weezeralfalfa Review of Hard Luck

Hard Luck (1921)

After various failures and disappointments, Keaton emerges a winner

[6/10 · 16 September 2018]

According to a critic, Keaton stated that this was his favorite of his comedy shorts. Well, I can't see it. To me, it's subpar compared to most others I have seen. Keaton's character is depressed because he can't seem to hold a job, and his girl jilted him. He's feeling suicidal, but his clumsy attempts to carry it out are all failures, although some were not his fault. His attempt to be run over by a trolley is foiled when the trolley suddenly reverses its direction, apparently oblivious to him. Then, at night, he runs out into the road, between 2 headlights, but was unscathed by the 2 motorcycles driving in parallel. His attempt to hang himself on a tree limb is a failure because he forgot to tie the rope to the limb!. Yet, next, we see him tethered to the limb, with his feet on the ground and the rope around his neck.......Given a horse to ride, he has trouble mounting it, the elastic stirrup strap not helping. Eventually, he mounts via the neck of the animal. Later, at the pavilion of the riding club, Lizard Lip Luke(Joe Roberts) and his gang of thieves attack, and Luke tries to rape the diminutive young woman(Virginia Fox). Keaton goes about protecting her, then proposes marriage. But she laughingly points out that she's married to wrestler Bull Montana. In response, he climbs to the pool high diving board, and dives off, aiming his dive too far forward(presumably on purpose),making a big crater in the pool surround. If his purpose was to commit suicide, he again failed. However, he could not be found in that hole, but several years later emerged from it wearing Chinese garb and sporting a Chinese wife and 2 kids. This is said to be one of Keaton's favorite gags. But, to me, it wasn't terribly funny, knowing the nature of the Earth. Just silly and ironic. Perhaps you don't agree?......This last gag was missing from the copy found in the 1980s. Thus, a still picture of the Chinese family is supplied in some copies. However, this ending was later found, and is incorporated in most copies at present. I wonder how he avoided injury on his landing from the diving board? .....See it at YouTube, where there are a number of copies.