USA 84m Dir: Ted Wilde Key Cast: Harold Lloyd
Based on: The White Sheep (Film)
Having explored the filmography of both Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin I was excited to check out a film starring the third genius silent-era comedy actor, Harold Lloyd. His films were hugely successful but for some reason he hasn't had quite the same enduring legacy.
In The Kid Brother Lloyd plays the youngest of the three Hickory boys, Harold. His Dad is the town sheriff and his older brother are both huge strong men compared to Harold's comparative weediness. When a travelling medicine show arrives in town Harold meets and falls for dancer Mary (Jobyna Ralston) and initially manages to convince her that he is the manly sheriff. When money for a new dam is stolen by the man who runs the show he goes in pursuit and finds there is a lot more to himself than he believed.
The film is intentionally set in a rural area and is old-fashioned, feeling like it might be set twenty-years earlier. It's a very charming film and whilst Chaplin's films are often quite melancholic, Lloyd here plays an optimistic hero. He could have pitched as a loser with low self-esteem but Harold is very wily and witty, constantly being chased by someone or other but always coming up with clever ways to escape them.
It's full of fantastic stunt work performed by Lloyd, some of it quite dangerous. What's great is that the film is really good at showing these stunts and uses techniques like putting the camera on a elevator when Harold is climbing a tree. I think this film does what a really good silent comedy should do and that is making it feel like it was really simple to make but actually pushing the limits with both stunts and camera work.
I was a little disappointed with the ending. Lloyd ends up using brawn to capture the thief and is heralded a hero when he returns home but it felt wrong to me. I would have preferred if Harold had outwitted the thief and shown that everyone has different skills rather than saying "this is what men should be". It even felt like the film would go down that route with the way Harold is characterised but alas it does not.
A very well made silent comedy which is full of warmth and charm.
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