Professor Beware

This was Harold Lloyd's final comedy before his first retirement. The 1938 film features Harold as an archaeologist who starts to believe that he may be a reincarnation of an Egyptian pharaoh for whom things did not end up well. Wonderful cast of supporting comedy players (including Raymond Walburn, William Frawley and Lionel Stander) in an intermittently amusing affair with, for me, one hilarious sequence.

There's a scene in which Harold, accompanied by Walburn and Stander, is picked up on the road for a ride by what turns out to be the small town sheriff. Well, Stander has just snatched up a stolen chicken and when he sees the sheriff's badge shoves the chicken onto poor sap Harold who hides it under his jacket.

As they ride along with the sheriff, the chicken starts to make clucking sounds and, as a cover-up, Harold starts pursing his lips like he's imitating a chicken. Of course, the hilarity in the sequence builds as the chicken starts making loud squawking sounds with Harold now trying to convince the increasingly suspicious, albeit dim witted, sheriff that the racket is coming from him.

At one moment there is a camera shot of Harold's legs, as seen from Harold's angle looking down at them, as we see a chicken egg roll down them to the floor of the car. I almost fell out of my chair laughing. This comedy might not be Harold Lloyd at his best but it is well worth a look if you can find a copy somewhere. The not so great box office on this one convinced Harold to retire for about ten years, and the film is ably directed by workman director Elliott Nugent.

This film and "Welcome Danger" are the only two feature films distributed by Paramount that did not wind up in the big box of Lloyd films put out about ten years ago. Welcome Danger has been on Turner Classic Movies a few times, but Professor Beware was never on VHS or DVD and disappeared off the face of the earth since AMC decided that zombies combined with sexual assault were more entertaining than good old fashioned slapstick. Please catch it if you can, it is worth it.

I recall that for many years this was the only one of Harold Lloyd's movies that occasionally turned up on screen in New York City. It is a passably funny film about an archaeologist who falls for the daughter of a tycoon and finds himself fighting the forces of Wall Street and fate itself to get the young lady. Lloyd's character is trying to fight an apparent curse from the tomb that he opened. The film literally goes to it's conclusion before the viewers learn if the curse will or will not work. Lloyd is ably supported in the film by Raymond Walburn, William Frawley, Lionel Stander, and Thurston Hall. Phyllis Welch was the young woman Lloyd pursues. She did nicely in the role, but not spectacularly. Her career soon faded from sight.

Of the sound films made by Lloyd, "Professor Beware" usually is near the bottom. It is better (in my opinion) than "Welcome Danger" or "Feet First", but it falls below the other four sound films. The problem with it is that it lacks any relationship to the type of film identified with Lloyd at his peak. It's situation comedy plot could have been done by most other comedians or leading men of the day. But it is not a total failure, and is worth watching.

Professor, Beware is fun, funny, charming, heart-warming, and an all around great old film. More so, it is a great adventure like an original Indiana Jones movie. More so, it has some concepts that bear thinking about - more than most comedies. This is the kind of film that one gives a satisfied sigh afterwards and says: "They don't make em like that anymore".

Enjoy!

During the 1920s, Harold Lloyd was box office gold. You might be surprised to hear that his comedies outdrew those of Keaton or Chaplin during that era and he was the most popular silent comedian on the planet. So, with this amazing reputation, it's quite surprising that several of his sound comedies were relative duds....pleasant enough to watch but far less well written than his earlier efforts. A few were really good ("Movie Crazy" is a great sound comedy) but most were contrived and difficult to love. "Mad Wednesday" and "Professor Beware" both are among the difficult to love movies.

The story is about Professor Dean Lambert (Lloyd), a world famous Egyptologist. One night, he comes upon a damsel in distress and unquestioningly helps her....but it really makes no sense. After all, she wants him to change clothes with a drunk guy and wait out in the car....for a woman he just met! Soon, the police arrive and see the Professor in his underwear and they arrest him! Suddenly, he finds himself in the newspapers...and without a job.

Later, the woman he helped returns. Now you'd THINK he'd take her to explain the situation to the judge or prosecutor. Instead, he runs to New York because he is about to go on an expedition to Egypt. So, in other words, he fleas the state and risks a very long prison sentence AND loss of his reputation instead of staying in California to straighten out the problems. And, to get to New York, he soon finds himself bumming rides and riding the rails!! Oh, and did I mention that the Professor just happens to think he is the reincarnation of a 3000 dead Egyptian...and the lady who asked for his help was his lover 3000 years ago?!

Does ANY of this make any sense? Of course not!! Is it funny...sometimes. But at least Lloyd is likable in this film...and there are a few cute moments here and there. But on balance, it's definitely a sub-par Lloyd outing....and this would explain why it was a decade later when he made his next (and final) film.

Harold Lloyd was a comedic icon with few real equals in early cinema, even if he may not have had the same name recognition as some contemporaries. Lloyd gave us the same reliable stunts, gags, situational humor, physical comedy, and general silliness, and there's not one of his silent classics that isn't a terrific, hilarious classic. Then again, while the man's career continued past the advent of talkies, his meaningful success thereafter is far more variable. 1932's 'Movie crazy' is a clever, delightful blast that definitely recalls the energy and wit of its silent predecessors, but the same can't be said for 1930's 'Feet first,' which was an improvement on 1929's 'Welcome danger'; in my opinion this title's immediate antecedent, 1936's 'The milky way,' was possibly the weakest picture Lloyd was ever involved with. It's not necessarily that there was a specific struggle with the new sound format, and the aforementioned sound features were still enjoyable in some measure, yet they're a big step down for a cinematic legend; somewhere along the line the cleverness and vitality just leaked away from the star's output. Sadly, I think 'Professor beware' tends to have more in common with that lesser side of his body of work, and it pales in comparison to Lloyd's best.

By all means, this 1938 flick earns some laughs. Regrettably, they are all too few. Like in 'The milky way,' the situational humor is somewhat overtaken by plot, and the plot is thin and less than convincing. Rather than inspire the desired reaction, some would-be sharp dialogue, some gags, and some of the abject ridiculousness just come off as hollow raucousness and empty hot air. The pacing is troubled, as too many story beats and intended jokes are disallowed from manifesting, breathing, and resolving in their own time; the film just rather blows past some of the writing, and as a result feels scattered and harried. In turn, 'Professor beware' becomes sadly ordinary and unremarkable: there are wide swaths of fare from the early to mid 30s that's reasonably well made, and which provides a good time to some extent, but which exists in a bland, middling space that fails to make any big impression. This, I'm sorry to say, distinctly seems to count among such so-so cinema. It's not outright bad, and there are far worse things you could watch. The whole thing, though, is that for a star who at his best earned one laugh after another and commanded our attention, a piece that struggles to earn either laughs or mere engagement is a huge fumble.

The writing favors utmost zest and pizazz over sly ingenuity, or judicious storytelling; even if that weren't true, Elliott Nugent's direction is far too uncareful - orchestrating scenes with high energy, sure, but treating the material poorly. There are ideas here that should be delightful, yet through to the bombastic climax, so much of it is instead simply overcooked and dull, like meat that's left on a grill until it's charred and flavorless. The cast fully embraces the bluster, bless their hearts, not least with Lloyd sacrificing his body, and this is well done in all other regards: sets, costume design, stunts, effects, and so on. It rather says a lot, however, that as the digital timer broached the one hour mark I had all but checked out of the viewing experience, and there was still another solid half-hour to go. If you want a 30s comedy, you'll get it, and it's a decent enough way to spend ninety minutes, but I strongly suggest that you follow this up by revisiting 'Dr. Jack,' 'The freshman,' or 'Why worry?' - any one of the icon's silent classics stand head, shoulder, knees, and toes above 'Professor beware,' and only by checking them out will you truly get a good sense of what Lloyd was capable of. Oh well.