Take a Chance

Starring: Harold Lloyd, Bebe Daniels, Snub Pollard, William Blaisdell
Directed by: Alfred J. Goulding
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Short, Comedy
Length: 10 minutes
1918

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (Harold Lloyd) chases after the girl he loves.

Review:

Tim: I'm a big fan of 1918's Take a Chance. This Harold Lloyd short is entertaining, funny, and gives us a few fairly hilarious sequences. This is quite an effective short film.

The story is straightforward- our protagonist meets a girl whom he falls in love with (and she seems smitten with him). She's going on a date with another man, though. Our protagonist pursues, trying to woo her away. It's a simple story, but it offers up a lot of comedic possibilities in a short amount of time. I was really impressed with Lloyd's visual antics in this film. They're quite funny. One of the better sequences is when the lady and her date get in his car and unbeknownst to them, the protagonist (called The Sport) jumps in the back. He proceeds to mess with both people in the front seat, but since they don't know he's there, they think it was the other person. It's simple, but really effective. Whether that's giving the girl a peck on the cheek or giving the driver a slap, it's really humorous. They eventually arrive at a park where a few more funny sequences take place. This all sets up the big climax, where prisoners escape from jail and The Sport is mistaken for one. This sets up a brilliantly executed chase sequence. This is where the film really shines- he continually evades capture in ingenious ways. I know this might be "lowbrow" humor, but he kicks a lot of people in the rear end. My five year-old son and I were rolling with laughter at this. The sight gags are terrific and it's all quite entertaining.

Take a Chance is an especially strong short film. It showcases the talent of Harold Lloyd and it was a lot of fun. I had a blast watching it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- N/A



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