Harold, Neto Mimado

Another fun Lloyd movie, set in the standard small, rural town of silent movies. (I always wonder how close those were to reality.) Lloyd is endearing as a timid boy, and displays some fine acting as well as comic ability. Anna Townsend as Lloyd's grandma is refreshingly both tough and likeable, a bonus for the modern female viewer. Mildred Davis (Lloyd's future wife) doesn't have a huge part, but plays it well. (Though I wonder about the childlike clothes she wears; would anyone over 13 really have sported a massive hair bow in 1922?) The movie seems to have had great influence: the civil-war sequence must have been an inspiration for Keaton's "The General", and a flashback to Harold's boyhood shows how his distinctive bespectacled look even helped create Harry Potter. As usual, several good animal actors. There is one joke--having to do with a white family's black butler--that is in kind of questionable taste, but it could be construed as more of a comment on class than race. You'll enjoy watching this with your kids (or without!)

I think the best overall summary would be to call this a dramatic comedy. Harold Lloyd displays accomplished slapstick while at the same time being involved in the drama of catching a tramp causing a lot of problems for the town. An ongoing subplot involves the used-to-be school bully (now grown up) who continues to bully Harold and does his best to take his girl from him. It is not until Harold's grandma tells him about a special amulet that his grandfather used in the Civil War and got his courage from that he gets up the courage to take after the tramp and take on the bully. All of the action involves numerous slapstick antics that really make the movie. Yet, with all of that, the point still comes across that things don't give us courage and abilities. We get our courage to act from within ourselves. This movie reinforces that there were very good silent movies made and we can learn from them and have a lot of laughs at the same time.

Harold Lloyd's first great feature pits him in his ideal homespun setting with a simple and archetypal plot in which the mild-mannered Boy gradually learns to overcome his cowardice - with the help of his loving grandmother - to become the toast of the town; in this respect, it predates the star's more celebrated THE FRESHMAN (1925) in being, above all, character-driven (with a dash of sentimentality). That said, perhaps the film's most hilarious scene is a typical one in which both Lloyd and his rival for the affections of leading lady Mildred Davis unwittingly mistake moth-balls from Lloyd's ancient costume (which had belonged to his grandfather) for sweets.

It's climaxed, however, by three lengthy and impressive set-pieces: the Civil War feat of the hero's grandfather (also played by Lloyd and remarkably anticipating Keaton's THE GENERAL [1927]); the chase leading up to the capture of the town bully by the newly-brave Lloyd (brought about by the presence of a Zuni doll - more than 50 years before such an artifact would achieve immortality via the classic made-for-TV compendium TRILOGY OF TERROR [1975]!); and our hero's settling of accounts with his mean-spirited rival, which features some rather physical tussling for this kind of film. As ever with Lloyd, apart from providing the requisite attention to gag structure and the creation of atmosphere, the film results in being quite technically proficient.

GRANDMA'S BOY is among the first silent comedies that focus on characterization. It is also Lloyd's breakthrough picture which set him on the rank of Chaplin and Keaton and we can easily see why. It's full of tightly linked, ingenious gags( even where he put his hat would serve as a link to later action ). It also keeps some acrobatic movements that reminds us of Lloyd's 2 reeler days. It has a strong story line, and consistent plot development and delicate performance from Lloyd as well. The Grandpa's Civil war episode is truly funny.

Harold Lloyd once said the number one favorite movie of his was "Grandma's Boy." Part of the reason was the script was intended to tone down the 'thrill' aspect of the comedian's trademark routines and insert some 'heart' into the plot. But once producer Hal Roach saw the rough cut, he advised the actor, "Harold, you're a comic, you've got to get laughs. Let's go back." And he did.

Lloyd plays a rather timid grandson to his kindly nana, Anna Townsend. After seeing him getting constantly picked on, especially by the town bully who's aiming for Lloyd's girlfriend, grandma gives him a charm she claims her husband, who fought in the Civil War and was a coward, gave him confidence to capture a group of Union officers. Harold takes the charm and begins his quest to apprehend a dangerously strong vagrant who is terrorizing his town.

Despite the extension of a 30-minute script, Charlie Chaplin absolutely loved the entire feature film. He gave it one of his ultimate praises, saying "It is one of the best constructed screenplays I have ever seen on the screen."