He is probably number 4 right now in terms of popularity when it comes to actors from the silent film era. Chaplin, Laurel&Hardy, Keaton and then Lloyd. Still I believe that he is as good as an actor as these 4, maybe even superior when it comes to drama. And he may very well be my favorite from the bunch. I quite like his boyish charm and nerdy looks with his glasses. Also he is always well-dressed, which adds some nice little humour as he seems to be a bit of an authority looking at his clothes, but he really is just so chaotic. Also in this 1921 film, his possibly most know short movie. The original ran for 20 minutes, but a newer version runs for almost 30. I guess they reduced the frames per second. The main topic in films from back then is always love, apart from the slapstick comedy of course. The first half of the film is an elaboration on the situation. Lloyd attempts to make a girl fall in love with him and has a friend assist him. Unfortunately, Lloyd mistakes the girl's brother for her fiancé and decides to commit suicide. It certainly was a time of extremes, also how quickly the girl wants to get married in the end. Almost the entire second half of the film is Lloyd trying to commit suicide, but gloriously failing each time. The funniest scene of this silent black-and-white film is possibly when he hears the heavenly music and sees the statue and thinks he managed to kill himself and is now in the heavens. A pretty enjoyable short film I must say. I am not that big really on silent films in general, but this one worked nicely for me, probably mostly because of Lloyd. The cast and crew here have worked with Lloyd on several films and the sweetheart is played by Mildred Davis, Lloyd's girlfriend at that point and later his wife for almost 50 years. Cute couple. I recommend watching it.
Review of Never Weaken
