand out, while his natural talent made his movies immediately popular.

There are eight Harold Lloyd one-reelers in this set, While they may not be as deep and fulfilling feature-length films like Safety Last or The Kid Brother, these one-reelers are funny, fascinating, and historically important. The films in this set include The Non-Stop Kid, Two Gun Gussie, The City Slicker, I’m On My Way, Spring Fever, Just Neighbors, Never Touched Me, and Captain Kidd’s Kids. All are among Lloyd’s best films from this period in his career. One gets a real sense of Harold Lloyd’s brilliance emerging. Frequently paired with co-star Snub Pollard as either a rival or a co-hort, matched with pretty Bebe Daniels as his leading lady, Lloyd also benefited from supporting casts that included such welcome veterans as Bud Jamison, Lige Conley, Dorthea Wolbert, William Blaisdel, and Gus Leonard.

There was a much different concept to one-reel comedies of the teens, than there would be in the twenties, especially at the Hal Roach studios where Lloyd worked during this period. The twenties brought more situational humor like that of Charley Chase. There was the character driven comedy of Laurel and Hardy. The kids were represented by Our Gang. These series all lasted into the sound era.

The one reelers of the teens were tightly paced slapstick driven affairs that used briskly paced situations and physical comedy to drive threadbare narratives. The visuals are a pure delight. The graceful movements, the quick dodging and ducking, the pratfalls, the chases, the mistaken identities, the overbearing bullies, bratty kids, and cranky old people all populated these brief aggressive comedies. They were probably stereotypes then as they are now, but they formed the basis for great foundational comedy that was a harbinger for some the more complex features that Lloyd would soon produce himself.

Harold is perpetually smitten with Bebe. Snub is frequently a rival for her attention. Bebe is forever accosted by men wanting to flirt, hug, tickle, kiss, or find some other way to distract and annoy her. And despite the similar premise to each short, watching several in a row never becomes a tiresome exercise. Harold Lloyd's attractive presence is creatively funny, with great charisma and skillfull performances, even this early in his career.

There are so many clever ideas in each short, it is especially impressive that they only run for one reel. The lone two-reeler in this set is, Captain Kidd’s Kids (1919), a slapstick farce that is a bit more ambitious. This one has Harold about to be married to Bebe, with Snub acting has his butler. Bebe’s mother takes her on a ship bound for the Canary Islands. Harold pursues her, and ends up falling asleep and dreaming he has been captured by a group of female pirates! There are some great gags in Captain Kidd's Kids, including a waterlogged Snub being rescued when Harold sticks a faucet in his mouth and pumps his arm, causing water to pour out. There are also some funny seasick bits, Harold being thrown overboard and Snub tries to save him by tossing in a life preserver, but it is tied to a dog.

Several of the films have their original titles, and while they vary in quality, they are from 16mm prints out of John Carpenter’s collection and are given the best possible treatment at an affordable price.

Harold Lloyd is one of the true giants in cinema history. Every film in which he appeared demands to be seen.

The DVD is available here: Harold Lloyd One-Reelers