ksf-2
Stars and directed by Harold Lloyd. (brother Gaylord Lloyd was assistant director, just to keep it all in the family.) Regular guy Harold Hall wants to get into showbiz, and when there's a mixup in the photos, he is on his way to a screen-test. It's a harold lloyd comedy, so there are mixups, falls, smashups, and unspoken gags all along the way. Unlike Lloyd, Constance Cummings had just broken into hollywood, so this is one of her earlier roles as "Mary". Many old-timey actors in uncredited roles as "dinner guest" listed in the cast list. The broken glass door gag and some of the other bits got a bit annoying, but over-all, it's quite good. Fun to see Lloyd at the top of his game... he had done silents for YEARS, but came out of favor, and didn't make so many talkies. Just for laughs, in the cast list, Arthur Housman is listed as "customer who didn't order rabbit".
Michael Neumann
The story of a disaster-prone movie buff who crashes Hollywood and becomes a star in spite of himself might have been lifted from erstwhile silent clown Harold Lloyd's own rags-to-riches autobiography. The film is widely considered Lloyd's best 'talkie', but it can't hope to match his silent classics, and doesn't try to approach the dizzy verbal pace of screwball comedy just then coming into vogue. Ironically, Lloyd himself is the weak link in the film; his (considerable) pantomime talents and optimistic go-getter personality were better suited to Jazz Age silent comedy, and didn't translate well to the Great Depression. Only the somewhat bizarre love interest, between the typically shy Harold and a temperamental actress (who doesn't tell him she's also the Spanish bombshell he's infatuated with) seems more in step with sophisticated sound-era comedy conventions. Technophiles take note: the climactic backstage battle, in which Harold finally proves himself, was clearly shot silent, but the clumsy telegraphing of each gag well in advance kills the tempo.
wes-connors
Littleton, Kansas resident Harold Lloyd (as Harold Hall) is "Movie Crazy", much to the dismay of his parents. He writes to a film studio after reading, in a movie magazine, that "Hollywood is looking for new faces." Mr. Lloyd mistakenly sends the wrong face to "Planet Film Company"; and, they invite the handsome hunk to Hollywood, for a screen test. In tinsel town, Lloyd falls for not only the cameras, but also starlet Constance Cummings (Mary Sears).Lloyd sounds great, in a worthy talkie
at last. It's not the best (or most original) story around, but "Movie Crazy" has some terrific moments. Lloyd's early adventures on the set, and losing a shoe in the rain are very nicely done. Ms. Cummings is a cunning attraction, delightful in almost a dual role; she and Lloyd make a good couple. An even better partner helps lighten the film considerably, when Lloyd makes "magic" with dancing partner Louise Closser Hale (as Mrs. Kitterman). Rats! ******* Movie Crazy (8/12/32) Clyde Bruckman, Harold Lloyd ~ Harold Lloyd, Constance Cummings, Kenneth Thomson
Neil Doyle
Stripping MOVIE CRAZY of its awkward dialog and reducing the running time to perhaps an hour and fifteen minutes, would have improved the film considerably. HAROLD LLOYD seems a bit ill at ease in a role clearly meant for a much younger man, but CONSTANCE CUMMINGS is assured and poised in what is, unfortunately, an unlikeable role. Her manipulative and scheming ways when she decides to play a trick on him, makes the character colder than it ought to be in a comedy of this sort. Thus, the happy ending for their relationship seems contrived.Some of the physical comedy and sight gags are worthy of a better film and makes me think that the whole story would lend itself better to the silent comedies Lloyd made before the advent of sound.I liked the rainy day scene with the convertible top refusing to operate properly--and his efforts to improve the situation only making things worse. His relationship with the heroine gets off to a bumpy start right then and there.But that's the trouble with the whole film. His hapless inability to do anything right gets tiresome by the time he's practically demolished every set piece in sight. The cleverest bit comes at the fancy dinner where he inadvertently puts on the wrong jacket belonging to a magician. Somehow, mice, bunnies and eggs keep popping out while he's trying to dance with an executive's wife--and, of course, it's the sort of thing Lloyd carries off effortlessly, without words.I enjoyed other Lloyd comedies from simpler times, without a weak script offering dull dialog. This is probably why the last big scene without need of talk provides the best moments--a big fight on a studio set between Lloyd and KENNETH THOMSON, his rival for Cummings. It's staged brilliantly and at least gives the story a wallop for the ending that it seriously needed.Otherwise, the overall effect would have been a bit tedious.
AD
