The Big Idea

The Big Idea (1917)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Decent one-reeler has Harold Lloyd trying to save an antique shop and he gets an idea to send out notices that items marked with a "xx" have $10,000 in them. Soon all sorts of people start showing up to buy items but will this scam help impress the girl (Bebe Daniels) he loves? THE BIG IDEA features a couple decent laughs but overall this here isn't quite as good as some of Lloyd's other pictures from this era. I think the best thing this has going for it is the charm of Daniels who certainly steals the picture even though she has the least amount of screen time of any of the named actor. Lloyd is also quite good here even though the screenplay doesn't give him all that much to do. One of the best scenes has him dealing a painting to three people. The joke here is pretty simple but it works. Harry 'Snub' Pollard is on hand but is pretty much wasted in his supporting role. As I said, there are a couple decent laughs to be had here but there just aren't enough to make this a classic or even one of the legends better pictures.

Snub Pollard joined forces with the rimmed glasses Harold Lloyd beyond the Lonesome Luke films. Because of Lloyd's athleticism that he was now displaying week by week he had trouble obtaining insurance because he was a high risk candidate.

In the 1910s, Harold Lloyd was prolific in short comedies though his work in these was far less enjoyable than his 1920s films. This is because although he'd finally developed the physical attributes of his 1920s persona, the glasses and straw hat, he didn't act like the sweet guy the public really embraced in the 1920s. And, in most of these earlier films, Lloyd starred along with Harry 'Snub' Pollard and Bebe Daniels.

When "The Big Idea" begins, you can see that it's not typical of the later films, as Lloyd is a bit of a jerk...bullying poor Snub because both are interested in Bebe. He spends a lot of time kicking and slapping poor Snub. In the meantime, the shop where Harold and Bebe work is having financial problems and Harold comes up with a rather dishonest scheme to get people into this antique shop and to buy everything in sight.

If you aren't expecting the nice and sweet guy Lloyd later played, you'll likely enjoy this picture. It is pretty funny once Lloyd's scheme takes hold...and the store is pretty much empty in no time! Clever...though the film would be better if Lloyd wasn't so slap-happy.

This early Harold Lloyd "glasses" short seems like a variation on Chaplin's THE PAWNSHOP in set-up, with Snub cast in the Albert Austin role, competing for the affections of Bebe Daniels in a failing antiques shop. After you get past that set-up, the similarities vanish. Lloyd's character -- still wearing his bow tie -- indulges in some rough slapstick combat with Snub.

Even though there's no clear sign of the go-getter of the 1920s, Lloyd was clearly searching for a style of comedy midway between the rough, Keystone-style slapstick of his early works and the more realistic comedy he would become the master of it. It starts here with characters who look like they could exist in the real world, even if they don't act like it.

... and it was written and co-directed by Hal Mohr, who was better known for cinematography. In fact this is the second of only two writing credits by Mr. Mohr, and one of only seven directing credits. The plot shows Harold Lloyd relying more on the entrepreneurship and out of the box thinking he'll show in his 20's films than on the kick-in-the-pants and pie throwing comedy that was common in films of the 1910's.

Harold and "the girl" are working at an antique dealer's shop that is going to close for lack of business. Harold gets the idea to put out notes all over town that say that an item at a particular address is marked with a double X on it and contains 10 thousand dollars hidden inside. Naturally the address is that of the antique dealer's and Harold has marked all of the items with double X's.

Planting these notes all over town gives Harold a chance to show off his trademark athleticism. Nobody else in the cast has very much to do, and that includes Bebe Daniels. It is mainly an opportunity to see her as a teenager, only 16 in this film.

Lloyd is still looking for his brand of comedy at this point, but he is close to finding it. I'd recommend it. Let me also say it is NOT in the 4 disc "Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection". That set came out in 2005 and this short was only restored and copyrighted by the Harold Lloyd Trust in 2012.