An Eastern Westerner

As can be deduced from its title, this short puts Harold Lloyd into a favorite environment with star comedians; still its opening moments largely take place inside a club, where rich-kid Lloyd falls foul of the proprietor because of his over-energetic dancing!

Sent out West by his disapproving family, he meets and falls for poor girl Mildred Davis - who is coveted by the tyrannical town boss, for whom she's forced to work; the latter is a truly hissable villain, a bully whom even the townsfolk would like to get rid of (as evidenced by the number of attempts made on his life throughout) but who literally holds the town in the palm of his hand (demonstrated in a wonderful optical effect) with the aid of a KKK-type gang!

Lloyd, of course, summons enough courage to protect the girl and with a good deal of ingenuity is able to teach the villain a lesson, and finally to flee the town with his new-found lover in tow. Ultimately, though certainly funny and enjoyable, this isn't up to the level of an equivalent Keaton short or the films Chaplin made for the Mutual company.

Harold Lloyd plays an aimless New York playboy. He's supposed to be studying at the YMCA but instead, he's dancing at the nightclubs. In frustration, his father sends him to his uncle's ranch in the wild, wild west. In the town of Piute Pass, he is taken with a local gal. Her father is being held prisoner by local thug "Tiger Lip" Tompkins. Tompkins owns half the town and leads the Masked Angels.

This early Hal Roach short has his best act Lloyd doing his every man. It's not quite a nice innocent guy but he's plenty likeable. The plot is simple. It's a weak easterner trying to make it in the tough old west. There are some simple action stunt sequences. It has good slapstick fun. It is a short which limits any complexity. This is a simple physical comedy.

For all that it's unrefined much of the time, this short Harold Lloyd comedy is funny and entertaining. After a slightly slow start, it has some very good material and some entertaining scenes. It also gives Lloyd a chance to perform the kinds of material that played to his strengths and that pleased his audiences.

The first part shows Lloyd as a lackadaisical young man whose family sends him out west to live with his uncle. The early sequences are a bit routine, but they have some good gags in them. Things really get moving once Lloyd arrives in the west, has to adjust to western ways, and then has to contend with the town bully (Noah Young, in a role well suited to him).

The story contains some good gags, and it builds up to a manic chase scene that has some very good moments. It's not as polished as Lloyd's later features, but it's pretty amusing.

A great example of the comedy of Harold Lloyd is to be found in this short subject, An Eastern Westerner. After getting in trouble once too often, Harold's dad sends him out west where men are men and Harold will profit by their example.

Unlike most tenderfeet our west films, Harold never drops his eastern garb and stays true to himself. Of course immediately upon arriving in Piute Pass he makes an enemy of the town boss, Noah Young, a silent screen villain in the best Snidely Whiplash tradition. As is stated in the title, he owns half the town and bullies the rest with his hired men.

He's even got sweet and innocent Mildred Davis who eventually became Mrs. Harold Lloyd in real life under his thumb. He's going to marry her and she is agreeing because Young is holding her father prisoner.

All that changes with Harold on the scene. He maybe an eastern dude, but street smarts are street smarts on a western or eastern street. I think you can figure where this is going.

An Eastern Westerner is a great example of Harold Lloyd's everyman character who rises to the occasion in all of his films.

Harold plays a spoiled rich young man who would rather party than act proper. Fed up with his lazy ways, Harold's parents send him west--hoping to make a real man out of him.

While this is far from a great short picture, it is a very good one featuring Harold Lloyd. The only short-comings are the slightly slow pace at the beginning--though the film certainly picks up speed towards the end. This is when Harold has a show down with the town bully--as well as his KKK-like gang! All this starts because he meets a woman in distress in the cow town--her father is being held prisoner by this bully until she agrees to marry this jerk. Lloyd, being a silent comedy star, is obligated to help with pretty predictable results. However, the stunt-work is excellent and the pace is fast and furious. Overall, it's a middle of the road Lloyd (and that still makes it excellent) comedy that is sure to please.