494 - Haunted Spooks, United States, 1920. Dir. Alfred J. Goulding and Hal Roach.

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

494 - Haunted Spooks, United States, 1920.  Dir. Alfred J. Goulding and Hal Roach.

The Boy - He wants to get married.  Has no other faults.

The Girl - Sweet sixteen and never . . . , well, only once or twice.

The Uncle - A man of sorts.  We are not saying what sort.

          Not exactly crooked, but he's beginning to curve.

The Place - Go down the Mississippi River several miles and turn to the right.


Before Scooby Doo, there was Bob Hope's The Cat and the Canary (1939).

Before The Cat and the Canary, there was Haunted Spooks (1920).

A couple of days ago we watched Grandma's Boy, and in it we saw a plot--though we did not state the twist--that has been used in perhaps a dozen or more sitcoms since.

Now we see a plot that has been used in perhaps a dozen or more ghost stories since.

Which is not to presume that Harold Lloyd was first.  It is possible he borrowed both plots from those who had gone before as well.

But at least these two are the oldest of these plots of which we are aware so far.

In this one an uncle, as executor, reads a family will, which states that the mansion will go to his niece with the stipulation that she live on the premises successfully with her husband for one year.

The uncle himself conspires with his wife, the aunt, to scare the Girl, and her husband, out of the mansion before she is able to inhabit it for one year.

And to complicate things, the Girl is unmarried.  Of course.

And as with Bob Hope's The Cat and the Canary later, and as with Scooby Doo, the Girl and the husband she will marry, The Boy, played by Harold Lloyd of course, will come this close to being scared out of their wits and leaving, but, well, is it really spoiling it if you know going in that this is a comedy?

But before we get to that part of the story, we first follow Harold Lloyd as he pursues the first girl, The Other Girl, fights the Rival, wins, but ultimately loses, grows suicidal, tries multiple methods of ending it, fails, lives, meets The Girl, marries her, and moves into the mansion.

It was in this film that Harold Lloyd lost a finger and a half.  While holding a BOMB that exploded in his hand.  And nearly lost his life.  He performed the rest of his career, including doing all those daring stunts, with 8-1/2 fingers and a prosthetic.

Is that a movie title?

8-1/2 Fingers and a Prosthetic.

Talk about set safety.

Kaboom!

Harold Lloyd waited it out, recovered, and went back to work, finishing the film a few months later.

Watch out for those self-walking pants.