Harold Teen

I know, I know. It's an antique, it's silent, the dialogue is like a dead language, the stars are unknowns and time has passed "Harold Teen" by completely. It was great fun and I thoroughly enjoyed it, taking into consideration all the above flaws. What a refreshing break from the drekky movies that come out nowadays.

"Harold Teen" was adapted from a popular comic strip of the 1920's, complete with aforementioned contemporary language and clothing styles. I wonder how long it has been since boys wore suits and ties to school. It is hopelessly outdated, and you know what? It works!

Harold, it seems, works his grandpa's farm (!), besides attending the local high school. But his girlfriend, Lillums Lovewell (Mary Brian), is transferring to Covina H.S. in the fall, and this is the first of Harold's many crises in the course of the picture (and if any of you are familiar with the L.A. area, here it is a pristine wilderness). The culmination of his travails, as a previous contributor has already divulged, is a movie the Senior class has decided to produce, eschewing the traditional class play. The production of the class movie is hilarious and is but one instance of hilarity in a very funny picture. It is all about young people of long ago but the energy and vitality they expend could be from any era.

"Harold Teen" is not available in any format and the print I saw was restored by the UCLA film archives dept. It was shown at Capitolfest 2011, Rome N.Y.