At first this appears to be no more than another bone-grinding slapstick of the era. Harold plays a beauty parlor worker who wishes to slap Snub, kick his boss, beat up on Bud Jamison, and to flirt with every pretty girl, particularly incompetent manicurist Bebe: just another knockabout slapstick in which the 'jokes' are sheer physical violence.
Yet, even at this stage, there is something more to Lloyd's comedies than that. For one thing, this is better constructed and paced than most comedies of the era.... although that might be an artifact of cut-up prints usually projected at incorrect speeds -- silent movies were meant to be shown at varying speeds, but the invention of the photofone sound-on-film technique meant that every frame had to be shown at the same speed. That is one possible explanation of the difference, but it won't explain it all. Look at this one yourself and perhaps you may come up with a better explanation.
Yet, even at this stage, there is something more to Lloyd's comedies than that. For one thing, this is better constructed and paced than most comedies of the era.... although that might be an artifact of cut-up prints usually projected at incorrect speeds -- silent movies were meant to be shown at varying speeds, but the invention of the photofone sound-on-film technique meant that every frame had to be shown at the same speed. That is one possible explanation of the difference, but it won't explain it all. Look at this one yourself and perhaps you may come up with a better explanation.
