Le royaume de Tulipatan

Just watched this Harold Lloyd comedy short on the Kino DVD called "The Harold Lloyd Collection". His Royal Slyness is sort of Lloyd's version of "The Prince and the Pauper" with brother Gaylord portraying the prince who convinces lookalike Harold to take his place going back to his country so the princess could pick her royal betrothed there. It seems the real prince is infatuated with a rich socialite. Anyway, the princess (Mildred Davis who would eventually become Harold's real life wife) herself prefers the commoners since most of the royal subjects are loutish drunks, especially the other prince played by Lloyd regular Snub Pollard. Starts slow then becomes quite hilarious once Harold puzzles the subjects with his American carefree attitude. And you won't believe the way the whole thing ends! So on that note, I highly recommend His Royal Slyness.

The little Kingdom of Thermosa is the Isle of Roquefort on the coast of Razzamatazz. The Prince of Razzamatazz (Gaylord Lloyd) is being educated in America. He is called back to the Thermosa court along with the rival Prince of Roquefort (Snub Pollard). Both are supposed to be pursuing the hand of Princess Florelle of Thermosa (Mildred Davis). On the ship over, he meets doppelganger The American Boy (Harold Lloyd) and comes up with an idea to avoid going home.

Harold Lloyd does a doppelganger story. I don't like the prince coming home which is a bit of a logistic muddle. The Prince's girlfriend should be back in America when he tells her about losing his inheritance. In that way, the Prince would have to make three crossings before coming home. The peasant revolt could be funnier or not be there at all. This is mostly fine.

An American book salesman (Harold Lloyd) is persuaded to go to the kingdom of Thermosa to impersonate the Prince. He is greeted by a peasants' revolt before the real prince shows up to claim his throne and princess (Mildred Davis).

Harold Lloyd has always played second (or third) fiddle to Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, probably even more today (2015) than in his own time. Few today have probably seen any of his films, and many may never have even heard his name. And among his films, this is not amongst the better known (certainly not as much as "Safety Last" or "The Freshman").

But there are some pretty funny moments in this short (which seems to be inspired by "Prince and the Pauper"), particularly coming from Prince Roquefort and his drinking -- he declares a victory for him will cause so much wine to be drank that the corks will block traffic. Wow! Much like Keaton, Lloyd's best comedy is in his physical action... and we get relatively little of that here.

The film was remade in 1927 as "Long Fliv the King", which featured Oliver Hardy, and may be even less well known.

This Harold Lloyd comedy is good overall, and it has some especially funny moments. It's fun to see Harold and his brother Gaylord on screen together, and their characters are used to create a good story that lends itself to some good comedy. The rest of the cast of comic actors also help out when they have the chance.

Lloyd plays an American salesman with a strong resemblance to a visiting prince (played by Gaylord), who asks the American to appear in his place for some duties at court. Much of the comedy comes from the contrast between the outgoing, aggressive American and the self-indulgent, oafish members of the royal court. It's enjoyable both as comedy and as social satire, and it's also rather interesting as a record of some perceptions that may not have changed all that much. The comedy blends slapstick, sight gags, and other material to make for a good mix.

The revolution sequence brings things to an appropriate climax and ties everything together. Not all of the movie works flawlessly, but most of it is entertaining, and overall it's one of Harold Lloyd's more enjoyable short comedies.

(1920) His Royal Slyness SILENT COMEDY

Clocking in at 27 minutes, it has a prince (Gaylord Lloyd) already romancing with one flame while a salesman (Harold Lloyd) is in another room trying to make a sale selling encyclopedias. And while the prince is romancing, the prince's count (Noah Young) then comes in to inform him he is subjected and ordered to marry the Princess Florelle of Thermosa. And by the time the book salesman was done, he then enters into the room of the prince romancing his current flame to which the prince notices both of them look almost identical. And then instead of him going to marry he then sends (Harold Lloyd) in his place. Some of the gags also includes some guardsmen unknowingly walking into the decoration water fountain; mistaken identity, and when he is chased by the guardsman. The second of 15 movies, Harold Lloyd starred with Mildred Davis. Actor Harry Pollard plays Harold Lloyd's rival for the princess hands.