Grandma’s Boy (from the Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection DVD Box Set) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

February 28, 2012 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Harold Lloyd’s “Grandma’s Boy” is an enjoyable comedy with many slapstick gags and an attention to character development. And one of the many films included in the wonderful “Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection” DVD Box Set. Highly recommended!

DVD TITLE: Grandma’s Boy (from the Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection DVD Box Set)

THEATRICAL RELEASE DATE: 1922

DURATION: 56 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Full Screen, Dolby Digital, B&W, Subtitles: Spanish

COMPANY: New Line Home Entertainment

RATED: NOT RATED

RELEASE DATE: November 15, 2005

Directed by Fred C. Newmeyer

Story by Hal Roach, Sam Taylor, Jean C. Havez

Titles by H.M. Walker

Executive Producer: Suzanne Lloyd Hayes

Producer: Hal Roach, Jeffrey Vance

Cinematography by Walter Lundin

Music: Robert Israel

Cinematography: Walter Lundin

Edited by Thomas J. Crizer

Starring:

Harold Lloyd as The Boy

Mildred Davis as The Girl

Anna Townsend as His Grandma

Charles Stevenson as His Rival/Union General

Dick Sutherland as The Rolling Stone

Noah Young as Sheriff of Dabney County

Having appeared in more than 200 films and widely considered to be one of cinema’s most respected comic geniuses, Harold Lloyd was one of Hollywood’s first true movie stars. Now, entertainment enthusiasts of all ages can enjoy the work of the man who inspired generations of acting greats with The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection.

Harold Lloyd, one of the three kings of silent film comedy.

Known for his physical comedy and the man with the eyeglasses, Lloyd’s comedies were enjoyable and similar to Keaton, Lloyd had the flair of doing his own stuntwork and when one is to watch his films today, there were a few films that literally makes people gasp and made you wonder, “how did he do that?”.

But then there were films which relied on comedy but also chemistry. The 1922 film “Grandma’s Boy” was one of those films that showcased the wonderful chemistry between Harold Lloyd and the leading lady who would later become his wife, Mildred Davis.

“Grandma’s Boy” was hailed as Lloyd’s first five part feature and for many Lloyd fans today, many see this classic film as a wonderful demonstration of a film featuring slapstick gags and character development.

The film revolves around Harold Lloyd as Grandma’s Boy, a boy who never stood up to his bullies and for the most part, was seen as meek and cowardly.

But despite many people thinking of him that certain way, one girl (played by Mildred Davis) didn’t. And because of that, grandma’s boy has always cared for the girl and wants to woo her.

Unfortunately, his rival (played by Charles Stevenson) is one that has always bullied him and also has sights towards the girl.

One day as grandma’s boy has tried to woo the girl, the rival pushes him over a well and thus shrinking his clothes.

Not wanting the girl to see him in wet, shrunken clothes, grandma’s boy heads home dejected. His caring grandmother has always wanted her grandson to be brave but not sure how she can get him to stand up for himself. When he arrives back home, she notices a tramp (a term to describe a homeless man) reading a newspaper at their home. She asks her grandson to get him to leave their property.

But because grandma’s boy is afraid, he tries to get the family dog to scare him away, but instead, it aggravates the tramp to the point that he wants to hurt grandma’s boy. Fortunately, grandma is around with her umbrella to help her grandson.

Meanwhile, the tramp heads into town and tries to steal jewelry by breaking the glass window. As men try to stop him, he pulls out a gun and shoots one of the men.

Immediately, the tramp becomes a wanted man and the sheriff requests that all men also become a sheriff to capture the tramp. Unfortunately, they are one short of a badge and so, grandma’s boy doesn’t get one. But seeing this as an opportunity for him to be closer to the girl, the rival gives his badge to grandma’s boy who now must help the other men capture the Tramp.

The grandma’s boy is so afraid to be part of the group that must hunt down the sheriff but he knows that the girl is proud of him for doing so. Afraid and cowardly, his grandmother doesn’t like seeing him this way. So she tells him a story about his grandfather who was also a coward and had to fight in the Civil War, but because he had this good luck charm, he was able to take on the Union Army and complete his mission.

And now, grandma’s boy has been given his grandfather’s good luck charm. Believing in the charm, now grandma’s boy feels confident that he will have what it takes to catch the tramp but also, win the girl’s affection. Can he do it?

VIDEO & AUDIO:

Where many film stars lost control over their films or their films were destroyed by fires (the nitrate of the film in which silent movies were shot with would catch on fire – such as FOX losing nearly 90% of all silent films due to massive fire) or have some severe acid decay, Lloyd was pretty smart in that he had control over his films and instead of having others watch over his films, he had his films stored via lock and key, fireproofed but most importantly during the ’60s, transferring the film to a better film stock.

So, the 1922 film “Grandma’s Boy” looks very good. Granted, you can see slight scratches but there are no signs of film warping, nitrate degradation or any major problems. Overall, “Grandma’s Boy” looks very good for a film that is 90-years-old.

As for audio, there is a wonderful score by Robert Israel (presented in Dolby Digital) which fits absolutely remarkably with what is seen onscreen. I haven’t heard Don Hulette’s 1974 score, so I can’t compare the two scores, but I will say that Robert Israel’s 2002 score which was used for this DVD is fantastic.

The film has English intertitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

There are production notes on DVD disc 2 and DVD-rom features (all I found was a DVD player to watch films on PC or Mac).

Harold Lloyd is one of silent film’s greatest stars and one of the three kings that many people have probably not heard about.

Many have heard of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton but many ask, “who is Harry Lloyd?”. Part of the reason why people have not heard much of Lloyd is because he had major control over his films. Where as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton had an awesome career during the silent era, their films were distributed on video courtesy of the studio and they didn’t have total control of their work. Lloyd was very smart in the fact that he took control of his work, preserved it and also didn’t sell it cheap to just anyone, and thus many companies couldn’t afford his asking price. But Lloyd wanted to make sure that his films received it’s worth.

Granted, at the same time, because his films were not as distributed over decades like Chaplin or Keaton films, not many people have seen them.

Even in 2012, there have not been periodic releases of Lloyd films such as Chaplin or Keaton films that have made it onto Blu-ray. Many Harold Lloyd fans wonder if there will be any future releases especially a heavily anticipated part two of the Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection DVD set.

So, there are over 300 films of Harold Lloyd that many have not seen. The good news is that his 1922 silent comedy “Grandma’s Boy” featuring Lloyd and his future wife, Mildred Davis is included with this box set.

“Grandma’s Boy” is a film that showcases Lloyd’s amazing use of comedy, may it be facial expressions, gags and also a sight of a grown man with shrunken pants and suit is just hilarious to watch. The gags still hold up quite well today and for the most part, it’s a charming comedy tale that is straightforward, easily accessible and just fun to watch!

While Lloyd is wonderful in the film, the cast also does a wonderful job. Mildred Davis looks absolutely ravishing and does a wonderful job playing the girl interested in Grandma’s Boy, Charles Stevenson is wonderful in playing the brutish rival and Dick Sutherland, with his acromegalic features, looked threatening as the tramp/rolling stone. And Anna Townsend as grandma, she is always great playing the caring mother or grandmother in Harold Lloyd’s films.

And in terms of picture quality, for this DVD, “Grandma’s Boy” is presented on a double-sided DVD disc and is shared with two other films on one side of a DVD. Picture quality is very good considering that “Grandma’s Boy” is 90-years-old. Can it be better? Sure, if Harold Lloyd’s work ever receives the HD treatment and is released on Blu-ray. But considering how difficult it is for his work to be even released on DVD, one can only hope that Lloyd joins Chaplin and Keaton is receiving a Blu-ray release, seeing how their silent films have looked fantastic in HD.

Overall, “Grandma’s Boy” is a fun and enjoyable comedy but the good news is that it is one of the many wonderful Harold Lloyd films included in the “Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection” DVD Box Set!

If you want to experience Harold Lloyd’s films, this DVD box set is highly recommended!

(Note: Review is for film not the complete DVD box set)

Dogs of War (as part of Hal Roach’s Rascals) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

August 4, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

As fans of Hal Roach’s Rascals (Little Rascals/Our Gang) continue to wait for a DVD release of the 88 Pathé-era silent shorts from the 1920′s, we can see a few of them on DVD. With Alpha Home Entertainment’s “Hal Roach’s Rascals”, we are greeted with eight silent shorts. Although these silents shorts are not the best in picture quality, considering there has not been a definitive release yet for these silent shorts and that the price for this DVD is under $10, Rascals fans may want to give the “Hal Roach’s Rascals” DVD a try.

TITLE: Dogs of War (as part of Hal Roach’s Rascals)

YEAR OF SHORT: 1923

DURATION: 24 minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Black and white

RATED: Not Rated

COMPANY: Alpha Home Entertainment

Released Dated: 2007

Directed by Robert F. McGowan

Written by Hal Roach

Intertitles by H.M. Walker

Produced by Hal Roah

Music by Brian Benison

Cinematography by Harry W. Gerstad

Edited by Thomas J. Crizer

Starring:

Joe Cobb as Joe

Jackie Condon as Jackie

Mickey Daniels as Mickey

Jack Davis as Jack

Mary Kornman as Mary

Allen “Farina” Hoskins as Farina

Harold Lloyd as himself

Bob Davis as Truck Driver

William Gillespie as Director

They’re America’s all-time favorite troop of talented kids! Brought to the screen in 1922 by legendary silent comedy producer, Hal Roach, the wildly popular Our Gang films showcased a succession of memorable child actors. Groundbreaking in its inter-racial casting and naturalistic style, the Our Gang series had more than 50 comedy shorts “in the can” before the first “sound” entry, Small Talk, was released in 1929. While production continued until 1944 with ever-increasing popularity, these early silent reels display all the charm and wit that made the series the most successful in Hollywood history.

In 1922, the movie pioneer Hal Roach would begin his latest project of working with young children and basing comedy shorts around them. Known for working with silent superstar Harold Lloyd, Roach would focus on the creation of Hal Roach’s Rascals (which has been known as “Little Rascals” and “Our Gang” to many people) which many have seen plenty of the 1930′s-1940′s shorts on television.

But before the years when Spanky, Alfalfa, Darla, Buckwheat, Porky and the gang became a part of American pop culture, there were the “Hal Roach’s Rascals”. A group which consisted of Ernie “Sunshine Sammy” Morrison, Jackie Condon, Peggy Cartwright, Mickey Daniels, Mary Kornman, Monty O’Grady and Allen “Farina” Hoskins.

Short silent films from the ’20s and to this day, many people are still awaiting a definitive release of these shorts. So, far on DVD, you get a few shorts on one release and another mixed number of episodes from another and for the Our Gang fan, one just wishes for the simplification of getting these silents from one distributor in one or two volume box set releases.

But to this day, many are still awaiting for the release of the Pathé silent Our Gang comedies. The first 13 episodes of “Hal Roach’s Rascals” from 1922-1923 have yet to be released but several short films from 1923-1928 are collected in other DVD releases. Alpha Home Entertainment released “Hal Roach’s Rascals” which consists of eight Pathé-era short silents which include “Dogs of War” (1923), “Derby Day” (1923), “Sundown Ltd.” (1924), “Official Officers” (1925), “Mary Queen of Tots” (1925), “The Fourth Alarm” (1926), “Olympic Games” (1927) and “Spook Spoofing” (1928).

The first short from this DVD is “Dogs of War” (released as a two-reeler back on July 1, 1923 and is the 14th Rascals short from Hal Roach Studios). The gang are re-enacting a war in a make-believe trench at a tomato patch. Meanwhile, Jack and Mickey try to pretend they are injured soldiers, so they can be near the Red Cross nurse Mary.

But their playful war becomes short-lived as Mary receives word that she needs to go to movie studio for an acting role in which she will earn $5. And this gives her little friends an idea.

$5 especially during the early ’20s is a lot of of money for a kid and so, the gang decides to sneak into the movie studio and try to become actors and earn some money. Meanwhile, a director is shooting the movie “Should Husbands Work?”, but what happens when the gang starts to mess around with the film camera and the entire set?

VIDEO:

“Dogs of War”is a 1923 film and for the most part, this short has not been remastered. The black and white print is not the best. It’s blurry, has its fair share of dust and scratches and it has quite a bit of combing. But considering this film is nearly 90-years old and the fact that so many silent films and shorts were lost during the silent era, I’m grateful for Alpha Home Entertainment for at least bringing these old classic shorts to DVD.

It’s important to note that each short is presented via picturebox.

AUDIO & INTERTITLES:

“Dogs of War” is a silent film with intertitles and features music presented in monaural.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

“Hal Roach’s Rascals” came with no special features but you do get access to a catalog and a coming soon promo.

For any fans of the Little Rascals, it’s definitely a treat to find these silent shorts and to see how entertaining they are. “Dogs of War” gave us a behind-the-scenes glimpse of Hal Roach Studios and also featured a short guest appearance by Harold Lloyd as well.

But “Dogs of War” keeps the fun adventure of the kids going to a new place where they can cause some mischief. The beginning sequence is a fantastic re-enactment of kids getting dirty and playing war with their friends. Granted, we used water balloons back then but to see tomatoes being used was quite interesting and to see how the kids were given their mini sets which includes a makeshift Red Cross medical center, that’s pretty cool and I can imagine how this scene would have inspired many children to do the same.

But of course, the fun is when the kids sneak into the movie lot and start tampering with a movie set and its film and when they are alone, just filming themselves and trashing the set. And of course, having Joe eating as much cake as he can and trying to hide it from the other kids. What a hilarious scene!

Overall, a wonderful first short for this DVD release and I’m looking forward to watching the next. But again, it’s important to note that the print quality is not the greatest for these shorts and the opening title does feature the Alpha Home Entertainment logo briefly. But otherwise, because these shorts are hard to come by and are all mixed up with other DVD releases, but considering that you can get this DVD for under $10, it’s worth it.

Definitely do your research and to see what else is out there and what other “Hal Roach Rascals” shorts have been released by other companies. But as of right now, there have been no definitive DVD release for all 88 Hal Roach silent shorts. This “Hal Roach’s Rascals” DVD release from Alpha home Entertainment contains 8 of the 88 Pathé-era silent shorts.

Safety Last! (from the Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection DVD Box Set) (a J!-ENT DVD Review)

March 18, 2010 by Dennis Amith · Leave a Comment

Harold Lloyd’s death defying silent comedy from 1922 is absolutely magnificent. Like it did with audiences back in 1922, “Safety Last!” will make you laugh but also will make you in awe of how far Lloyd went to create this film. Simply astonishing and absolutely hilarious! And this “Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection” DVD Box set is absolutely a must-own!

DVD TITLE: Safety Last! (from the Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection DVD Box Set)

DURATION: 73 Minutes

DVD INFORMATION: Full Screen, Monoraul, Subtitles: English/Spanish

COMPANY: New Line Home Entertainment

RATED: NOT RATED

RELEASE DATE: November 15, 2005

Directed by Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor

Story by Hal Roach, Sam Taylor, Tim Whelan

Titles by H.M. Walker

Executive Producer: Suzanne Lloyd Hayes

Producer: Hal Roach

Cinematography by Walter Lundin

Music: Carl Davis

Edited by Thomas J. Crizer

Starring:

Harold Lloyd as The Boy

Mildred Davis as The Girl

Bill Strother as The Pal

Noah Young as The Law

I consider Harold Lloyd as one of the three silent film comedy kings back in the day, along with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. His comedies were enjoyable and similar to Keaton, Lloyd had the flair of doing his own stuntwork and when one is to watch his films today, there were a few that literally makes people gasp.

One such film was “Safety Last!”, a silent film from 1923 and one of the many films included in the Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection box set. An impressive box set featuring over 25 classic comedies including well-known Lloyd films such as “Safety Last!”, “The Freshman”, “Speedy!” and many more.

If one was to see the film today, one would be impressed and stunned as their was no CGI, there was no green/blue screen. This was Harold Lloyd showing us the most extreme when it comes to filmmaking by climbing a skyscraper to the onlookers below Los Angeles. Needless to say, audiences were shocked about how far Lloyd had went with this film and although there were mini-stages built, this was one risky film that was adored back then and now being discovered by many today.

“Safety Last!” is about The Boy (played by Harold Lloyd) who moves to the big city in 1922 in order to make more income. He leaves his beloved girlfriend (played by Mildred Davis) back at home and promises that he will marry her once he does well in the city.

Since moving to the city, he has sent his girlfriend letters everyday but the boy makes his life seem like life is going extremely well and that he is a manager at a major department store.

This is far from the truth as he lives with his pal (played by Bill Strother) who are late on their rent and have to hide from the landlord. The boy barely makes any money as he works at the De Vore department store in the fabric department and is an employee who often gets into trouble.

One day after finishing his shift, he runs into a police officer who happens to be an old friend of Harold. The two joke around and when the boy meets up with his roommate, he jokes that he has influence with the police and persuades his friend to knock the policeman over.

What the boy doesn’t know is that when they are talking, his friend the police officer has left and another police officer has come in his place. Needless to say, the boy’s friend pushes the cop and the boy learns that the police officer is not his friend.

The police officer then chases his friend around but the friend manages to escape by climbing a building.

Meanwhile, the boy decides what he should do with his pay. He can get something to eat or buy his girlfriend a broach without a chain. He foregoes the food and buys the broach but hopes to buy the chain when he makes more money. He sends the gift to his girlfriend.

Upon receiving it, his girlfriend is so happy about the gift and the boy’s mother convinces his girlfriend to go to the city and see how he is doing.

So, one day during a wild day at work, the boy’s girlfriend appears and immediately, the boy must pretend that he is the manager of the department store.

Through a good stretch of gags and hijinks featuring the boy trying to fake his girlfriend, he overhears his boss talking about how they can bring people to the store and whoever can come up with an idea will get $1,000. The boy thinks about his friend climbing the building and suggests the idea and his boss decides to give the boy’s idea a chance.

During the big day at De Vore Department store which has been promoted on the front page of a major local newspaper, many have come to see a man climb the building.

The boy’s friend is ready to scale the building but things don’t go as planned since the policeman who was chasing the boy’s friend is now trying to pursue him again. With everyone all around the department store building expecting a man to climb, with his friend trying to avoid the police, the boy has no choice but to scale the building on his own.

VIDEO & AUDIO:

Where many film stars lost control over their films or their films were destroyed by fires (the nitrate of the film in which silent movies were shot with would catch on fire – such as FOX losing nearly 90% of all silent films due to massive fire) or have some severe acid decay, Lloyd was pretty smart in having control over his films via lock and key, fireproofed but most importantly during the ’60s, transferring the film to a better stock.

So, “Safety Last!” looks absolutely incredible for a silent film. Where many silent films suffer from intense dust, scratches, warping or some sort of degradation, “Safety Last!” looks very good for a film that is nearly 90-years-old.

As for audio, there is a very well-done orchestral score with music composed and conducted by Carl Davis and orchestration by Nic Raine. The music was performed by the Live Cinema Orchestra.

The film has English intertitles.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The first DVD from the “Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection” features a commentary by Leonard Maltin and director Richard Correll on “Safety Last!”. Richard knew Harold and he gives thew viewers a certain perspective of the film, while film critic Leonard Maltin is one of the most knowledgeable critics when it comes to Golden Era films. An entertaining audio commentary.

The first DVD also contains production galleries which one can view via remote.

Harold Lloyd is such a wonderful performer. “Safety Last!” is a film that anyone can watch and just be surprised about his risky performance and just seeing a man dangling from a clock tower or a piece of wood with the city of Los Angeles right behind him.

Granted, Lloyd and crew prepared the actor with a small stage built to give the illusion that the building was being climbed, but still…he was climbing many feet up and also climbing with a missing thumb and forefinger (a few years earlier, Lloyd lost his thumb and forefinger during a photoshoot when he had to hold a bomb which was suppose to be a prop ended up being a live bomb and putting the actor in the hospital).

“Safety Last!” is everything you come to expect from a comedy! A great story, great acting and a plenty of gags to keep the viewer entertained from beginning to end. This is a true classic in every way and I can only hope that many people would give this wonderful film a chance and watch it with a smile and also with awe with what Harold Lloyd has accomplished.

I know many people today may ask, who is Harold Lloyd? We heard of Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton but who is Harry Lloyd? Part of the reason why people have not heard much of Lloyd is because he had major control over his films. Where as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton had an awesome career during the silent era, for those who study about the careers of the two men will learn that Hollywood was not to kind to them after the silent film era. Also, Harold Lloyd’s asking price for a film for licensing was more than most companies wanted to pay for at the time.

So, there are over 300 films of Harold Lloyd that many of us have not seen. The good news is one of his most amazing films “Safety Last!” is available with this magnificent box set and one can hope that the Lloyd family considers releasing more of Harold’s films in another collection!

And in terms of picture quality, for this DVD, “Safety Last!” is absolutely impressive for a film nearly 90-years-old. With Buster Keaton’s “The General” being released on Blu-ray and looking spectacular, I wonder if “Safety Last!” will someday receive an HD Blu-ray transfer. Definitely a Harold Lloyd classic silent film worth considering for Blu-ray.

Overall, “Safety Last!” is a magnificent film and I highly recommend the purchase of the wonderful “Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection” DVD Box Set!

Filed Under: DVD Reviews, Silent Films DVD/Blu-ray