Die Nummer, bitte?

Hijinks ensue at an amusement park when Harold Lloyd decides to compete with another for the affections of his true love. There are quite a few set pieces to earn giggles from its audience, and a couple to earn outright guffaws. There's some funny business with a carousel, but the funniest bit in the movie involves a stolen purse that both Lloyd and his rival desperately try not to get caught holding. As always, Lloyd is a delightful screen presence, and his silent comedy persona instantly makes you root for it.

I saw this as a double bill with Lloyd's "Grandma's Boy" at the Pickwick Theatre in Park Ridge, Illinois as part of a summer silent movie festival. Let's keep festivals like that alive.

A Hal Roach HAROLD LLOYD Comedy Short.

A young fellow desperately tries to win back the affections of his ex-girlfriend during a madcap day at a seaside pleasure pier.

Silent screen genius Harold Lloyd has a wonderful showcase for his comedic talents in this extremely funny little film. Among the difficulties confronting Harold are a couple of contrary canines, several suspicious cops, a grossly incompetent telephone operator and a rapacious goat. The sequences involving the crazy mirrors, the phone booths and the small black boy are absolute gems.

Mildred Davis--his future real-life wife--is the object of Harold's affections. Stout Roy Brooks plays the determined Rival.

Robert Israel has composed an excellent film score which perfectly complements Harold's antics on the screen.

NUMBER, PLEASE? (1920)

*** (out of four)

Harold Lloyd two-reeler has Lloyd trying to mend a broken heart by going to an amusement part where he meets a lovely young lady but he must compete with her boyfriend. The first reel is wonderfully funny with all sorts of great gags including one where Lloyd is in the last cart of a ride with everyone else's hats hitting him. The second reel loses a lot of its punch but overall this was still a pretty good short that shows off what was to come in Lloyd's career.

Available on DVD through Kino and New Line.

This middling Harold Lloyd short is neatly divided into three sections: concerning romantic rivalry at an amusement park, it starts off with a dog chase (this early part also involving a distorted mirror gag); the mid-section is devoted to the inventive telephone antics which give the film its title; the last part, then, resolves itself into a rather overstretched sequence in which Lloyd, chased by the police, tries to get rid of an incriminating purse.

Still, perhaps the single funniest bit occurs at the very beginning - a succession of title cards categorizing how various lovesick men deal with their predicament.

Just watched this Harold Lloyd short on the DVD "The Cook and Other Treasures". It takes place in an amusement park in Orange Park, California. Plenty of gags involving a girl (Mildred Davis-Lloyd's future wife), rival Roy Brooks (who'd become Lloyd's assistant later on), telephone booths, a dog, a purse, a merry-go-round, and a little black boy who'd later become a member of the original "Our Gang" (Ernie Morrison). Producer/director Hal Roach appears in silhouette early on. Also early on is a gag involving a roller coaster and hats that provides the start of consistent laughs that I give through most of this entertaining short. The scene with the telephone booths and operators mixing up various calls was also one of the most hilarious in the short. I think I've said enough so on that note, I highly recommend Number, Please?