#964 The Kid Brother
1927 // USA // Ted Wilde
Criterion Collection (LINK)
Letterboxd (LINK)
Unequivocally dated yet innately charming, Harold Lloyd‘s ironic round-glasses boyish persona climbed to his peak, literally and figuratively, in SAFETY LAST! (1923), and could never reached the same height afterwards in my opinion. The building-climbing sequence still looks terrific and terrifying which could only be matched by Buster Keaton in its physical and visual innovativeness. But Lloyd’s subsequent films could not invoke such a tension in me and instead, alike most of the silent comedy of its time, focused on a cat-and-mouse chase which could be entertaining at times, but much less scary than the potential of falling off a building.
In THE KID BROTHER, Lloyd’s character Harold Hickory, the youngest son of Sheriff Jim Hickory (Walter James), is witty and creative with mechanics and is the exact opposite to his two muscular bigger brothers (Leo Willis and Olin Francis) whom the Sheriff is more in favour of. The main objective of Harold in the story is very predictable, getting his old man’s approval and recognition of being a grown man instead of a ‘boy’ (the identity of macho), and winning the heart of an adorable girl simultaneously. Mary (Jobyna Ralston), a recently orphaned girl from a troupe of medicine show has just arrived in town, alongside with two men, the greedy and sly Flash (Eddie Boland) who runs the show after the death of Mary’s father, and the menacing, despicably looking strongman Sandoni (Constantine Romanoff) .
It is the usual trope, Mary is portrayed as a man’s trophy girl once the man overcomes the plight (herein beating the villains and the girl’s chasers down). Unflinchingly the relationship is romanticized, albeit charming and adorable as expected. With Lloyd’s endearing persona, it’s hard not to root for him in getting the girl and successfullt transform from an underdog to a hero who defeats Sandoni and gets the stolen money back in time to save his father from being persecuted.
The climactic head-to-head confrontation between Harold and the stereotypical villain Sandoni on board of a ‘pirate’ ship is perhaps the funnest part of the film. It has some ‘sound’ gags even though it’s a silent film (a monkey wearing Harold shoes is deployed to divert Sandoni’s attention exhibits Harold’s cleverness, and the repetitive slamming doors), and it fully utilizes the labyrinthine structure of a ship to extend the chase, thus the suspense. THE KID BROTHER is a well-crafted comedy with appealing romance and relatable family drama, but time is not too kind to this type of archetypal presentation. The best way to watch it for the biggest laugh is forgetting what you had learnt so far in the 21st century, or else forget what you’ve just watched and move on.
The Films in My Life (OnCriterion) 