AMONG THOSE PRESENT, like the previous short we discussed, is a three reeler, the second and final one Harold would make. After this there are two two reelers to go before Harold takes a permanent dive into feature length comedy. AMONG THOSE PRESENT has always been one of my favorite Harold shorts, mainly for the extended gag sequence towards the end - but the whole short is quite good. The story of the film involves two people trying to get a socialite to a party as a way in so they can steal some money from the hosts. When the socialite refuses, the man, played by William Gillespie (between Lloyd and Chaplin he’s in a ton of what we’ve been reviewing lately), convinces Harold to pose as the socialite. Comedy ensues.
The reason Harold is asked to pose as the socialite is because Gillespie happens to see Harold do another pose as one. Harold’s introduction starts with him all dressed up, doing these high society poses in a mirror. Harold then starts hitting on a middle aged socialite lady and he seems to be getting far - until a man walks up to Harold and notices Harold is wearing his clothes. When Harold gives back the clothes, it is revealed underneath Harold is wearing a bell boy’s uniform. So yeah a good comic gag leading up to the reveal, sort of like the intro to SAFETY LAST - and COPS, with the bars making it appear the comic is in jail when he’s actually not.
Harold then is at this swanky party, having to tell stories about all these phony hunting expeditions he’s been on. This brings to mind IN THE SWEET PIE AND PIE, even down to a title card about a “lyon fight.” Also a great excuse, being a silent, to visualize the stories Harold is telling, leading to some funny nature scenes. Harold wrestling the lion always cracks me up and all the stories are even funnier as Harold is unknowingly being fed shots of alcohol between each one, getting drunker and drunker each time.
The coup de grace begins when Harold has to ride the wild horse to impress Mildred. This leads him into nature, leading to great gags with ducks, skunks, snakes and bulls. Eventually while running away from a bull, Harold’s pants get caught in a barb wire, revealing his boxer shorts. Now anybody who watches enough old comedy shorts know the sight of a comic in boxer shorts make women panic the way a serial killer would today. A sign of changing morals for sure. This extended gag sequence puts the panicking women to a peak as there are several of them as Harold finds all manners of ways to run around and try his best to cover up. Levitating in the air, going behind closed doors that open and he needs to recline again. Ducking and walking like a crab while covering up. The sequence is hysterical and one of my favorites from Harold ever. Never fails to make me laugh.
So Harold does a lot of pretending here, like he would in SAFETY LAST! He wins over Mildred anyway. Some class commentary, an ethnic Irish ending, and a lot of funny comedy in between. Not that there is such a thing as a bad Lloyd two or three reeler, but AMONG THOSE PRESENT is among the best. Again, the boxer short scene seals it for me. Your mileage may vary.
