Hearing that this film was a disaster at the time of its release, I was not expecting much from it. I was surprised that it was a delightful 90 minutes with a marvelous farewell performance by Lloyd that showed him at top of his game.
I haven't seen any other talking films by Lloyd, so I only have his silent films to compare this with. I thought this was as good as most of the silents I have seen. The silents generally contain a few slow but amusing exposition parts mixed with great 10 minute sequences of 30 or 40 memorable gags. That is pretty much what you get here. The football beginning scene, the drinking scene and the lion on the ledge scene are the great sequences. The lion on the ledge scene is as good and funny as anything in Lloyd's silents.
Lloyd did this film when he was 55. While Keaton did lots of amusing and good stuff after age 40, nothing came close to this silents. Chaplin also faded after 50. "The Great Dictator," which he did at age 50 was his last great film. "Monsieur Verdoux," "Limelight" and "A King in New York" are good films, but aren't Chaplin at his best. Lloyd looks fit and youthful here and we watch him intensely in every scene without thinking about any of his earlier films.
Preston Sturges knows how to make even the smallest character actor shine and that is his contribution here. The character actors like Margaret Hamilton or Edgar Kennedy might only get six or seven minutes of screen time but they are fresh and delightful, not relying on their past work, but creating new and hilarious characters.
The bit about Lloyd falling in love with seven sisters who all worked in his office is pure Sturges. Some people are going to find it silly rather than funny, but I laughed.
I understand that it was not released for two years and then flopped. As often happens, the quality of a work is not necessarily related to its appreciation in its first showing. Sixty years later, it is easier to see it as an odd and charming little masterpiece.
I haven't seen any other talking films by Lloyd, so I only have his silent films to compare this with. I thought this was as good as most of the silents I have seen. The silents generally contain a few slow but amusing exposition parts mixed with great 10 minute sequences of 30 or 40 memorable gags. That is pretty much what you get here. The football beginning scene, the drinking scene and the lion on the ledge scene are the great sequences. The lion on the ledge scene is as good and funny as anything in Lloyd's silents.
Lloyd did this film when he was 55. While Keaton did lots of amusing and good stuff after age 40, nothing came close to this silents. Chaplin also faded after 50. "The Great Dictator," which he did at age 50 was his last great film. "Monsieur Verdoux," "Limelight" and "A King in New York" are good films, but aren't Chaplin at his best. Lloyd looks fit and youthful here and we watch him intensely in every scene without thinking about any of his earlier films.
Preston Sturges knows how to make even the smallest character actor shine and that is his contribution here. The character actors like Margaret Hamilton or Edgar Kennedy might only get six or seven minutes of screen time but they are fresh and delightful, not relying on their past work, but creating new and hilarious characters.
The bit about Lloyd falling in love with seven sisters who all worked in his office is pure Sturges. Some people are going to find it silly rather than funny, but I laughed.
I understand that it was not released for two years and then flopped. As often happens, the quality of a work is not necessarily related to its appreciation in its first showing. Sixty years later, it is easier to see it as an odd and charming little masterpiece.