Young Mr. Jazz

Starring: Harold Lloyd, Bebe Daniels, Snub Pollard, Bud Jamison
Directed by: Hal Roach
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Short, Comedy
Length: 10 minutes
1919

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (Harold Lloyd) tries to spend time with the girl (Bebe Daniels) he loves, but her overbearing father (Bud Jamison) makes that difficult.

Review:

Tim: Young Mr. Jazz is an interesting Harold Lloyd short. It's not among the best, but it has some really good sequences. As a whole, it's a fun little one-reeler. The beginning of the movie is stronger than the conclusion.

The story is understandably straightforward. A young man is trying to court a young woman, despite the wishes of her father. This creates of a lot of opportunities for visual gags. Now, like many short silent films, the story is built around the gags. That limits the potential of the film, as it really does feel like a series of scenes verses a compelling narrative.

The beach scenes early on were the highlight for me. Lloyd performs extremely well during these scenes, throwing his body this way and that for a laugh. The standout has to be the straw-periscope scene. I have no idea how they pulled this remarkable gag off, but it absolutely looks like Lloyd is swimming under the sand. It's a wonderful sequence and excellently shot by director Hal Roach. It truly is quite effective.

The bulk of the movie takes place in a different setting. Lloyd and Bebe Daniels have their car break down and they end up in a saloon filled with people of ill intent. There's a funny pickpocket scene. The big climax is the bar room brawl. I thought it was fine- it's well filmed, it's decently entertaining. The highlight of that sequence has to be Lloyd hanging on a fan, kicking people as he spins around. That was the big scene for this film, and while effective, it does leave a little to be desired. There's really no standout moment.

Lloyd was quite good in the film. I've enjoyed learning more about him. The names of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin are much more well-known today (and the reason why is a fascinating bit of research), but Lloyd was at their level in these days. Young Mr. Jazz isn't his best short, but it's a worthwhile one.

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



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