I Do

In this Harold Lloyd short, Lloyd and Mildred Davis play a newlywed couple who get stuck watching their two nephews. One is a baby, the other a toddler, and they proceed to drive Lloyd crazy as only little children can. Lloyd finds his slippers nailed to the floor, finds that preparing a bottle isn't as easy as it might seem and really finds out what it means to be a dad when the toddler comes home with an armload of fireworks and begins shooting them at him and the maid.

As far as Lloyd's short comedies go, this isn't one of his funniest, but it's only 25 minutes long, and hey, it's Harold Lloyd after all. You'll be able to see the ending coming practically before the movie has even started.

Grade: B-

This Harold Lloyd comedy has some funny sequences that are enjoyable to watch, even though it is somewhat uneven overall. Lloyd himself is always funny, and it is only a matter of providing him with decent material in order to make for good comedy. This feature pulls together several sequences with comedy ideas that very somewhat in their level of creativity, and that do not always fit together all that well.

Lloyd and Mildred Davis star as a young married couple. One of the interesting aspects of the movie is the short animated sequence at the beginning, which apparently replaced a reel of material that did not turn out as well as everyone had hoped. The main body of the film as it stands follows Lloyd and Davis as they contend with Prohibition, baby-sit some troublesome children, and deal with a neighborhood burglary threat.

A number of the gag ideas work well, and the two stars also get some help from imposing Noah Young in the second half of the movie. The young child playing their nephew is also quite believable as a young trouble-maker. There are a few stretches of relatively routine slapstick material, but the good parts make it worth seeing.

This Harold Lloyd short is the story of newlyweds who use subterfuge to transport some bootleg liquor, then agree to watch a couple of children while the brother-in-law is otherwise occupied. The story includes a bad guy who seems to be checking out the neighborhood.

The best part of the film is the small section that deals with the ornery nature of the young boy left in their charge. I could have watched an entire film about the duel of wits between Lloyd and the kid.

As others have pointed out, the film is uneven, but its best parts are truly funny.

A Hal Roach HAROLD LLOYD film.

When he says `I DO' at his nuptials, a young man has no idea the travail his wife's family will put him through.

Harold Lloyd had another winner with this domestic comedy in which he must deal with his wife's nephews, the elder a dreadful little brat and the younger a crying baby, during a long & frightful night. As so often happened, Harold's superb athletic abilities enhance his role, even with half of his mutilated right hand hidden by a special glove. Lloyd's hilarious HOT WATER, which came three years later, doubtless drew some of its inspiration from this film.

I DO originally ran longer, but when the preview audience didn't respond with enough laughs to the opening scenes Harold removed the entire first reel, tightening the picture down to a tad under 25 minutes. The animated sequence depicting the wedding is a nice touch.

Mildred Davis appropriately plays Harold's wife - they would soon be married in real life. Noah Young, who acted many a tough guy in Lloyd's films, lends his menacing presence to the end of the movie.

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

(1921) I Do SILENT COMEDY

The set up regards (Harold Lloyd) marrying his new wife (Mildred Davis) and upon coming home, their friend of two children leaves them with Lloyd and his new wife to look after.

Some of the sight gags includes the Lloyd trying to clean up the mess and mishaps of the older boy child; especially when goes out to buy fireworks and brings them home; scenes of trying to put baby to sleep; when Lloyd's newly wife tries to calm the children and put them to sleep. There is also a sequence of a prowler around the neighborhood with both Lloyd and Mildred to the housekeeper being spooked up about!