Freaktana A Major Disappointment

Lachlan Coulson This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

Zlatica One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Delight Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

sol- Timid and always in the shadow of his older brothers, the youngest son of a sheriff gets a chance to prove his worth when thieves come to town in this Harold Lloyd comedy. As has been noted by others, the basic plot is hardly original, in many ways a rerun of what we have seen before with Lloyd in 'Grandma's Boy'. This is a far funnier motion picture though and the gags always feel like an organic part of the tale and character progression, whereas the earlier Lloyd film is more a series of skits. At 'The Kid Brother''s most amusing, Lloyd's two nightgown-clad brothers try unsuccessfully to hide when he brings a girl home unannounced at night. This subplot becomes even funnier when morning comes round and they keep trying to romance Lloyd's new girlfriend, unaware that she has already left and it is just Lloyd left behind the bed sheets hanging in his quarters. The film is also blessed with some excellent camera-work for the era (a crane shot that travels up a tree), but if there is one aspect that lets the film down, it is an over-reliance on dialogue with the title cards breaking up the intimacy of the action on more than one occasion. Most of 'The Kid Brother' is very good news though, spinning a tight and cohesive narrative a la 'The Freshman'. Lloyd is also as great as one would expect, though a monkey in the final quarter pretty much steals the show.

thinbeach Lloyd is the neglected younger brother of a rough country family. His foolish antics result in a suspect medicine show staying in town, who are then believed to have stolen money. To impress a girl, Lloyd must save the day.'The Kid Brother' follows the exact same story template as his earlier film 'Grandma's Boy'. It is also his most Keaton like effort. There are Western family feud elements that recall 'Our Hospitality' (1923) (including the famous shot of an animal disguised as a lady in a dress), haunted ship elements that recall 'The Navigator' (1924), as well as inventive mechanical humour, which recalls much of Keaton's work. So it is entertaining enough with a few chuckles, but not very original, and none of it matches the work of the master he is imitating. I would seek that out instead.

bkoganbing The Kid Brother finds Harold Lloyd cast precisely as that, the youngest and least of three brothers of the local sheriff in a family that seems as competitive as the Kennedys. One shudders to think about the casualties if the Hickorys ever got to playing touch football.A carnival comes to town which is nominally run by Jobyna Ralston who was a poor man's Mary Pickford. Actually some of the less scrupulous carnival types are running it in her name. She gets Harold Lloyd to sign the carnival permit thinking he's the sheriff and in fact he does have the same name, Lloyd's just a junior.Like his friends Chaplin and Keaton, Lloyd is bumbling klutz for whom nothing goes right for seven reels, but then in the last reel Lloyd comes alive and shows some inner resourcefulness. Here he has to find the money that was robbed from the town fund collected for the building of a dam. The townsfolk think Lloyd's father did it as he was the custodian of the funds.By the way check out that makeshift raft that Harold Lloyd has in the final scene in which the chief crook is actually a part of the construction. The Kid Brother proves his worth to his family and for the audience its worth at the box office.

jens-the-picasso-kuestner *SPOILER* This delightful silent comedy with Harold as the kid brother in an all-male family is both moving and entertaining and what is more, very funny!Unlike his two brothers the fragile Harold is not the 'chip off the old block' and therefore regarded as a wimp by his family, the "Hickorys". But he turns out to be very shrewd and smarter than his whole family. In a stunning and breath-taking finale he prevails over a tough con-man and finally is able to make himself respected for his father (Jim, the sheriff). From what I can tell this is Lloyd's all-time best hence his ambitious "glassed character" has fully developed and is absolutely convincing. In contrast to his former "Lonesome Luke"- a rather rough and harddriving character the new bespectacled Harold, now being a believable human being, is charming and extremely hilarious. You cannot refrain yourself from laughing out loud when Harold disguises himself as his father to kid his narrow-minded brothers. Although the feature includes many individually hilarious scenes Lloyd artfully interwoves a thread of pathos, as well. Amazingly romantic scenes are always combined with great gags: Harold falls in love with bitter-sweet Jobyna Ralston (and you probably will, too because that beautiful girl has zing!)and climbs a tree towards the top in order to watch his beloved disappearing. Being lost in thought Harold who is enchanted by the girl's grace finally falls off the tree. Describing sight gags is a lost art hence you are not capable of pointing out the extent of wit and creativity of a certain idea- therefore I better throw in the towel and you should start watching Lloyd's top-notch gags. While one is touched by Harold's romantic love story the real treat is watching the potent and stunning finale which never takes a breath. Incredibly Lloyd is able to provide countless belly-laugh scenes as well as impressing the audience with genuine and deeply moving sentiment. His feature has just about everything one could ask for in a comedy: It is funny, exciting and even romantic. The astonishing carrer of Lloyd represents Hollywood's ideal. He developed a craft and- in my opinion- perfected the art of silent comedies. "Comedy can be manufactured, as television has proved but great comic personalities cannot"- Leonard Maltin. Lloyd's film is unique because Lloyd is unique. Sympathetic that I am to movie buffs who adore comedies of the fifties, sixties, etc. I nevertheless cannot help feeling that early silent comedies are the richest comedies in the cinema's history- worse still they have become mediums of a neglected art. Regarding "The Kid Brother" it is safe to say that this masterpiece with its brightest moments shines like a comic perfection that will glow forever. Let us keep alive his films for generations to come hence he deserves being honored.