Amazon.com

Mary Pickford won an Academy Award for her performance in Coquette, her first "talking picture." Billed as "a drama of the American South," the movie features Pickford as a classic Southern belle. However, as the film takes place during the Jazz Age of the 1920s, not the antebellum South, Pickford's version of Scarlett O'Hara is a flapper. (The party scenes with dancers wildly doing the "black bottom" are a hoot.) To play socialite Norma Besant, Pickford had her famous golden curls bobbed, and she "flits about from one fella to another like a butterfly." But Pickford's fans would never have permitted her to portray a real Jezebel, so as soon as the plot gets underway, her character quickly falls head over heels in love with just one man. ("Of course, I never wanted to play a role that would ever offend the little girls who love me," declared Pickford in a 1917 Motion Picture Classic interview.) Coquette's story eventually turns quite tragic, pitting daughter against father and giving Pickford the chance to act up a storm.

Pickford had experience on stage before appearing in moving pictures, so her progression to sound films was not as awkward as that of some silent-movie performers. Throughout her silent-film career, she made a point of keeping her acting real and free of extravagant gestures. "I always had in mind the fact that I might want to become a real actress, and so never allowed myself to indulge in more gestures than if I had a speaking part." (San Francisco Chronicle, 1913.) Still, Coquette is unmistakably an early talkie and the acting is clearly transitional. At times the actors instinctively pause and pose before speaking their lines, an acting style that would quickly disappear as silent pictures almost immediately went out of favor with audiences. --Laura Mirsky ... Read more

Reviews (7)

I reckon this won't be everyone's cup of tea
Miss Mary Pickford stars in this early talkie, her very first, playing Norma, a young southern belle who falls for a man from the wrong side of the tracks... despite the fact she was in her mid-30s at the time! Her one truelove Michael, a personality-free space cadet, is here played by John Mack Daddy Brown. Norma's interest in him is baffling, unless it's that her character is quite stupid as well (although in a more aggressive way), and like attracts like-- or maybe it's that he's hot, total male model vibe going on there. Anyhow, the chemistry is one-sided, it's all Miss Pickford throwing herself at this fellow, and he's just sorta reciting his lines like a robot with a bad southern accent, but he seems like his mind is somewhere else. Mister Stanley (played by Matt "bring on the pathos" Moore), clearly the better man, is right there in front of her suffering the whole time, the poor guy. If only she were smart enough to see it, which she isn't.

Pickford's character is flirtatious, melodramatic, and prone to swooning and fits of sobbing that are about as pleasant as a colicy baby who won't shut up (the scene where she grips the bedposts and bawls her head off had me both laughing and annoyed at the same time). And she actually won the best actress Oscar for this! When she curls up in her "old mammy's" lap and tells her all about the greatest love the world has ever known, i.e., her's and Mack Daddy's, there's both an absurdity (given Pickford's real age) and a sapphic quality to it (check where their hands are.) Incidentally, the actress who played her "old mammy" was apparently forced to eat lots of food by the studio so she could play these types of roles. Seriously.

Every other sentence of dialogue in this great work of art begins or ends with "I reckon", adding to the sense of realism. You won't find any stereotypes of the south here, no sir! I also thought Norma's little brother was quite funny, he's the 1920s equivalent of a tool. Loved his dance moves. Do the Rabbit Ramble!

Creaky but enjoyable melodrama
This movie proved much better than some of the reviews here suggest. However, if you are not a Mary Pickford fan and have no interest in old movies then its definitely one to avoid. I bought this having watched all of Mary's movies on DVD and becoming a big fan of her work. I must admit the prospect of hearing her voice for the first time was rather exciting. The main problem with this movie is technical - 'talkies' had only just arrived and in some scenes you have to make an effort to hear what is being said as performers move out of range of the microphones. Other than that there are things to be enjoyed here - including Mary Pickford's performance. Aside from a few overly dramatic moments she acts well throughout, somewhat theatrical but it suits the part of the artificial flirt she is playing. No one can accuse Pickford of playing it safe for her first talking part - not only does she perform with a Southern accent but there are many dramatic scenes - and she is playing a part unlike any of her others before. As a modern viewer I found some of the plot points and lines of dialogue absurd - but then thats what often makes old movies so enjoyable, and the movie did hold my attention. And the closing shot was a nice touch. If you are a confirmed Pickford fan then I would say check this out. For the casual fan or if you have never seen Pickford before then I would recommend Sparrows, My Best Girl or Stella Maris first.

A CREAKY CURIO.
In a tribute to her acting ability, 36 year-old Pickford plays Norma Besant, a flirtatious twenty-something Southern flapper who falls hard for Michael Jeffery. Dire consequences arise due to her father's intense disdain for the young man...Mary Pickford was an institution during the silent period when she was known as "America's Sweetheart". Pickford tired of her goody-goody personna in pictures and after her mother Charlotte died in 1928, she had her legendary curls bobbed and announced to the fan magazines that she wanted to be "dressed in smart clothes and play the lover". The same year this turkey was made (1929) Pickford and her then-husband Douglas Fairbanks played in a politely well-received - but fairly ludicrous - version of Shakespeare's THE TAMING OF THE SHREW. In 1931, Pickford resurrected an old Norma Talmadge silent vehicle - which co-starred Ronald Colman - entitled KIKI: it was a flop. In 1933, at the milestone age of 40, Mary made her movie swan song performance in SECRETS, a fairly well-acted drama which co-starred 40 year-old Leslie Howard. COQUETTE was based upon an original play by George Abbott and Ann Preston, which was written for Helen Hayes. This photoplay adaptation is a creaky drama that served to introduce the previously silent Pickford to the talkies. Surprisingly, she beat out Jeanne Eagels for the Best Actress AA for 1929 (The ailing heroin-addicted Eagels - she would die later that year - was nominated for her performance as Leslie Crosbie in Maugham's THE LETTER). In all honesty, Pickford had a lovely voice - something which was in short supply among silent stars making their transition into the talkies - but her performance is hardly Oscar-worthy.

Even the best have bad moments
There is no doubt that Mary Pickford is one of America's all time greatest and most beloved actresses. That doesn't mean she was exempted from mistakes, though. This movie is awful all the way through. It's boring, paceless an has the stiffest acting imaginable. Mary was especially nervous in her performance and I don't think that's because it was her first talking film. The problem is that she's playing completely against type. The sweet, lovable, smart and spunky little girl persona that she had perfected is gone and in it's place is the consummate man - controlling flapper. Sorry Mary, it just doesn't work.

Don't judge Pickford by this
Well, each to his own taste, but now that many of Pickford's best silents are out on video, it would be a shame to start with such an atypical role. This was a stage success for Helen Hayes, and probably Pickford copies her fairly well, but it's an ordinary Suth'n melodrama, produced at a typically glacial 1929 pace, and playing a bad girl of good family isn't what Pickford specialized in-- or ought to be remembered for. Check out Suds, Sparrows, My Best Girl, or any of the other silents in which she plays a delightfully spunky and mischievous young girl instead. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Nothing that bad
You read the reviews about this movie and you think it's just plain awful. In actuality the movie isn't terribly funny but aside from that it's not that bad a film. A decent plot and a decent script...just not the kind of a script that Laurel and Hardy should've gotten. There are brief funny moments in the film but not enough. Again, the film isn't terrible but it's just not something I'm used to seeing from this legendary comedy team. Overall not a bad flick to watch with the family.

Sad to see Laurel & Hardy in decline
In this 1944 MGM comedy directed by Sam Taylor, Laurel & Hardy are the chef and butler who foil a plot by enemy agents to poison the young exiled King Christopher (David Leland). On the one hand "Nothing But Trouble" spends time developing the boy-king's growing love for the joys of common democracy, such as playing football. Then we have the comic sequences in which Laurel & Hardy wreck a dinner party, try to take a steak away from a hungry lion, and end up on the ledge of a skyscraper. Clearly the boys are getting too old for this kind of stuff. Not as bad as "The Big Noise," but too close for comfort. Watching this one will only make you feel sad and not in a good way.

A Sheer Disapointment
I'm sitting here, trying to think of something good to say about this film, and I just can't do it.

Laurel and Hardy simply don't fit into this movie at all. The scenes that they do have aren't the least bit funny, and the movie actually makes you kinda sad when you wonder how bad Stan must've felt about doing it.

It isn't the worst Laurel and Hardy movie, I reserve that spot for Utopia......but it's pretty darn close.

Hard to say
This is a difficult movie to judge.There are some very boring scenes with the prince alone.There are also very funny scenes with L&H.These include the football scene, the steak scene and the dinner table scene.This is not top notch but still good.

Not the Real Laurel & Hardy But Passable '40s Comedy
Near the end of their very disappointing sojourn with the big studios, the team survived another marginal film offering a distorted view of the original characters. However, this time around, Stan and Babe fight the crooks on behalf of a child King, well played by David Leland. It's probably their most sentimental movie but it is not cloying - the good scenes involving a sleight of hand removal of meat from a lion's cage and serving a meal to Mary Boland & company elevate this effort to above average for their later work. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The Best of the Best
Harold Lloyd's treatment of the romantic comedy is, indeed, underappreciated, but if anything that makes enjoying his work even more appropriate. Girl Shy is my favorite of his, not only because of the fine acting and apparent originality, but also because it contains one of the most beautiful scores in film history - Robert Israel's music is superb. Of course, moods swing in this classic, ranging down to despair and up to the heights of ecstasy. Suspenseful hope, so lacking in many of today's pictures, is here as well, as he puts the pieces of the check together to discover just how many 0s it contains.

Brilliant! Someday they'll release all these on DVD and maybe make some soundtracks available...

Harold Lloyd's Poor Boy seeks the heart of a Rich Girl
"Girl Shy" is one of the most uneven of the featured films made by Harold Lloyd, the most forgotten of the great silent comedians. Lloyd plays Harold Meadows, The Poor Boy, who falls for Mary Buckingham, the Rich Girl, played by Jobyna Ralston. As usual Lloyd's character is extremely shy and bashful, but this time around he is also a stutterer, and for some reason the actor seems uncomfortable in the part. The film has one of Lloyd's best race sequences at the end and also an exquisitely tender and poignant scene when Harold is sitting in a rowboat, daydreaming of Mary, unaware that the reflection he sees in the water is really her, standing on a bridge thinking about him. But the fantasy scenes inspired by the book Harold is reading, "The Secret of Making Love," are definitely at odds with the overall tone of the film. "My Vampire" and "My Flapper" are funny on their own terms, but are ironically too realistic given the rest of film. Still, the best parts of this film are classic Lloyd and more than make up for any perceived shortcomings. You know, only about half of Lloyd's silent comedies are currently available on videotape, when it is obvious every single one of them should be out where they can be seen by new generations of fans.

This is one of the best silent comedies I've ever seen.
Harold Lloyd made many great comedies, but "Girl Shy" is definitely one of the best. Not only is Harold painfully shy around girls, but he stutters when he gets nervous, and girls make him nervous. Jobyna Ralston is wonderful as Harold's true love, and the scene where he tries to make her leave him because he's not worthy of her is a real tearjerker. The scenes at the publisher where Harold tries to sell his book are hilarious--the office girls are so lively and it doesn't seem possible that this scene was shot more than 70 years ago. The final chase is a classic--Harold uses horses, streetcars, trains, and anything else he can to rescue his girl from marrying a bigamist. A real treat to watch.

This silent film is one of the funniest I have ever seen.
Harold Lloyd plays a girl shy young man who falls in love with a beautiful girl he meets on the train. This is, in my opinion Lloyd's funniest film. His imaginary encounters with a vamp and a flapper had me rolling on the groung laughing. The climactic rush to stop a wedding towards the end is romantic yet as comical and slapstick as the rest of the film. I highly recommend this enjoyable silent film. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

NOT WITHOUT MERIT.
While certainly not up to the lusty, vigourous 1967 Taylor-Burton masterpiece, this 1929 Pickford-Fairbanks curio is surprisingly entertaining. The two silent screen stars pose and preen so much in this satire on the Shakespearean classic, that it becomes fun if you accept it for what it is: an antique early sound comedy which is played strictly for laughs. Katherine falls in a muddy pig-sty dressed in her wedding gown & when she and Petruchio meet, they trade insults before tumbling down the stairs. The film is widely regarded to have the most ludicrous of all credit lines: "Written by William Shakespeare; additional dialogue by Samuel Taylor". Fact or fiction? There's only one way to find out!

Witty, Charming, and Funny -- Watch For Yourself
I don't understand the negative reviews "The Taming of the Shrew" has received. It is a witty, energetic, charming movie. Douglas Fairbanks is perfectly cast as the blustering, swaggering Petruchio -- as is Mary Pickford as the spirited Kate. Together, they do an admirable job of bringing Shakespeare's text to life with humor and sophistication. Without a doubt, the movie is certainly superior to much of the tripe Hollywood produces these days.
One word of warning: the Hollywood Classics version is recorded in EP mode, not SP mode, so the picture is not as clear and sharp as it could be. On my TV, there were lines and fuzziness at the top & bottom of the screen that I couldn't get rid of.

Much better than expected
This must surely be the most maligned film of its generation. Generally written off as the failure that ended both the careers and the marriage of Douglas Fairbanks, few people have had much good to say of it.

And yet it holds up quite well. By no stretch of the imagination is this good Shakespeare, but its a fun film. Doug is better than Mary; his persona suits the character far better. Mary looks great but only occasionally springs to life - not surprisingly that is when she doesn't speak.

Sam Taylor lets the film down badly with an unimaginative, stagey, literal approach. But a few facts should be aired. The film was neither a critical nor a box office failure in 1929. It earned a tidy profit and received, if anything, more praise than it deserved. (The New York Times put it on its Ten Best List for the year.) The famous credit "with additional dialogue by Sam Taylor" is also pure myth. There was never any such credit line.

Try and give this film a fresh, objective viewing. But don't expect anything beyond a fun time killer.

PU
PU says it all. The acting is wooden and Fairbanks sounds like a loon with his constant laughter. Pickford is way over-dramatic. She sounds like a New York dance hall girl

The supporting cast is inadaquate, the direction spotty.

This comedy (?) is pretty bad even by 1929 standards. ... Read more

Amazon.com

In My Best Girl, Mary Pickford demonstrates the winsome charm that won her the title "America's Sweetheart." She plays Maggie Johnson, a sensible stockroom girl at Merrill's, a five-and-ten-cent store. This is the heyday of the big five-and-dimes and Robert Merrill (Hobart Bosworth), the store's wealthy owner, is clearly a stand-in for F.W. Woolworth. The opening shot of Maggie displays Pickford's prodigious gift for physical comedy. She stumbles onto the selling floor laden with pots and pans, kicking them out of her way and wearing them like shoes. Then, when a salesgirl takes a break, Maggie is given the chance to be a salesgirl herself for a fateful few moments.

Maggie's first and only customer is the owner's son, Joe Merrill, (fresh-faced and sunny Charles "Buddy" Rogers). Maggie has no clue of the young man's pedigree, as he is slumming as "Joe Grant." His father has insisted that he work his way up as a humble store clerk without benefit of his famous name. The chemistry between Joe and Maggie is instantly apparent. Maggie takes him down to the stockroom, where he's helpless with the simplest tasks. "You know, you're awfully dumb," she tells him. But thanks to her patient training, he's eventually promoted to the position of her boss. (It's an appealing role reversal of the principals in the "Pygmalion"/"My Fair Lady" tale.) In the meantime, of course, they fall in love.

The moment when Maggie realizes Joe's true identity is stunning. She runs back to her humble family on "Goat Hill": fumbling father, (Lucien Littlefield), lachrymose mother (Sunshine Hart), and reprobate sister (Carmelita Geraghty). Is Maggie and Joe's love affair doomed? Or will they sail away to paradise together? Only those who see My Best Girl can learn the answers to these burning questions. --Laura Mirsky ... Read more

Reviews (11)

One of my favorite silent
I've seen quite a lot of silent and this one, even if it's not technicaly or visualy in the class of Sunrise, Metropolis or the other great masterpieces of the silent era, has a special place in my heart. I can compare the viewing experience I had with the one I had with The quiet man. Why? Everyone in this movie seems to have fun, same thing with The quiet man.This was I think the second or third Mary Pickford film I saw and up to this point I though she was funny, charming and beautiful but with her performance in this movie you can say that she can do anything. She played drama splendidly and she can break your heart with a smile or a facial expression. If you're a fan of Mary like me, this is probably you're favorite too, some of the other movie she did were more technical or more visual but this one is simply magical. The chemistry with her future husband of the time (Buddy Rogers) is as strong as Bogie-Bacall or Hepburn-Tracy . The story is basic and simple and there's no visual feast like in some other classics but it works and Mary shows us that she was and will always be, the one and only america's sweetheart. She was a very good actress and it's too bad she doesn't get the respect she deserves. Thank god for restoration of the old silent movies, other generations than our grandparents can watch her greatness and see that Chaplin was not alone as a great silent star. Back to the movie, the restoration is pretty good and the film looks great for a 1927. It's not the best transfer I've seen on DVD but it always depend of the source print.

Sweet and Important
This movie is interesting to watch because ten years after it was made, Buddy Rogers and Mary Pickford were married. It is also a wonder that Mary was around the top of the hill when she made this and yet she still looked so young and beautiful. Emotions soar out of this film that are felt in movies of today. One never notices that it is silent; it simply isn't an issue.
One of my favorite scenes is when Mary deliberatly pushes her belongings off of the car she is riding on so that she can see Buddy for just a little longer.

The Most Charming Silent I've seen Yet!
I'm just sobbing like a baby!

My husband just surprised me for my birthday with 'My Best Girl'. I have been building my silent movie collection for almost 2 years, and not one actress has ever moved me so much as Mary Pickford!

I adore her in every film I've seen thus far, and all the others are DEFINITELY worth buying--bad prints or no, but this...this film is now my favorite Pickford film and in my Top 10 for all silents.

I am not a sappy girl, nor do I fall for romance-type films, but 'My Best Girl' is SO winsome, and SO charming! Please go off and read at least one Pickford biography and then rewatch 'My Best Girl'. I was so skeptical, b/c I'm not a big girly movie fan, but this is one you HAVE to own if you love Pickford! Her leading man in the film is Charles 'Buddy' Rogers, the man she married 10 years after this film was made. At the time, her idyllic marriage to Douglas Fairbanks was just beginning to falter. They divorced in 1935, and two years later, she became Mrs. Buddy Rogers. Buddy is so smitten (in a tastefully restrained way) in every scene, in real life, and it's so lovely to watch him falling nutty-head-over-heels for Mary. It's anyone's guess if Mary felt the same--a tribute to her gifts as an actress--but it was pure bliss trying to guess if she had been!

Funny, smart and BEAUTIFULLY shot (if you've seen a lot of silents, you can tell that this one was made toward the end of the era. You're in for SUCH a treat--the shots are nothing like any in other silents of the same age.) I laughed out loud, and shed big ol' 'I'm not a girly movie fan' tears!

Treat yourself, and buy the Milestone copy. An excellent, clean print, with wonderful sharpness and great picture quality. The few and far between muddy spots go away SO quickly. And the score is so thoughtful, and complements the action and the period impeccably. Buy it up, and send a message to the Pickford Foundation that we want more of these DVDs QUICK!

There are a few home movies & newsreel clips from the Pickford Foundation collection included on the MILESTONE DVD, and watching them just tickled me to no end. All of them were private reels of Mary and Buddy at their wedding, their honeymoon, and later. Again, being not a terribly romantic girl, I sure surprised the heck outta myself by sobbing out loud after reading that "Buddy was always fond of saying that he'd married his 'best girl.'"

A sap I was not, until now!

Great Classic
Very funny movie. The story line was great... it was so cute. I would recommend this movie to anyone, young and old!

My First Silent Movie Experience...and it was Fun!
I saw this movie at the library and decided to give it a try, for I had never seen a silent film and I wondered what it would be like to watch something where noone is talking. I wondered what it was like when my Grandma was young and this was all the movies they had to go to...I also thought it would be an educational experience for my children to view a silent film, and educational for myself and my 19 yr. old daughter to see how camera technique and all that was done for a silent film (We have been studying the art of film in a casual way).

Well, this was really a good watch. I was prepared to be bored, you know, with no talking. But the film quality was beautiful (sepia tones for all day shots, and a darker blue hue was used for the night scenes, the images very clean and crisp)and the music that went along was very nice. I was amazed at how you could easily follow what was going on,(I found I was able to lip read the movie characters quite well!) and that very few "dialog cards" were needed. My children (ages 19, 10, and 4) all enjoyed this movie. The 2 young ones got a lot out of the humorous moments. This movie impressed my 4 year old; for a few days later he was playing and quoted one of the dialog cards (we had read them out loud so he could know what they said), one about, "Let's get busy and open this crate of mouse traps". He will quote many lines from movies, but it was funny that he would quote from a SILENT one! It was fun to see a picture of life in the 1920's, with the old cars, strange fashion, etc. It was a very good story, and although I wouldn't want a steady diet of silent films,we would be happy to see more silent movies of this quality, and with Mary Pickford. At the end was a nice silent short of Mary Pickford and how the leading man in this film became her husband. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The title character of Dr. Jack is a small-town physician (Harold Lloyd) with a knack for nonmedical solutions--he cures one patient by giving him a saxophone, another with boxing lessons. When he tricks a big-city lawyer into visiting his sweet old mother and lifting her depression, the lawyer asks the good doctor to visit the daughter of an old and wealthy friend, a young girl whose malady is unspecified but provides a substantial income to a quack named Dr. von Saulsbourg. Naturally, when Dr. Jack and the girl meet, romantic sparks fly; but when they accidentally kiss, the girl's shocked father insists that Jack leave in the morning. With only one night to rescue his beloved from von Saulsbourg's clutches, Jack realizes that what she needs more than anything else is excitement--and to provide it, he disguises himself as an escaped convict, leading the household on a topsy-turvy chase through the mansion. Harold Lloyd doesn't have the balletic grace of Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton, but he's got his own understated charm and a knack for witty, inventive stunts. The accompanying short ("Number, Please?") may be even more fun than the main feature; Lloyd plays a brokenhearted guy trying to forget his troubles in an amusement park, where he runs into his former sweetheart and her new beau. Finding the girl's lost dog and stolen purse seems simple enough, but in Lloyd's world the simplest things produce the most astonishing complications. A delightful snippet of silent comedy. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Doctor is in
As Leonard Maltin states, this is one of Harold Lloyd's lesser known features, and only slightly weaker than his more familiar fare. I'm sure the plot was well-suited for the "roaring 20s": out with the old stuffy shirts, in with the new, carefree way of thinking. The short, NUMBER, PLEASE and the feature are both Harold Lloyd Lite, but it's safe subject material for laughs. NUMBER, PLEASE is two long gags, one with a lost/stolen purse and one with a telephone booth, both of which are ingenious. A personal enjoyment, I love seeing old footage of amusement parks, so that was an added pleasure. The subject matter of DR. JACK lends itself to numerous gags, and after Lloyd milks every joke out of the "Good Doctor" and "Sick Little Well Girl" bits, he parades as an escaped convict to keep the fun going.

The two currently available Harold Lloyd silents on Amazon are GRANDMA'S BOY and DR. JACK. Plot-wise, GRANDMA'S BOY is much stronger, which leads to gags that really sock your funny bone, making it a more satisfying film. Can't help but notice that Lloyd had a hand in writing GRANDMA'S BOY, but not DR. JACK. Perhaps this is why it's lacking the heart of the former? Concerning the technical aspect, this DR. JACK print is in slightly better shape then GRANDMA'S BOY, but not by much. One final comparison, Anna Townsend is back as another "Granny" character in JACK, but has significantly less screen time and doesn't get the opportunity to chase off an old hobo with a broom ... take that for whatever it's worth to you.

As the Amazon editorial comment above states, Lloyd's gags don't contain the balletic grace of Chaplin or Keaton, but that makes his style all the more appealing to me. Lloyd's character was famous (for awhile in the 1920s, even more profittable at the box office then Chaplin's & Keaton's characters) because he represented the "everyman", someone you could imagine meeting in real life. He was a normal guy, sometimes down on his luck, trying to win the girl -- and how many normal guys do YOU know who have "balletic grace"? There are plenty of Keaton films out there to keep us satisfied in that arena. And Lloyd did try the Chaplin route with his Lonesome Luke character which ended up being a rather significant flop. Just enjoy Lloyd for what he is -- energetic, charming, surprisingly clever, and thankfully different then the other two great silent comedians. Vive la difference!

Too Few Harold Lloyd films!!!!!!
Nobody should deny us the privilage of these classic Harold Lloyd Comedies:

-Safety Last -The Freshman -The Kid Brother -Speedy

And much more, PLEASE release them in respectable editions, and if at all possible, CRITERION please take note! ... Read more

Amazon.com

The best-remembered film by the great silent comic Harold Lloyd is still a hair-raiser. The bespectacled Mr. Lloyd plays an earnest young chap who goes to the city to make his fortune, although $15 a week from a department store is the best he can muster. After a string of ingenious visual gags, the movie climaxes with a wild sequence in which Harold, trying to win a prize by drumming up publicity for the store, arranges for an agile friend to climb up the side of the building. Natch, the friend can't do it, so Harold ascends, inch by white-knuckle inch. The stunt is still one of the great coups in movies (this was before rear-projection or digitally erased safety ropes, remember), and Lloyd beautifully wrings every possible complication out of it. That was Lloyd's approach:a simple character, and endless complications. --Robert Horton ... Read more

Reviews (10)

One of the Silent Era's Greatest Comedies
Although he is generally considered the equal of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd's films are much less widely available--with the exception of SAFETY LAST, which turns up with great regularity at film festivals and on cable television. Like most of his films, SAFETY LAST finds Lloyd struggling to make good in order to win the girl of his dreams (in this case his actual wife, actress Mildred Davis)--and when the big boss offers a thousand dollars for a promotional idea that will draw hundreds to the store, Lloyd suggests a human fly act... but at the last minute circumstances go awry, leaving Lloyd to make the climb himself.

While the first half of the film abounds in brilliant, hilarious sight gags, it is Lloyd's climb up the skyscraper that is best remembered: attacked by pigeons, entangled in a net, running afoul of a mouse, and ultimately hanging from the hands of a clock face hundreds of feet above a cheering crowd. Filmed without stunt-doubles or such devices as rear-screen projection, the squirm effect of the sequence is still tremendous--and the film is all the funnier for it. Always wearing his signature straw hat and round-frame glasses, Lloyd's eager optimism personified the go-getter mentality of the 1920s, when the sky seemed the limit and progress hadn't yet gone on too long. If you are a fan of silent film but have not yet encountered Harold Lloyd, SAFETY LAST is the perfect introduction--and an essential for your collection.

Harold Lloyd hanging off the hand of a giant clock
Harold Lloyd stars as an ambitious young man unleashed in the big city. "Safety Last" features Lloyd's most famous stunt, scaling a 12-story building as her frantically hangs on to the hands of an oversized clock, which might be the single most enduring image from the silent era of comedy. Harold leaves for the big city to seek fame and fortune, spurred on by the parting words of his girl (Mildred Davis). Getting a job at a department store, Harold is late for work one day and has to sneak in as a mannequin in a wonderful sequence. Then, when Mildred visits, she mistakenly thinks that Harold is the department manager, an illusion he tries desperately to maintain. When the real manager offers $1000 for a great idea to lure customers to the store, Harold suggests someone climbing the building as a publicity stunt. But when the cops chase off his friend who was to do the climb, Harold has to do it himself. On each floor his buddy has new problems, which force Harold to keep climbing. "Thrill Comedy" does not get any better than this classic sequence. "Safety Last" is the film that reminds us that while there was Chaplin ("The Tramp") and Keaton ("The Great Stone Face"), there was also Harold Lloyd ("The King of Daredevil Comedy"). But today more people remember Cary Grant doing a Harold Lloyd type character in "Brining Up Baby," rather than the original himself. Here is your chance to see one of the great screen comedians. Directed by Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, this 1923 film was added to the National Film Registry in 1994.

Of course.....
...since it's the best of Harold Lloyd AND since it's no longer available in VHS, that makes sense (for the studios who are deeply in love with releasing trash by the hundreds, if not the thousands) it is not yet released on DVD. Are they really so few people liking good movies?????????

Harold Lloyd dangles
Harold Lloyd is "The Boy", the typical character that Harold Lloyd played: spectacled, eager, fresh-faced, and up against the world. Mildred Davis plays his dopey, but utterly loveable girlfriend. SAFETY NOW encompasses much of what I now associate with Harold Lloyd films. The stunt work is exciting and breathtaking, while the storytelling is funny, and sweet without being schmaltzy.

SAFETY LAST is made up of two main segments. The first is a collection of humorous set pieces set in and around a department store. The Boy has gone off to the big city to make his fortune, promising to send for The Girl when he can afford their marriage. Understandably, he has somewhat overstated his position; he only works as a clerk, but in an attempt to keep his girlfriend happy he has managed to make himself a senior manager in his correspondences. The humorous situations that he gets into both trying to survive each day and keeping the truth from The Girl are very entertaining and amusing.

The second major portion of SAFETY LAST is what the film is most famous for -- Harold Lloyd scaling the side of a tall building using no safety ropes, no nets, and no trick photography. It is absolutely breathtaking, and utterly hilarious. We know he isn't going to fall off when he comically teeters towards the edge, but I couldn't help but laugh at his quick footwork.

One of the things that amused me most in retrospect was my own reaction to the building-climbing sequence. Harold Lloyd has been dead for over thirty years now. The film itself is eighty years old. And I know enough about cinema history to realize that Harold Lloyd did not plunge to his death while filming the stunt sequences all that time ago. Yet, I was watching the film with my knuckles turning ever whiter. Whenever Lloyd stumbled, I jumped. When he teeters towards the ledge in a seemingly uncontrolled fashion, I squealed. Amazing that something like this can still have an impact on this member of the modern audience. It's a real testament to Lloyd's talents to be able to pull off something like this. And I don't just mean that the stunt-work is excellent (which it is), but that it can still reach across the years to me sitting in front of my television wondering how on Earth the actor managed to do that.

SAFETY LAST was the first of Harold Lloyd's feature films that I was exposed to, and I really enjoyed the experience. It's really a pity that Lloyd's name has faded from cinema history, as, from what I've seen, his films deserve the sort of treatment now afforded to Buster Keaton or Charlie Chaplin. And they're certainly head and shoulders above much of what has been passed off as comedies in the years since the silent era died.

One Of Lloyd's Best!
Okay, when we think of Harold Lloyd we think of the famous image of him hanging onto the hands of a clock outside a building, right? Well, this is where the shot was taken from. "Safety Last" was one of the few Lloyd comedies I actually saw when I was younger. I mostly saw his short 2 and 3 reelers growing up. But, I happened to see "Safety Last" on tv yesterday. It's been about 15 years since I last saw, and I was still amazed.

"Safety Last" tells the story of a couple in love (Lloyd and Mildred Davis). Lloyd is going to become a big businessman so he can marry the girl of his dreams. As soon as he gets enough money he will send out for her to come. At best Lloyd gets a job as a salesman making $15 a week. In 1923 I'm guessing that was pretty good, but, even by those standards not enough to get married on. So, naturally like any man would do, he lies to his girlfriend pretending that he's doing much better than he actually is. He goes without eating so he can buy her a chain. He writes to her everyday of the week dreaming of the day they can be together.

Feeling she has waited long enough for Lloyd, Davis decides it's time for her to go to him. Thus making things worst for him due to the fact she visits him at work! But, as fate would have it the department store where he is working is looking for a scheme to draw costumers. And Lloyd gets a great idea that will earn him $1,000!

Okay, I feel I have to commet on the building climbing piece. It is one of the most daring scenes I have scene in comedy history. Now, I know that no harm came to Lloyd making shooting that scene. I know he survived the making of that scene and went on to make other movies, but, I became so caught in the moment that my heart was in my throat. I was sitting on the edge of my seat. Everytime it seemed as if Lloyd would fall off the buliding I jumped lol. I kept thinking to myself, "Why did he do this?!" "How did he do this?!" "How did they shoot this scene?!!" You forget that it's only a movie. because most of us know that Lloyd did his own stunts. It really is something everyone has to see.

Would I say this is his "best" movie? No, to be honest I don't think so. Do I think it's one of his funniest? Sure. It's right up there. I also think it's one of the best comedies not only made in it's day, but of all-time. So go out and buy it.

Bottom-line: Probably Lloyd's most famous movie due to the "thrill" scene at the end. One of the best comedies of all time. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

The Doctor is in
As Leonard Maltin states, this is one of Harold Lloyd's lesser known features, and only slightly weaker than his more familiar fare. I'm sure the plot was well-suited for the "roaring 20s": out with the old stuffy shirts, in with the new, carefree way of thinking. The short, NUMBER, PLEASE and the feature are both Harold Lloyd Lite, but it's safe subject material for laughs. NUMBER, PLEASE is two long gags, one with a lost/stolen purse and one with a telephone booth, both of which are ingenious. A personal enjoyment, I love seeing old footage of amusement parks, so that was an added pleasure. The subject matter of DR. JACK lends itself to numerous gags, and after Lloyd milks every joke out of the "Good Doctor" and "Sick Little Well Girl" bits, he parades as an escaped convict to keep the fun going.

The two currently available Harold Lloyd silents on Amazon are GRANDMA'S BOY and DR. JACK. Plot-wise, GRANDMA'S BOY is much stronger, which leads to gags that really sock your funny bone, making it a more satisfying film. Can't help but notice that Lloyd had a hand in writing GRANDMA'S BOY, but not DR. JACK. Perhaps this is why it's lacking the heart of the former? Concerning the technical aspect, this DR. JACK print is in slightly better shape then GRANDMA'S BOY, but not by much. One final comparison, Anna Townsend is back as another "Granny" character in JACK, but has significantly less screen time and doesn't get the opportunity to chase off an old hobo with a broom ... take that for whatever it's worth to you.

As the Amazon editorial comment above states, Lloyd's gags don't contain the balletic grace of Chaplin or Keaton, but that makes his style all the more appealing to me. Lloyd's character was famous (for awhile in the 1920s, even more profittable at the box office then Chaplin's & Keaton's characters) because he represented the "everyman", someone you could imagine meeting in real life. He was a normal guy, sometimes down on his luck, trying to win the girl -- and how many normal guys do YOU know who have "balletic grace"? There are plenty of Keaton films out there to keep us satisfied in that arena. And Lloyd did try the Chaplin route with his Lonesome Luke character which ended up being a rather significant flop. Just enjoy Lloyd for what he is -- energetic, charming, surprisingly clever, and thankfully different then the other two great silent comedians. Vive la difference!

Too Few Harold Lloyd films!!!!!!
Nobody should deny us the privilage of these classic Harold Lloyd Comedies:

-Safety Last -The Freshman -The Kid Brother -Speedy

And much more, PLEASE release them in respectable editions, and if at all possible, CRITERION please take note! ... Read more