492 - Grandma's Boy, United States, 1922. Dir. Fred C. Newmeyer.

Sunday, May 6, 2018

492 - Grandma's Boy, United States, 1922.  Dir. Fred C. Newmeyer.

Blossom Bend is a sleepy town that moves so slowly the Tuesday morning express arrives Wednesday afternoon.

The Boy at age 11 months and 4 teeth is already afraid.

As he grows up he rubs his knees together and rubs holes in his pants.

The kids at school challenge him to fight, but he will not fight.

At age 19 the boldest thing he has ever done is to sing out loud in church.

At every age he wears Harold Lloyd signature glasses.

The Boy, Grandma's Boy, loves The Girl, Harold's Girl, also known as Mildred.  In this film she gets a name!  But then, she is played by Mildred Davis, so it is not too much of a stretch.

Mildred is as innocent as Harold, so he should not half to try too hard to win her.  In fact, she already likes him.

He makes homemade ice cream for her.

Too bad The Rival comes along.

He goes after Mildred himself.  He mocks Harold,  Rips his accessories off his clothes.  Throws him down the well.  Walks off with The Girl.

Somehow Harold finds a way out of the well.  He walks down the street.  Goes home to his Grandma.  With whom he lives.

All the girls laugh at him.  Look at silly Harold.  He is too afraid to stand up for himself.  He lets The Rival take his girl.  He is stripped and wet with well water.  Is he not a sight?

The Rolling Stone is a vagabond.  He has gathered no moss but has picked up lots of soil.  Harold's grandmother calls him "that nasty old tramp," and demands that Harold remove him from the premises.

Good luck with that.

Grandma is braver with her broomstick than Harold is with his fists.  She runs him off herself.

Later the town will discover that The Rolling Stone is more than just a tramp.  He is a criminal.  With a gun.  And he is up to no good.  Who will stop him?

Harold's suit is ruined from the well.  So Grandma loans him her husband's old suit.  From 1861.  Still in great shape, she says.  Well . . . not exactly.

Harold courts Mildred before the party.  But then The Rival comes again.  And sweeps her off her feet.

What will Harold do?

Grandma knows.  She has a magic charm.  The secret formula.  Just the thing that will give Harold the courage he needs to beat his rival, stop The Rolling Stone, and win The Girl.

Grandma gives Harold the magic charm.  And everything changes.


Grandma's Boy played a role in moving comedies from shorts to features.

It is 5 reels.  One hour long.

Of course features already existed.  D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation, at 3 hours, 15 minutes, came out seven years before, in 1915.  But it was a historical epic.  Comedies up to now were still largely shorts, composed of a series of gags loosely strung together on the thinnest of plots.  As we have seen in several of the Harold Lloyd shorts we have been watching.

This one has a plot.  Along with Dr. Jack (1922), which we also just saw.

His next film after those two would be his masterpiece.  Safety Last! (1923).