Harold Lloyd, wearing his black-rimmed glasses, has been a coward since infancy. When he is shyly romancing the girl he loves, he's easy shoved out of the way by the town bully. Then a real heavy appears -- Dick Sutherland, the tramp known as "Rolling Stone." Man, is he big and ugly. His features are over-sized and he looks a little Negroid. He makes himself at home in Grandma's front yard and Grandma tells Lloyd to get rid of him. Rolling Stone has only to look cross-eyed at Lloyd to send him running off, leaving it up to the frail little Grandma to beat him out of the yard with a broom.
But Rolling Stone is more than merely an unwelcome guest. He is robbing a jewelry store on Main Street that night. Two men interrupt him (those were the days) and Rolling Stone shoots one of them down.
A posse is formed and they search around for the tramp but they're all petrified of the monster. No one is more scared that Lloyd. But Grandma pumps up his self confidence with a story of Lloyd's grandfather, who became a hero in the Civil War with the help of a magic amulet called Zuni. I take it as coincidental that Zuni is also the name of a Pueblo community in the American Southwest. You know, like the Hopi? Katchina dolls? Lloyd accidentally encounters the murderer and captures him by pretending to have a pistol. He brings the tramp into town on a baby's stroller and Rolling Stone winds up safely in the slams. An interesting fist fight then takes place between Lloyd and the rival for his girl's affections. Lloyd wins by the simple expedient of always getting back up and rushing in for more after he's been knocked down. Sometimes Nothing can be a real cool hand. Lloyd wins the fight and the girl.
Some reviewers have called this thoughtful but I'm not sure why. The ending might have been considered "thoughtful" if, say, Lloyd discovered he'd lost the Zuni amulet during one of his many scuffles and had won because of his own intestinal fortitude. But that isn't what happens. At one point, finding that the amulet is gone from his pocket, he immediately reverts to his cowardly self and begins scrabbling about, looking for it, until he finds it and turns heroic again.
Nevertheless, it's funny. Some of the gags aren't well integrated into the plot. (Lloyd and his rival both mistakenly munching moth balls.) But no matter. I always have to admire masterful silent film comedians like Lloyd, Keaton, and Chaplin. Once you get past the pratfalls and slapstick, how do you make an amusing movie without using words? It must be an inherent talent, like Mozart's musical aptitude.
But Rolling Stone is more than merely an unwelcome guest. He is robbing a jewelry store on Main Street that night. Two men interrupt him (those were the days) and Rolling Stone shoots one of them down.
A posse is formed and they search around for the tramp but they're all petrified of the monster. No one is more scared that Lloyd. But Grandma pumps up his self confidence with a story of Lloyd's grandfather, who became a hero in the Civil War with the help of a magic amulet called Zuni. I take it as coincidental that Zuni is also the name of a Pueblo community in the American Southwest. You know, like the Hopi? Katchina dolls? Lloyd accidentally encounters the murderer and captures him by pretending to have a pistol. He brings the tramp into town on a baby's stroller and Rolling Stone winds up safely in the slams. An interesting fist fight then takes place between Lloyd and the rival for his girl's affections. Lloyd wins by the simple expedient of always getting back up and rushing in for more after he's been knocked down. Sometimes Nothing can be a real cool hand. Lloyd wins the fight and the girl.
Some reviewers have called this thoughtful but I'm not sure why. The ending might have been considered "thoughtful" if, say, Lloyd discovered he'd lost the Zuni amulet during one of his many scuffles and had won because of his own intestinal fortitude. But that isn't what happens. At one point, finding that the amulet is gone from his pocket, he immediately reverts to his cowardly self and begins scrabbling about, looking for it, until he finds it and turns heroic again.
Nevertheless, it's funny. Some of the gags aren't well integrated into the plot. (Lloyd and his rival both mistakenly munching moth balls.) But no matter. I always have to admire masterful silent film comedians like Lloyd, Keaton, and Chaplin. Once you get past the pratfalls and slapstick, how do you make an amusing movie without using words? It must be an inherent talent, like Mozart's musical aptitude.