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We’ve already covered a Lloyd Hamilton silent, now it’s time to cover one of his early talking shorts, 1929’s TOOT SWEET. Produced, not directed by, but produced by Harry Edwards. The same guy The Three Stooges and Vera Vague refused to work with fifteen years later was producing comedy shorts at this point, which goes to show how Hollywood has its ups and downs. Obviously we also know he worked with Langdon at Sennett. Hamilton would make talking shorts until his death in the mid thirties, so yeah, very much a consistent presence cranking these shorts out. A large majority of his silents are lost, I think there are entire years that are missing. His talking output I’m not quite as sure as to the survival ratio, but there are a good handful of these talkies available on YouTube. Really, I’d love to see a list with his filmography and the respective survival status listed next to each film.
This short is about Lloyd Hamilton’s bank account. I am going to give a lot of spoilers here, so if you’ve never seen this short, I suggest watching it before reading the rest of my review.
The short starts with Lloyd Hamilton buying a car. In the beginning, Lloyd gets the upper hand with his money. The car salesman tries to turn the sign around for a higher price, but Ham doesn’t fall for it. Next, Ham counts his money in ones as he’s handing it to the salesman and as he’s doing so, asks the salesman multiple questions that involve an answer that is a higher number than the counting. After the salesman give his numbered answer, Hamilton restarts the count at that number, giving less money away in the long run. Sound familiar? Yeah, typical Abbott and Costello. Now Bud and Lou didn’t invent this and Lloyd Hamilton probably didn’t either. It most likely originated in the Lars Hetfield Medicine Show in Smyrna, Delaware - 1852. So I’ve heard. But yeah, fascinating seeing what most of us probably associate with Bud and Lou being done here.
Lloyd getting the upper hand with his money ends here as he then gets a date with - the girl. A cute little French girl he’s had his eye on for a few months, he finally gets the nerve to ask her out. She says yes, but only after she’s sees her boyfriend in a car passing by with another girl. She’s basically just using Ham as a revenge date. The beginning of his dignity starts to slip away.
Now they’re at the restaurant, it’s time to order food. She orders everything on the menu. Lloyd’s wallet is getting lighter and lighter by the minute. Then she breaks a glass. Lloyd is informed for everything broken, he has to pay. She sees her boyfriend doing one of those crazy dances with another girl where he tosses her around all over the place. The boyfriend then kisses the other girl. The girl Lloyd is with goes into a rage! She breaks things like crazy. A very expensive lamp. A very valuable vase. The waiter informs Ham of the higher prices with each item. Usually, when lots of things are being broken in these comedies, we watch for the pure destruction. Here, Ham’s dignity and bank account are being depleted with each break, adding more poignancy to it all.
Finally after she settles down, the waiter sees who is going to pay for the damages. She professes her love to Ham and Ham offers to pay. At that very moment, the old boyfriend comes back to her, they talk sweet nothings to each other and kiss right in front of Ham! This is after Ham paid a fortune for this girl’s destructive habits! For nothing! TOOT SWEET is a brilliant short of a comedian being completely dismantled.
In the middle of the short, there is a a nice bit with a flame throwing device being put under Ham’s chair. Instead of screaming like most comedians, Ham says, “Rather warm, isn’t it?” Delivered very much like Oliver Hardy. Of course, his date insists he sits back down and after a few attempts, he finally finds water to put out the flame. A nice bit of business in a nice short.
