STUFF YOU GOTTA WATCH - The Kid Brother

THE KID BROTHER

(1927)
With Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Walter James, Leo Willis, Olin Francis, Constantine Romanoff
Directed by Lewis Milestone (uncredited) and Sam Taylor
Silent, Black and White
Reviewed by JB

SAFETY LAST and WHY WORRY are funnier, GIRL SHY sweeter with a more exciting finale, but the deft combination of gags, action, plot and poignant moments, plus outstanding photography and a warm, pastoral setting, makes THE KID BROTHER Harold Lloyd's best overall film. As usual, he is never as fascinating as Chaplin or as odd as Keaton, but the film itself is a Lloyd masterpiece. Everything that is great about Harold Lloyd can be found in this one film.

Don't expect to be overwhelmed with gags and action sequences as in SAFETY LAST - THE KID BROTHER is not that kind of a comedy. It is a story driven film in which the gags spring naturally from the situations. Lloyd plays Harold Hickory, the youngest brother in a motherless family of musclebound country folk. Because Harold uses his brains rather than his muscles, he is considered the useless runt of the family by his pa and two brothers and is left out of all family decisions. Yet, as always in Lloyd films, he comes through in the end to save the day, in this case, recovering some stolen money before the townsfolk lynch his unjustly accused father. The story is strong enough to sustain a nearly 90-minute running time, but not so overly plotted as to hamper Lloyd from dropping in several lengthy and outstanding gag sequences. In a twist for Lloyd, his quest is not about proving himself to the girl he loves (Jobyna Ralston, never lovelier) but rather showing his own father that he is worth to be called a Hickory. There are reminders of Chaplin in some moments of pathos, as well as Keaton in some Rube Goldberg-style gags and the setting of an old boat where the climax takes place, but the film itself is all Lloyd. It even ends with a knowing reprise of a "bully beating" sequence from GRANDMA'S BOY.

Lloyd would make one more very good silent film (SPEEDY) before succumbing to the newfangled "talking pictures", which makes THE KID BROTHER even more poignant. At the very moment Harold was learning how to put everything together to make the perfect silent comedy, the wheels were just about in motion for the genre's demise. - JB