Film & Shorts Discussions > Random Comedy Reviews
His Royal Slyness (1920) - Harold Lloyd
metaldams:
I wrote a review and then I erased it by accident, so if steam is coming out of the screen, you know why. Let’s try this again.
Short number four from glass character Harold Lloyd and the first short released in the twenties is HIS ROYAL SLYNESS. While lacking the big extended gag sequence that makes up most Harold shorts, this short moves along at a brisk enough pace and has enough laughs where I’m OK with this. One thing I noticed right away is the amount of decorative care made for a two reeler. The palace sets look pretty elaborate, there’s a lot of nice outdoor scenery and there are a ton of extras involved. A really nice short to look at.
Story wise, this has a really nice set up that borrows a plot idea from Charlie Chaplin’s THE FLOORWALKER. That would be the idea of having a double and trading places. Harold is an overly aggressive book salesman who runs into a prince who looks just like him. The prince has a Theda Bara like vamp girlfriend but is summoned to go back to a kingdom to be a possible suitor for a princess, played by Mildred Davis. Since the prince would rather be with his vamp girlfriend, he makes a deal to trade places with Harold where Harold can go to the kingdom for the princess. The lookalike prince, by the way, is played by silent comic Gaylord Lloyd, Harold’s real life brother. They definitely do look enough alike to pull this off.
Like I mentioned before, there is no real extended gag sequence, but there is definitely a lot of funny stuff to talk about. There is one point where a guy in a carriage is whipping his horse and it upsets Mildred. Harold just nonchalantly detaches the horse from the carriage, causing the carriage and the guy on it to flip backwards. That got a big laugh from me. I also love Harold flirting with all the royal chamber maids. It’s his nonchalant attitude and confidence that make it so funny. The way he goes up to each one getting their phone numbers and eventually making his way to the queen, whispering God knows what in her ear. That got a big laugh as did the mirror gag with the chamber maid. Really creative gag that involves good camera angles - a true film gag. Story wise this is pretty light compared to the pathos filled last short. Some bits of revolution with the people not played too deeply, some fun drunk Snub Pollard bits and Harold’s relationship with Mildred in this one is pretty light hearted. Not one of Harold’s major works but a fun film. Not everything about the next short will be so light hearted.
HomokHarcos:
The first time I watched this I didn't know that the prince and the other men were played by different people, I just assumed they were both Harold Lloyd. Even when I watched it again I got fooled the first time it showed Gaylord Lloyd.
It looks like this was a pretty high budget short with the sets and costumes, they look magnificent. The inside of the palace in particular. The story is good, too. Sometimes with Keystone and Sennett shorts I can get lost, with His Royal Slyness that is never the case because it flows along very nicely. I like that Harold is told to act as the prince, instead of them fighting each other the whole short.
The revolution stuff is quite funny, keep in mind this came out not too long after Russia and Germany overthrew their monarchies, it certainly was a recurring news topic at the time. Though there's not much social commentary here and it is mainly used for lighthearted comedy. The monarchy is so weak Harold manages to overthrew the dynasty himself!
Paul Pain:
It took me a second, but after a while you can see slight differences between Gaylord and Harold. It's amazing considering they're not twins really! I really got a lot of laughs out of this short even if there's no gag with a big build-up. You can tell Harold and Mildred are getting closer with time.
One thing I like about silent films is how often you can tell, by lip reading, that they're saying things related to the plot.
metaldams:
--- Quote from: HomokHarcos on February 02, 2022, 07:41:15 AM ---The first time I watched this I didn't know that the prince and the other men were played by different people, I just assumed they were both Harold Lloyd. Even when I watched it again I got fooled the first time it showed Gaylord Lloyd.
It looks like this was a pretty high budget short with the sets and costumes, they look magnificent. The inside of the palace in particular. The story is good, too. Sometimes with Keystone and Sennett shorts I can get lost, with His Royal Slyness that is never the case because it flows along very nicely. I like that Harold is told to act as the prince, instead of them fighting each other the whole short.
The revolution stuff is quite funny, keep in mind this came out not too long after Russia and Germany overthrew their monarchies, it certainly was a recurring news topic at the time. Though there's not much social commentary here and it is mainly used for lighthearted comedy. The monarchy is so weak Harold manages to overthrew the dynasty himself!
--- End quote ---
Great observation with the monarchies being overthrown at the time, especially in Russia.
Umbrella Sam:
Yeah, I too was impressed by how large the sets were. I know Columbia later tended to reuse sets from their features in Stooge shorts, but is there any indication Roach may have reused sets for multiple shorts? I’d find it odd to build a set so large just for a short, but then again shorts were treated differently back then, so who knows?
Overall, some pretty good gags in this one, especially the ones involving the soldiers following Harold’s orders. Harold getting the numbers I feel is a bit contradictory to the love story with Mildred, which usually tends to be so good given their natural chemistry together, but…hey, it’s still early, and I too did like the gag with the mirror so I’m willing to forgive it. If it were a feature, that might be a different story. There also are some really good gags based off of Harold’s happy-go-lucky personality: the hat gag, the way Harold detaches the horse, and the way he accidentally activates the cannon are all really fun moments. And, yes, it is cool seeing Gaylord get a major role for once.
Overall, a pretty fun short, and like metaldams mentioned, the revolution stuff isn’t played too deeply, so it does work for the climax.
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