Topic: Joy Land (1929) - Lupino Lane

[metaldams]

      I think this board needs a couple of masterpieces reviewed at the moment, so this round it’s Lupino Lane’s JOY LAND and next it Harold Lloyd’s THE KID BROTHER.  The latter I’m sure you’re all aware of but the former?  I never heard of it either until a few weeks ago.  I figured it’s been a while since I bought a good silent comedy set so I found the Lupino Lane blu ray set on Amazon and took a shot.  I’m really glad I did.  The whole set is entertaining but JOY LAND especially so.  What’s even crazier is when I got the set, this short was not on YouTube.  Well lo and behold, two weeks ago, someone posted it, so here’s a review.

     So who is Lupino Lane?  He’s a British music hall comedian who had a very long career on both the stage and in film and is also the cousin of Ida Lupino.  He had a really oval and innocent looking face and what stands out about him the most to me is his acrobatic ability.  As far as silent comedians go, he is on the same level of Buster Keaton and Al St. John quite easily in the acrobatic department.  I really think JOY LAND will prove that easily.

      The first half of this short is good.  Lupino works in a toy store and a lot of gags happen.  That’s it.  No need for extraneous title cards introducing a million characters or a big plot, exactly what I want in a silent short.  It’s just simply a chance to enjoy some good physical comedy.  I really love some of the falls Lupino takes, the surrealistic way those funny looking masks get put on him and his boss and especially the two pants/three legs gag the two do.  All fine stuff that shows Lupino Lane can do good gags and stunts.  But this is all just the warm up.  After everybody leaves the store, Lupino takes us on a fantasy world where he goes into Toyland.

      This fantasy part does have a BABES IN TOYLAND look and feel to it and would therefore be great to play before that feature.  Lane makes all these childish looks on his face as he flirts with the mechanical doll, propping her up in all kinds of fun ways and does some cool gags with a horse and a knight.  Then when he gets into the castle, pandemonium breaks loose!

      I can truly say the chase in JOY LAND is on the same level as Buster Keaton in THE HIGH SIGN.  Both are indoors, have a ton of acrobatics and strange portals and play a lot of mind games.  Lupino gets bolted out from holes in the ground, being catapulted high in the air.  He’s getting chased around by all these guys who remind me of the bogeymen in BABES IN TOYLAND.  Lupino and the bogeymen do all these flips and rolls through holes in the wall going in and out really fast at all sorts of great angles.  At one point, Lupino’s head is sticking out of the wall looking at his own backside on an adjacent wall.  Cannons are being fired, toys are popping up all over the place and Lupino even does this amazing split where he somehow gets himself back up vertical from said position.  Really an amazing scene to watch on so many levels.

      I have seen well over a thousand silent comedy shorts at this point and while I enjoy the new ones I see, it’s hardly ever at the same level of enthusiasm as when I first discovered Keaton and Chaplin.  A combination of the films usually not being quite as good or me just being so used to the form (I have the same issues with music).  Here?  I had that same level of wonder like I was watching SHERLOCK, JR for the first time.  I hope you guys enjoy this as much as I do or at least on a level close to it.

[metaldams]

Here’s the blu ray to hunt down.

[Freddie Sanborn]

This really is an amazing short. I’ve got to believe that the sets and costumes were from a pre-existing stage act. It looks like a Christmas pantomime that would have been performed in the U.K.

[metaldams]

This really is an amazing short. I’ve got to believe that the sets and costumes were from a pre-existing stage act. It looks like a Christmas pantomime that would have been performed in the U.K.

The fact the castle appeared to be made out of some type of canvas that had had portable holes carved in them would indeed indicate some type of stage set up.

[Umbrella Sam]

I can definitely see the Keaton connection as far as the stunt work goes, and there’s even a part during the dream sequence where Lane has kind of a Langdon-style reaction. As far as the first half in the store goes, it’s fine. I like the part where he’s trying to blow up the balloon and the mother and child keep following his movements. That being said, it did kind of have that same feeling I get with certain Keystone comedies where it was hard to really find anything that makes the lead character memorable as a personality. I suppose in a way, that carries over to the dream portion too, but man...given everything that happens there, I can see why this short was singled out.

First off, yes, I too like the set and costumes, a really cool setup that feels like a BABES IN TOYLAND/ALICE IN WONDERLAND combination. This is where Lane really gets to show off the Keaton-style acrobatics. Probably the best example is when he’s trying to hold up the toy woman with his feet; it’s something that seems very hard to coordinate, and yet he seems to do it so naturally. The rest of this is pure chase, using various trap doors. This is the kind of thing that could get old fast, but the combination of good timing as well as a really nice set to look at makes this a really fun experience.

I definitely prefer the second half to the first, but the first half is still decent and overall, I had a fun time watching this.

[metaldams]

Glad you liked this one, Sam.  Lack of memorable persona seems to be a criticism I’ve heard before about Lupino Lane, but I think he has just enough persona given his physical ability being able to carry a short.  Don’t know if he ever made starring features, but it’d be interesting to see what he can do.  I know he played supporting roles in a lot of musical features in the talking era.

[Freddie Sanborn]

Lane didn’t really move into leading roles until he returned to England in 1930. He starred in and directed a lot of musical comedies until he hit on the play (and film) that set him up for life: Me and My Girl aka The Lambeth Walk.