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Too much of everything

Perfectly adorable

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Two of Harold Lloyd's favourite props are in use here. The first is the car, driven recklessly at speed, the second is the joke of remaining crouched down without realising your hiding place has been removed. You expect something terrible to happen to his car given the fuss he makes over it, but nothing that horrendous befalls it – unless you count being driven by Lloyd as something to be dreaded. He encounters all manner of mishaps as he races to the play being staged by the local amateur dramatics troupe, of which he is a starring member. On a number of occasions he has to jump out of the motor and run back to fetch something that has fallen out of the back. There's nothing unusual about this other than the fact that he doesn't bother stopping the car when he does so… This is one of those early shorts of Harold's that has a boundless energy to match His character's single-mindedness of purpose, and it contains plenty of laughs. One surreal moment occurs however when the car breaks down and Harold is struggling to revive it. Spotting a junkie injecting himself in a doorway, Harold deftly picks the junkie's pocket and uses the contents of his syringe to get the motor running again.

This is hardly Lloyd's best film, but it is fun. Notice a couple of superb deep-field shots, amazing for 1920, but indicative of what b/w film could do. TCM's print is exceptionally good. Also, the Nighthawks provide a wonderful musical accompaniment, based on the popular song of the era, from which (I assume) the movie derives its title -- "Get Out and Get Under." These were the times when "Get a horse!" was still considered an amusing response to the breakdowns that tin lizzies tended to experience. Those flivers tended to shake when running, and the film uses that tendency for a couple of jokes on Lloyd's character and the automobiles of the early 1920s. The chase scenes may be typical, but they are very good. I always marvel at the incredible timing that characterizes them.

Being after his accident, Harold wears gloves for pretty much this entire film. This is still under the Hal Roach studios in 1920 & it is less refined slapstick style & not as complex as Harold would develop in later films. Think Harold is self-conscious about his hands in this, not only because of the gloves, but his stunts in this one are no where near the ones he would do later. Mildred Pierce is the girl in this love story but her major work is in Harold (the boy) dream sequence in the film beginning where he dream Mildred went & married someone else & he found out while trying to pose for a photo portrait & arrives too late to do anything about it. This is a theme Lloyd would develop more thoroughly in later films. Some of the chase sequence with the police pursuit has some inventive sequencing & the pace is fast & furious. While this is a couple of notches below his better films, this one is pleasant. The version I saw from the TCM set is only just over 25 minutes, though it doesn't seem to be missing anything. Watch for the sequence where Harold disappears inside his car. It looks impossible & clever, & is the most intriguing stunt by Harold in the film.

A Hal Roach HAROLD LLOYD 2-Reeler.A young man races across town in his beloved new Model T - occasionally having to GET OUT AND GET UNDER to repair it - to keep an appointment with his girlfriend.Harold Lloyd is simply hilarious as the single-minded fellow who will go to any length to protect his Ford car, even giving it a shot of heroin at one point to keep its motor running. Of course, every indignity & frustration is heaped upon him as he makes his determined way towards his destination, making for some wonderful sight gags. As always, his athletic prowess is remarkable, especially considering this film was produced after the accident which cost him half of his right hand.Mildred Davis, who would later marry Harold, plays his girlfriend. Sunshine Sammy Morrison, one of the earliest OUR GANG members, is very funny as the kid with the banana.Vince Giordano and His Nighthawk Orchestra have supplied an excellent antique film score which perfectly complements Harold's antics on the screen.