Bumping Into Broadway

There are three segments to this two-reel short, and each one has their highlight. It begins with HAROLD LLOYD as a struggling writer who can't pay the rent (a flimsy amount of $3.70 is overdue!!) and this leads to a boarding house sequence that has him avoiding the grim landlady and her strong partner bent on giving deadbeats rough treatment. Lloyd excels in this segment as he narrowly avoids detection when they try to track him down.

BEBE DANIELS makes little impression as "the girl," also unable to pay her rent until Lloyd comes to her aid. Thereafter, there's a backstage Broadway scene that has Lloyd trying to sell his story to a producer with dismal results.

And finally, a gambling joint scene climaxes the film with a wild chase as the dumb cops try to nab Lloyd, who comes up with an ingenious coat rack trip that has to be seen to be believed--or described.

This all plays very quickly--fast and funny throughout with nary a lapse of pace, making it one of the most enjoyable of all the Lloyd silent shorts that I've seen. The TCM showing has it accompanied by a brisk musical score.

Lloyd is a struggling broadway writer while Bebe daniels is a show girl aspiring to be a star. They live next door to each other in a boarding house struggling to make ends meet. They meet one day and Lloyd offers to pay Bebe's rent while forsaking his own rent, thus setting off the hijinks. Three sets are used in this smart and insightful comedy; the boarding house, the broadway stage and set and an underground speakeasy which is raided by the cops. As Lloyd is chased up and down the boarding house eventually ending up in an old woman's home who was crying out for a man, you cannot help but smile. On the broadway set, as he tries to meet the director and sell his story before being forcefully thrown out, you grin. And after following Bebe to protect from the playboy star of the show who has dragged her along to the speakeasy where all hell breaks loose and harold uses a coat hanger to great comic effect, you must applaud. Final scene is perfect denouement to an enjoyable mish-mash.

Despite the title, the plot of this Harold Lloyd short is evenly distributed among three different settings: a boarding-house, a theater and an exclusive club. As in FROM HAND TO MOUTH (1919), comedy emerges out of the characters' desperation - but there's no denying the assuredness of the gags (in fact, I'd say that this one's an even better film) and, in any case, H.M. Walker's title cards are among the wittiest for a Silent that I've come across! Lloyd is in his element as the perennial dreamer, a novice playwright, and Bebe Daniels is an ideal co-star as an aspiring Broadway star. Still, the best scenes are probably those set in the casino - where the penniless Lloyd accidentally cops himself a large sum of money but, needless to say, he's not allowed to reap the rewards of his fortune because the joint is raided soon after by the Police!

This short provides a lot of what I like in a Harold Lloyd film---risky stunts, clever comedy, and an engaging story.

Harold is a poor tenant who can't pay his rent, but he gives his few dollars to an attractive neighbor played by Bebe Daniels, landing him in trouble with the landlady and her thuggish enforcer. Harold and Bebe spend the entire film running from everyone, allowing him to display his acrobatic prowess and his imagination.

At the end, Lloyd charmingly breaks the fourth wall for a kiss.

A Hal Roach HAROLD LLOYD Comedy Short.

An impoverished young fellow finds himself BUMPING INTO BROADWAY when he falls in love with a pretty showgirl.

This fast-moving romp gave Harold Lloyd an early success for his Glasses Character. Antic chases and sight gags abound, and Harold gets to showoff his buoyant physical dexterity in this film made before a freak accident so badly damaged his right hand. Swiftly moving from boardinghouse to street, on to the theater, and finally to an elaborate speakeasy, the plot gives Harold plenty of opportunity to amuse.

Bebe Daniels is his love interest. Helen Gilmore is the fierce landlady; tough guy Noah Young is the boardinghouse bouncer. In a brief role, Gus Leonard, in drag, is hilarious as the man-crazy spinster who lives one floor below Harold.

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