You can't go wrong with self-confidence. This was Harold Lloyd's recipe for life, and the same holds true with the characters he plays. The best example of this is Harold Hickory in "The Kid Brother."
Harold is the youngest of three sons in the all-male Hickory clan who keep order in the town of Hickoryville. Harold desperately wants the approval of his father and brothers, but can't quite manage it. A new reason to shine comes in the form of beautiful dancer Mary (Jobyna Ralston), who rides into town with a medicine show. When Mary's partners steal the town treasury, it's up to Harold to save the day.
"The Kid Brother" isn't as iconic as "The Freshman" or "Safety Last," but it's right up there with the first and a good deal better than the other when it comes to showcasing the full range of Lloyd's cinematic talents. There are stunts and thrills and a big scary finish to keep an audience gasping between laughs, but the true beauty of the film is how well it sets up the sentimental side of Harold, which is where movie clowns often fall short.
Right away, we are told Harold is a bit of a town joke, born on April 1: "The stork that brought him could hardly fly for laughing." When we first see him, watching his father and brothers easily lift a great trunk, Lloyd's face reflects pride and chagrin. He can't measure up, his eyes tell us.
"You're too modest, but I like you for it." That's Mary talking to Harold, but it could as well be us for the way we are introduced to him. There are many laughs in this film, but what makes "The Kid Brother" stand up so well 90 years later is the craft of the production.
Even if he didn't take a director's credit, giving it instead to his ailing collaborator Ted Wilde and journeyman J. A. Howe, Lloyd's touch is both unmistakable and deft. An opening scene of a derelict boat on a sun-burnished bay not only introduces the dreamy, pastoral quality of the entire film, but sets the scene for where it all comes to an end, desperately and triumphantly, in 90 minutes.
That final battle in the "Black Ghost" is a masterpiece of pure cinema, and so is a scene of Harold waving goodbye to Mary by climbing a tree that never seems to stop rising - without the camera ever losing Mary in the ever-deepening background. Likewise, Harold gets maximum use from the intense physiognomy of co-star Constantine Romanoff, who plays the heavy Sandoni, but could just as easily be Nosferatu for the way he is shot. He presents a horrific adversary, yet he's not only overcome but literally becomes a vehicle for Harold's final triumph.
"The Kid Brother" doesn't have the greatest gags of silent cinema. Harold's rivalry with an annoying neighbor who tries to steal Mary away is more trope than plot point. The crisis of the stolen money is kind of introduced out of left field. But craft and charm count for a lot in comedy, and so does timing, all of which this movie gives you. I never laughed once when I watched the scene where Harold's two brothers are caught out in their nightshirts by a sudden visit from Mary, but I never stopped smiling. It's not just some good gags, but the way the camera moves from room to room, and the way light and shade are used to suggest lurking menace, just before the tables are turned yet again and Harold escapes fraternal punishment.
You watch other Harold Lloyd films and get blown away by the skill, the comedic chops, and the acrobatic daring he brought to the screen. "The Kid Brother" has a quieter, subtler power that only builds with repeat viewings. If it's not quite a masterpiece, it shows how a great screen comedy can be made.
Harold is the youngest of three sons in the all-male Hickory clan who keep order in the town of Hickoryville. Harold desperately wants the approval of his father and brothers, but can't quite manage it. A new reason to shine comes in the form of beautiful dancer Mary (Jobyna Ralston), who rides into town with a medicine show. When Mary's partners steal the town treasury, it's up to Harold to save the day.
"The Kid Brother" isn't as iconic as "The Freshman" or "Safety Last," but it's right up there with the first and a good deal better than the other when it comes to showcasing the full range of Lloyd's cinematic talents. There are stunts and thrills and a big scary finish to keep an audience gasping between laughs, but the true beauty of the film is how well it sets up the sentimental side of Harold, which is where movie clowns often fall short.
Right away, we are told Harold is a bit of a town joke, born on April 1: "The stork that brought him could hardly fly for laughing." When we first see him, watching his father and brothers easily lift a great trunk, Lloyd's face reflects pride and chagrin. He can't measure up, his eyes tell us.
"You're too modest, but I like you for it." That's Mary talking to Harold, but it could as well be us for the way we are introduced to him. There are many laughs in this film, but what makes "The Kid Brother" stand up so well 90 years later is the craft of the production.
Even if he didn't take a director's credit, giving it instead to his ailing collaborator Ted Wilde and journeyman J. A. Howe, Lloyd's touch is both unmistakable and deft. An opening scene of a derelict boat on a sun-burnished bay not only introduces the dreamy, pastoral quality of the entire film, but sets the scene for where it all comes to an end, desperately and triumphantly, in 90 minutes.
That final battle in the "Black Ghost" is a masterpiece of pure cinema, and so is a scene of Harold waving goodbye to Mary by climbing a tree that never seems to stop rising - without the camera ever losing Mary in the ever-deepening background. Likewise, Harold gets maximum use from the intense physiognomy of co-star Constantine Romanoff, who plays the heavy Sandoni, but could just as easily be Nosferatu for the way he is shot. He presents a horrific adversary, yet he's not only overcome but literally becomes a vehicle for Harold's final triumph.
"The Kid Brother" doesn't have the greatest gags of silent cinema. Harold's rivalry with an annoying neighbor who tries to steal Mary away is more trope than plot point. The crisis of the stolen money is kind of introduced out of left field. But craft and charm count for a lot in comedy, and so does timing, all of which this movie gives you. I never laughed once when I watched the scene where Harold's two brothers are caught out in their nightshirts by a sudden visit from Mary, but I never stopped smiling. It's not just some good gags, but the way the camera moves from room to room, and the way light and shade are used to suggest lurking menace, just before the tables are turned yet again and Harold escapes fraternal punishment.
You watch other Harold Lloyd films and get blown away by the skill, the comedic chops, and the acrobatic daring he brought to the screen. "The Kid Brother" has a quieter, subtler power that only builds with repeat viewings. If it's not quite a masterpiece, it shows how a great screen comedy can be made.