481 - Harold Lloyd in Ask Father, United States, 1919. Dir. Robert Israel.

Thursday, April 26, 2018

481 - Harold Lloyd in Ask Father, United States, 1919.  Dir. Robert Israel.

The Boy works for The Boss.

The Boy is "head over heels in love and knee-deep in debt."

Why is he knee-deep in debt?  Because he buys presents for the girl.

The girl already has two suitors.  And they are courting her at the same time, one on each side of the park bench.  How will The Boy get her attention?

By buying her lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and lots of flowers and chocolates,

And by sitting on top of another boy in order to sit next to her.

He succeeds in running off the other two boys.

Now he can woo her.

But how can he marry her?

Ask Father.

OK.  No problem.

Who is Father?

The girl is The Boss's daughter.

Uh-oh.  Now there is a problem.

The Boss never lets anyone get through to see him.  He sits in his office with The Corn-Fed Secretary and has a middle office full of men whose only job appears to be to keep others out.

Then there is the Outer Office, which adds yet another layer.

Thankfully, The Boy has The Switchboard Operator on his side.  Meaning she will place a pillow on the floor on which he may fall when the men in the middle office throw him out.  Literally.

And the great Harold Lloyd, who plays The Boy, does his own stunts, flying through the air, landing on his head and shoulders, and rolling over onto his back on the pillow.

How many takes did it take for them to take him out and take him down?

Harold Lloyd is the Jackie Chan of 1919.

The office next door just happens to be a theatrical costume rental, so The Boy tries to enter dressed as a woman.  After all, another woman, the Mannish Office Visitor, just made it all the way through.

Apparently, women have a better chance of seeing The Boss than men do.

Fat chance.

The Boy gets through and then gets the boot.  By way of The Boss's conveyor belt.  Funny stuff.  Hijinks.  Physical comedy.

Then the trap door.  Oops!

He ends out on the street.  Accidentally gets two pistols from a cowboy.  Accidentally, traps two gangsters.  Accidentally, helps them get arrested.

Then climbs the outside of the building.  As we will see again a few years later in Safety Last!, developed to its fullest.

Will he get to The Boss?

Will he get to Ask Father?

Will he get the girl?

We will give you a hint.

The girl is known as The Boy's First Love.

Who's on second?