O Professor Faraó

"Professor Beware," in addition to the amazing Mr. Lloyd, boasts a supporting cast of heavyweights: Lionel Stander, Raymond Walburn, William Frawley, Sterling Holloway, Cora Witherspoon and Thurston Hall. Each of these character actors add immensely to the story, which is a quest in the best sense of the word. Lloyd is a professor of Egyptology who is searching for the final, but lost, tablet that will solve a riddle of the ages. His cross-country journey that ends on a yacht with one of the best comic fight scenes in movie history is fraught with mishaps and odd characters who block Lloyd's frantic attempts to get to New York in order to catch a steamship to Egypt. It is unfortunate that this film is not available in any form (I have a VHS tape from TV I made in the '90s) and not even on Turner Classic Movies. If you have the opportunity to see the film, be sure to do so. A true comic classic.

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.

Comedian Harold Lloyd's output in movies slowed considerably when he made the transition to sound from silent films. His annual releases turned to every other year. With the premier of June 1938's "Professor Beware," Lloyd took a break from screen acting for the next nine years before he returned for one last hurrah in 1947.

"Professor Beware" was a departure from the hands-on writing, directing and editing Lloyd usually did for his films. Since signing on with Paramount Pictures, the studio took over all his tasks. Lloyd was limited to acting and as a partial producer. Critics noticed because of this new arrangement, the brilliance of Lloyd was lost in the shuffle. Film critic Leonard Maltin spoke for the multitude of reviewers when he noted, "One of Lloyd's last vehicles has good moments, but the tale of archeologist searching for rare tablet is thin."

Lloyd plays Professor Dean Lambert, an Egyptologist who reads a tablet on a royal who fell in love with the Pharaoh's daughter, only to die because of it. The archeologist possesses a similar face as the ancient Egyptian, which convinces him it's bad luck to be in love. Later, the professor meets and falls in love with aspiring actress Jane Van Buren (Phyllis MacDonald), who is in line to inherit a fortune. A bogus scandal gets Lambert fired, and the pair of lovers decide to join an Egyptian expedition leaving New York City in ten days. In their travels cross-country they have to elude the police.

"Professor Beware" was the only film for Phyllis MacDonald, 24. From 1935 she was a success on the Broadway stage and earned the New York Times Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress two years later for 'End of Summer.' Signing a 'no-marriage' clause with Paramount, MacDonald married Lloyd soon after filming ended, forcing an end to her short-lived film career. She continued acting in regional theater before passing away at 95 in September 2008.

A few modern day film critics are more forgiving on "Professor Beware," which was repeatedly on broadcast television for years. Its wacky madcap ending drew praise from reviewer Dan Stumpf, who noted the movie "wraps up with a full ten minutes of delightful sight gags, wonderfully conceived, and beautifully shot and edited as Harold storms a yacht and we get that wonderful feel of his Silent Movie days, that this guy can sweep a football field or climb a skyscraper and take us right along with him." It was almost a decade before Lloyd was be seen on the big screen one last time.

Harold Lloyd was more popular than Buster Keaton in the 1920s. He was a decent actor and was successful in the sound era. This is his last film, before the one-shot comeback for Preston Sturges in the 1940s. Harold is maturing in this movie. He plays straight for character actors such as Bill Frawley, Lionel Stander, Sterling Holloway, and Raymond Walburn. It is basically a long chase film with Harold being accused by car theft. There are plenty of sight gags, which Lloyd still performs beautifully. In the dialogue scenes, he has become a very sharp straight man. Is this a great film? No. Is it as funny as "Safety Last" or "Speedy"? Certainly not! But it is no embarrassment! Lloyd could have continued making these affable little comedies. He was tired of the business and decided to become a producer. For years this film was difficult to see, but it is now part of the AMC package. It is pleasant and Lloyd's star still shines brightly.

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!