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Bumping Into Broadway (1919) - Harold Lloyd

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Offline metaldams



      BUMPING INTO BROADWAY (1919) would be an important film in the career of Harold Lloyd as it would mark his first two reel comedy.  For the past four years, Harold was pumping out one reelers at an insane pace (weekly) as either Willie Work, Lonesome Luke and starting later in 1917, his glasses character which he would be world famous for the rest of his life.  Harold would make thirteen two or three reel short comedies over the next two years before settling into features.  Harold’s leading lady for the past few years and real life girlfriend was Bebe Daniels, who would only hang on for one more two reeler with Harold after this before embarking further on a very successful career.  Overall, BUMPING INTO BROADWAY is a very good two reel debut in a series of films that would get even better in time.  Making weekly one reelers for a few years is more than enough transition for a slightly longer format.

      The thing that struck me the most about BUMPING INTO BROADWAY is how meticulous the storytelling is.  Watching a lot of the Columbia shorts or heck, even some of the earlier Chaplin shorts as of late, the contrast is pretty stark.  No moments of wondering what is going on or just stopping the story to throw in a routine for the heck of it.  Every gag or bit of business here is either character building or makes sense within the plot somehow.  Great bit of business at the beginning of Harold and the keys being stuck in the typewriter.  It shows how poor he is keeping such a contraption and we get nice bits of business of him oiling the keys and even using gas from the lamp as oil.  Also notice how he’s getting every last drag of that cigarette to save money.

      When Harold meets the old lady begging God for a man, it fits perfectly in the story.  Harold is climbing out of the building trying to runaway from his landlords and just happens to climb into the window of the old lady when doing so.  It leads to some funny business of Harold escaping the old lady and once he does, back to the landlords again.  When he does escape the landlords, he happens to jump into the car of a rich man heading to Broadway, transitioning seamlessly into the next reel.  All very well done.

      Harold and Bebe have good screen chemistry at this point.  The best scene is when she is adjusting her socks and showing bare leg and Harold comes out of the clock (which he hid into so he can sneak into the building and sell his script), goes back into the clock, takes his hand out and knock as if to ask if she’s decent.  A funny romantic comedy gag.  Also, from a dramatic standpoint, when Bebe, who is jobless and broke, agrees to go to dinner with the rich gentleman, there is this shot of Harold’s heartbroken face that leaves no doubt this guy can do the drama necessary for a feature.

      A really good short overall.  Future shorts would have more all time classic bits but everything is pleasant here and again, very well crafted.  The chases are all pretty good and the end chase shows how athletic Harold was as a young man.  Still, I do wonder if it was Harold or a stunt double doing that 360 flip.  Need to go back to the slow motion button on my DVD at some point.  But yes, a very good short overall and things will get even better.  Check it out.
« Last Edit: January 01, 2022, 12:30:38 PM by metaldams »
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Umbrella Sam

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Pretty fun short. I personally think that of the three major silent comedians, Lloyd was the best at combining story and comedy elements together, so I usually tend to think of him as a “feature film” person. Despite that, I have seen a few of his later shorts and he seems like he could work well in that format too.

The thing that stood out to me most about this short was just how impressive the chases were. Yeah, obviously we’ve seen lots of great chases in other silent comedies, and many of those were well done too. But something about the chases here was just really exciting. I think it’s how much they throw at you. There’s one part where Harold (or maybe his brother Gaylord, I’m not sure what the policy was yet on the types of stunts Harold could do) puts his foot on an officer’s hand and backflips off of him. It’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, and the chases are full of fast-paced things like that. At the same time, though, they also occasionally take their time to let you take things in, like when Lloyd does the recurring routine of getting out of people’s sights or the coat gag that was later used in SAFETY LAST. The chases are a lot of fun and definitely worth checking out.

As far as the rest of the short goes, there still is good stuff outside of the chases. I like Lloyd crashing into the door while trying to pretend to be an employee at the theater, and the fight with Snub Pollard is kind of fun too. The supporting cast here is great too. Noah Young and Helen Gilmore keep up well during the first chase, and Bebe Daniels does seem to work well with Lloyd too. Honestly, I can’t think of a single bad thing to say about this short. I pretty much enjoyed it from start to finish.

10 out of 10
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Offline Dr. Mabuse

Another excellent review. One of my favorite Harold Lloyd two-reelers, with a comic energy all its own and some truly memorable gags. A few years ago, I saw "Bumping Into Broadway" as part of a silent-comedy program (complete with Wurlitzer) that included Keaton's "One Week" and Laurel & Hardy's "Two Tars." Harold's short garnered the most laughs — his films really come alive with an audience.

10/10


Offline metaldams

Another excellent review. One of my favorite Harold Lloyd two-reelers, with a comic energy all its own and some truly memorable gags. A few years ago, I saw "Bumping Into Broadway" as part of a silent-comedy program (complete with Wurlitzer) that included Keaton's "One Week" and Laurel & Hardy's "Two Tars." Harold's short garnered the most laughs — his films really come alive with an audience.

10/10

That must have been a great experience to see those three shorts live in front of an audience.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline metaldams

I have seen a few of his later shorts and he seems like he could work well in that format too.


I’m going to try to review more Lloyd shorts so you’ll probably see more soon.  For the time being, I’ve decided to mostly focus on shorts and from Lloyd, Chaplin and Fields.  Fields only made six shorts, shouldn’t be too hard.  I’ll do Langdon silent shorts when Paul finishes up his Columbia shorts.

Glad you enjoyed this one.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Paul Pain

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Excellent short.  I am better off for having seen this one.  Great plot, great acting, and great comedy.  I was surprised to see Snub Pollard because I thought he had his own short series at this time, but now I know that this must be before then.

No complaints.

10/10 [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke]
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Offline metaldams

Excellent short.  I am better off for having seen this one.  Great plot, great acting, and great comedy.  I was surprised to see Snub Pollard because I thought he had his own short series at this time, but now I know that this must be before then.

No complaints.

10/10 [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke]

For years Snub Pollard was a regular with Harold in the one reelers.  Snub’s first starring short was released one week before BUMPING INTO BROADWAY, so he graduated to a series of his own as Lloyd got longer films and would soon stop working with Lloyd.

Glad you enjoyed the short!
- Doug Sarnecky