Coco de Chicago

Billy Blazes, Esq. (1919)

** (out of 4)

Billy Blazes (Harold Lloyd) rides into a rough Western town to take out the bad guys and escape with the girl. This 13-minute short remains interesting throughout but the strange thing is that it appears the director forgot to go for any laughs. It's not like there are gags on screen that don't work but instead there aren't any gags for some reason.

You can find this short in New Line's wonderful box set that features countless shorts, features and some very nice extras. All the films come with a new score and remastered video.

Unusual for a Harold Lloyd movie in his July 1919's "Billy Blazes, Esq." The comedian doesn't make his appearance until five minutes into the film. Prior to his marvelous introduction where he adroitly hand wraps a cigarette in one palm in the windy plains, "Billy Blazes, Esq" first introduces the town's cast of characters, establishing the villains as well as the proverbial beauty in distress, Bebe Daniels.

Lloyd's initial roles in cinema when he first arrived in Hollywood was playing extras in Tom Mix westerns. His movements in "Billy Blazes Esq," both on the horse and handling his sidearms, are fluid and natural because of his experiences on the western sets. In Lloyd films, no one ever gets seriously injured or killed. Here, despite thousands of bullets flying and some hitting the keisters of the bad guys, the potentially fatal objects appear to cause a sting rather than a bleeding wound. That was the secret to Lloyd's oeuvre: physicality and danger are to be laughed at, and the greater the potential for injuries, the louder the laughs. And "Billy Blazes Esq." delivers that and more.

A HAROLD LLOYD Comedy One-Reeler.

When the local outlaws in Peaceful Vale become too rambunctious, it's up to BILLY BLAZES, ESQ. to gallop into town and restore law & order.

Harold gets to spoof William S. Hart in this very short & funny film. The various ways in which he subdues the bad guys & makes his getaway is the focus of attention here. The very tall Chinese waiter is also quite humorous. Bebe Daniels plays the Girl in the tavern; Snub Pollard portrays the cowardly Sheriff.

Movie mavens will note that this short film was produced shortly before Harold lost half of his right hand in a freak studio accident.

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

I thought this film might have been made at the same time as Lloyd's The Eastern Westerner, but apparently the films were made a few years apart. This film is ultra-short, lasting a little over twelve minutes (although perhaps a section is missing). The sets for both films certainly look very similar. Lloyd also performs the same cigarette-rolling trick here (twice) that he used in the later film.

This is pretty frantic stuff. Bebe Daniels plays the daughter of an old boy threatened with eviction by his bullying landlord (although an intertitle suggests he owes eleven years in back rent which suggests he's actually one of the most patient landlords you're ever likely to meet). Daniels is a pretty girl with a saucy smile and sturdy knees, and it's no wonder Lloyd goes out of his way to rescue her. Compared to Lloyd's later output this is pretty primitive stuff, but it still manages to pack a good number of laughs into its brief running time.

Just watched this Harold Lloyd short on a DVD that featured some of his shorts and features. In this one, he's the title character who saves the town and is fearless in doing so. Whatever laughs this short has is due to him and not the supporting cast so to tell the truth, I was partly underwhelmed watching this. And part of me also felt a little uncomfortable watching the Asian servant character on screen but since this is a silent, at least there wasn't any Pidgin English to make things even more embarrassing. The score conducted by Robert Israel for this edition was good so that was a plus. So on that note, Billy Blazes, Esq. is worth a look for any fan of Harold Lloyd.