Re: Movies
Posted: Wed Sep 29, 2021 12:39 pm
488 - College (1927) - 7/10 - Buster Keaton is a bookish young man who graduates at the top of the class in high school, but the girl he likes rejects him due to his aversion to athletics. In college, he tries all sorts of athletics in order to win her over. It was okay through a good part of the film with a few nice gags sprinkled in, but nothing really special. It comes together nicely in the end, though.
Harold Lloyd shorts
Now or Never (1921) - 8/10 - 36 minutes - Lloyd is rushing back to meet his girl for her 18th birthday. He ends up on a train having to care for a young girl during the trip while his girlfriend is otherwise engaged. It's a pretty funny and entertaining film, especially once they get on the train.
The Marathon (1919) - 7.5/10 - 10 minutes - Lloyd is interested in a girl with many suitors and also has to evade the father, a former heavyweight boxer. This is like a long Benny Hill skit and is pretty funny.
Captain Kidd's Kids (1919) - 7/10 - 20 minutes - Lloyd is recovering from his bachelor party when he ends up going on a cruise.
By the Sad Sea Waves (1917) - 7/10 - 11 minutes - Lloyd is at the beach and becomes a life guard to try and impress a girl. Lots of comedy from other people, but it is a fun short.
Two-Gun Gussie (1918) - 6/10 - 9 minutes - Lloyd is a piano player who gets mistaken for a tough gunfighter. It has its moments, but is so-so.
A Sammy in Siberia (1919) - 6/10 - 11 minutes - Lloyd is a soldier who comes across a young woman who is being chased by a group of Bolsheviks. I enjoyed this, but there isn't really much to this short.
The Non-Stop Kid (1918) - 5.5/10 - 12 minutes - Lloyd is interested in a girl whose father has plans for her to marry a professor so Lloyd goes in search of the professor. It had a few good moments, but was a bit lame.
The City Slicker (1918) - 6/10 - 11 minutes - Lloyd is a city slicker brought in to modernize a rural hotel. There are a few creative bits, but mostly it is so-so.
Next Aisle Over (1919) - 6/10 - 11 minutes - Lloyd becomes a shoe salesman in a department store while in pursuit of a girl. There is plenty of slapstick here.
A Submarine Pirate (1915) - 4.5/10 - 24 minutes - This is really a Syd Chaplin short with Lloyd in an uncredited role. Chaplin is a waiter who overhears a plot to use a submarine to steal gold from a passenger ship. He decides to take over the plan himself. It's not that great.
Bashful (1917) - 6/10 - 10 minutes - Lloyd stands to inherit two million dollars if he has a wife and baby so the girl he likes pretends to be his wife and the butler sets out to find a baby. There are a few good gags here.
Over the Fence (1917) - 5.5/10 - 5 minutes - Lloyd works for a tailor and finds two tickets to a baseball game so he invites his girl, but the tickets are taken. This apparently was the introduction of the 'glasses' character. It wasn't bad, but it was way too short.
Ring Up the Curtain (1919) - 6/10 - 12 minutes - Lloyd is a stage hand who hits on the leading lady of a theater troupe that just arrived. It was okay.
Bliss (1917) - 6/10 - 12 minutes - Lloyd encounters a wealthy young woman on the street and decides to dress up and pay her a visit to court her. Her dad is pretty tough on suitors who aren't noble. There were a few good gags, but nothing special.
Lonesome Luke, Messenger (1917) - 7/10 - 10 minutes - Lloyd and Snub Pollard (who appears in many Lloyd shorts) are messengers who come across a girls boarding school so they decide to stop there. Plenty of Benny Hill antic ensue. It wasn't as polished as his later work, but it was fun.
Luke Joins the Navy (1916) - 4/10 - 5 minutes - Lloyd is a store clerk who decides to join the navy. There isn't much to see here.
Clubs are Trump (1917) - 6/10 - 25 minutes - Lloyd and Snub are hanging out on a park bench when they decide to try and steal a couple of women from their boyfriends without success. They fall asleep and dream of being cavemen with lots of people hitting each other in the head with clubs. They wake up and there is a lot more getting hit in the head with billy clubs courtesy of the police. It was okay.
Spring Fever (1919) - 6.5/10 - 10 minutes - Lloyd works in an office, but is distracted because he has spring fever. He leaves work and causes plenty of mayhem in the nearby park where he happens to find a girl.
Look Pleasant, Please (1918) - 7/10 - 11 minutes - Lloyd works at a corner mart and later ends up being recruited by a photographer whose roving fingers caused a woman to call her husband.
All Aboard (1917) - 6/10 - 11 minutes - Lloyd's girl is being taken on a cruise to Bermuda by her parents so he sneaks on board to be with her and the usual havoc ensues.
That's Him (1918) - 6.5/10 - 11 minutes - Lloyd and his wife are going to take the train to visit his aunt, but he forgot the tickets. He races back home to find them only to get mistaken for a mugger and burglar and chased by the police. It was amusing.
Love, Loot and Crash (1915) - 5/10 - 11 minutes - This is a Keystone Kops film with Lloyd planning to elope with his girlfriend, but there is confusion when a new housekeeper plans to steal from the house and escape at the same time. It had a few good moments.
Move On (1917) - 4/10 - 5 minutes - Lloyd is a police officer who tries to make out with a maid he likes, though his sergeant likes the girl, too. Not very long or good.
A Gasoline Wedding (1918) - 7.5/10 - 10 minutes - Lloyd's girlfriend has plenty of suitor (a common theme with Lloyd) and her father wants to marry her off to a wealthy man. Lloyd and his girlfriend make their escape. I thought this one was pretty good.
Don't Shove (1919) - 5/10 - 9 minutes - Lloyd's girlfriend is having a birthday party, but he gets chased out by the father. Later, they all end up at the roller rink.
The Big Idea (1917) - 7/10 - 10 minutes - Lloyd works at an antique store where business is slow. He comes up with a big idea to drum up business. This one was relatively simple, but fun.