Amour et poésie

The Boy is a writer.The Girl is a chorus line girl.They both want to make it big but find it hard.But they do find each other.Bumping Into Broadway (1919) is directed by Hal Roach and its star is Harold Lloyd.Its female star is Bebe Daniels.Together they really hit it off.Snub Pollard plays Director of Musical Comedy and he's hilarious.Helen Gilmore does great job as 'Bearcat' the Landlady.Same thing with Noah Young who plays her Bouncer.Harold's brother Gaylord Lloyd is seen in the movie.This short has many funny moments.Harold's writing efforts is funny to watch.He moves on very slowly, letter by letter.And when he tries to escape the landlady and the bouncer.It's funny to watch Harold trying to get in the theater with his never-say-die way.And it also makes you laugh when Snub shows to his actors how those dance moves are done.Robert Israel's music (made in 2004) and Harold Lloyd's comedy skills make this movie a hilarious experience.

A Hal Roach HAROLD LLOYD Comedy Short.

An impoverished young fellow finds himself BUMPING INTO BROADWAY when he falls in love with a pretty showgirl.

This fast-moving romp gave Harold Lloyd an early success for his Glasses Character. Antic chases and sight gags abound, and Harold gets to showoff his buoyant physical dexterity in this film made before a freak accident so badly damaged his right hand. Swiftly moving from boardinghouse to street, on to the theater, and finally to an elaborate speakeasy, the plot gives Harold plenty of opportunity to amuse.

Bebe Daniels is his love interest. Helen Gilmore is the fierce landlady; tough guy Noah Young is the boardinghouse bouncer. In a brief role, Gus Leonard, in drag, is hilarious as the man-crazy spinster who lives one floor below Harold.

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

Despite the title, the plot of this Harold Lloyd short is evenly distributed among three different settings: a boarding-house, a theater and an exclusive club. As in FROM HAND TO MOUTH (1919), comedy emerges out of the characters' desperation - but there's no denying the assuredness of the gags (in fact, I'd say that this one's an even better film) and, in any case, H.M. Walker's title cards are among the wittiest for a Silent that I've come across! Lloyd is in his element as the perennial dreamer, a novice playwright, and Bebe Daniels is an ideal co-star as an aspiring Broadway star. Still, the best scenes are probably those set in the casino - where the penniless Lloyd accidentally cops himself a large sum of money but, needless to say, he's not allowed to reap the rewards of his fortune because the joint is raided soon after by the Police!

The restored version of this film plays pretty well. The orchestration on the TCM set version is pretty good. A couple of sequences are a little grainy & choppy. As usual, this is a LLoyd Romantic Comedy but the pace in this 25 minute short is more frantic than the features he did later. There are lots of physical stunts packed into this essentially 2 reeler. Bebe Daniels fans should enjoy this as she does very well in her role as LLoyds love. In real life, she was his love at this time as Harold had given her an engagement ring, but she decided to leave Harold for her career.

This restored version even has some shots in Septia tone instead of black & white. I thought septa tone was not used much until the 1920's. Much of the sight gags & situations in this one got worked into later LLoyd films also. In fact, GIRL SHY later borrows from it, as far as how Harold's Character is set up in this one. While I prefer Girl Shy over all, if you like some stunts & comedy in shorts form, this one will make you a happy camper as well. It is not as elaborate as the feature, but great fun just the same.

There are three segments to this two-reel short, and each one has their highlight. It begins with HAROLD LLOYD as a struggling writer who can't pay the rent (a flimsy amount of $3.70 is overdue!!) and this leads to a boarding house sequence that has him avoiding the grim landlady and her strong partner bent on giving deadbeats rough treatment. Lloyd excels in this segment as he narrowly avoids detection when they try to track him down.

BEBE DANIELS makes little impression as "the girl," also unable to pay her rent until Lloyd comes to her aid. Thereafter, there's a backstage Broadway scene that has Lloyd trying to sell his story to a producer with dismal results.

And finally, a gambling joint scene climaxes the film with a wild chase as the dumb cops try to nab Lloyd, who comes up with an ingenious coat rack trip that has to be seen to be believed--or described.

This all plays very quickly--fast and funny throughout with nary a lapse of pace, making it one of the most enjoyable of all the Lloyd silent shorts that I've seen. The TCM showing has it accompanied by a brisk musical score.