"Just Nuts" is, we are given to understand, the only surviving film to show Harold Lloyd's Willie Work persona.
I saw the film at MOMA a week after earlier reviewer Bob Lipton did. This audience was much less enthused than Mr. Lipton's, and rightly so. The character is an obvious Chaplin rip-off, and very unappealing besides.
On its own merits, the film is poor. Bad script, unimaginative gags, and little support for Lloyd, who is adequate but uninspired.
Including the two in last evening's screening, I have now seen three "Lonesome Luke" films. They are all vastly superior to "Just Nuts." The stories are better, the gags are better, and the supporting players (Snub Pollard, Bud Jamison, Bebe Daniels) are much better. Lloyd himself seems more energized as Luke. The Chaplin resemblance is a bit more subtle in these films, and the character is much more pleasant than Willie.
Lloyd remarked in later years that the Luke films were successful, and he could have continued to churn them out profitably. But Lloyd and his producer Hal Roach no doubt concluded that they could do better with a more contemporary, normal looking character. History shows they were right.
Worth seeing once, as an artifact.
I saw the film at MOMA a week after earlier reviewer Bob Lipton did. This audience was much less enthused than Mr. Lipton's, and rightly so. The character is an obvious Chaplin rip-off, and very unappealing besides.
On its own merits, the film is poor. Bad script, unimaginative gags, and little support for Lloyd, who is adequate but uninspired.
Including the two in last evening's screening, I have now seen three "Lonesome Luke" films. They are all vastly superior to "Just Nuts." The stories are better, the gags are better, and the supporting players (Snub Pollard, Bud Jamison, Bebe Daniels) are much better. Lloyd himself seems more energized as Luke. The Chaplin resemblance is a bit more subtle in these films, and the character is much more pleasant than Willie.
Lloyd remarked in later years that the Luke films were successful, and he could have continued to churn them out profitably. But Lloyd and his producer Hal Roach no doubt concluded that they could do better with a more contemporary, normal looking character. History shows they were right.
Worth seeing once, as an artifact.
