Fool's Luck (1926) User Reviews

The Dangling Piano & A Couple Other Good Gags Are Worth Seeing

[Snow Leopard · 7 December 2005]

Some stretches of this short comedy are rather plain, but it has a couple of good gags that are worth seeing. Lupino Lane stars, and it was directed by Roscoe Arbuckle (under the alias that he used when he was blacklisted), so there is some talent involved. Lane is good with certain kinds of material, but in other places it sorely misses Arbuckle's presence on the other side of the camera.

Lane plays a lazy nephew who is evicted from his apartment when his uncle cuts him off. The first part is largely bland, as Lane is better with physical comedy than with subtler comedy that calls for the right expressions and gestures (which is what the first part here involves). Arbuckle himself could have performed this part in a much more entertaining fashion. Once the moving process starts, Lane and the movie as a whole improve.

The dangling piano sequence is a good one, well-conceived by Arbuckle and well-acted by Lane. It gets a lot out of a simple idea, and it reminds you of some of the classic Harold Lloyd sequences in the way that it combines humor and suspense. There are also a couple of other gags that Arbuckle seems to have borrowed and adapted from his friend Buster Keaton. They are funny and are well-executed, though they'll already be familiar to many viewers through Keaton's movies.

What a COOL movie! It stars old whatshisname.

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 17 July 2006]

This movie stars Lupino Lane (a silent screen comedian very few would remember today except for the fact he is Ida Lupino's uncle) but the real star involved with this picture is the director, Fatty Arbuckle--though he is credited as "William Goodrich" due to the rape/manslaughter scandal that ruined Fatty's career.

This is without a doubt one of the more exciting and interesting silent comedies I have seen. Lane plays a very effeminate-looking dandy who lives the high life--until he's cut off from his family's riches since he's an indolent jerk. As a result, his possessions are sold and he's evicted. The piano scene is tough to describe as the movers are taking away the instrument--seeing Lane hanging from it as it precariously balances MANY stories up is pretty exciting stuff. However, later when the truck is driving away with his old stuff, he hitches a ride up top and doesn't notice when the driver and his butler fall out of the cab and the truck continues to roll with no driver! This is a pretty amazing stunt--followed by one of the funnier train scenes in history.

All-in-all, a very creative, high energy and stunt-infused comedy that is sure to please anyone. See it and have a good laugh!

Fatty the Director

[Michael_Elliott · 25 February 2008]

Fool's Luck (1926)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A spoiled man (Lupino Lane) gets kicked out of his fancy apartment after his uncle stops sending him money. This comes at a bad time because the girl of his dreams and her father are on their way there to have dinner. There are a few nice laughs and some great stunts here including one scene where they try to lower a piano out a ten-story window, which is clearly influenced by Harold Lloyd. There's also another very nice sequence where Lane is riding on top of a moving truck when the driver falls out.