Wednesday, June 22, 2011

An Eastern Westerner (1920)

*gulp*

What a fantastic little short this was! Harold Lloyd is The Boy (who else?), sent to his uncle’s ranch by his father to toughen up and stop his irresponsible playboy ways. Upon his arrival he’s greeted by two people: Tiger Lip Tompkins (Noah Young), rough and tumble leader of the local gang, and The Girl (Mildred Davis), whose father is being held hostage by Tompkins until she agrees to marry him. The Boy is instantly smitten, and jumps in to help her against Tompkins and his Masked Angels – even though he has no chance against them. Or does he?

Never has Lloyd’s “can-do” aesthetic been as clear as in this short! Young is genuinely scary and violent, and our hero must rely on the one thing city living has given him: sharp wits. Will he save the day (and the lovely Davis)? Not without a breakneck chase scene! My favorite part, though, was the poker game. Oh, and the very last thing The Boy does. Sweet.

It’s fun and fast, and Lloyd is at his best – keep in mind, too, that this was made right after the accident that blew off his right thumb and index finger; I defy anyone to see a difference in his stunts. Amazing!


I give this one:

3 comments:

Francy Flicks said...

Oh, I love Harold Lloyd! He's one of my favorites. I'll have to see this one, thanks!

Avalon76 said...

You'll really like this one -- TCM shows it from time to time (that's how I got to see it). Everything about it is adorable! ^_^

Ana said...

I haven't seen this one,I'll definitely start looking for this now :)