A Harold Lloyd comedy short, originally 3 reels long, but cut down to a long 2 reels. It can easily be divided into 3 segments, which are summarized in my review title......It begins with Lloyd jaywalking across a very busy road, oblivious to oncoming traffic because he's bringing flowers to his sweetie. Looks like a very dangerous stunt, which he will later repeat, pushing a baby carriage.: even more dangerous.. Their wedding day is presented as a cartoon. Why? Then, it cuts to 1 year later, when they are walking a baby buggy down the sidewalk. But, it looks to be empty, with just a blanket. Actually, it's functioning as a booze buggy, transporting some bootleg liquor. A lady stops them and pulls back the cover, which is said to cover a baby. Pretty soon, we see lots of other booze buggies being wheeled around........Lloyd's wife (played by actual future wife Mildred Davis) enters a store, leaving Lloyd to finish the booze run. But, before he makes it home, he passes his brother-in-law's house, His brother-in-law is sitting on the front steps with his 2 children: 4y.o. Jackie Morgan, and baby Jackie Edwards, wondering who's going to take care of them for the next day. He basically dumps them on Lloyd, claiming they won't be any bother. Yea. right!! Upon arrival at home, J.M. couldn't wait to explore things. He discovers the liquor bottle in the buggy, so Lloyd has to hide it elsewhere. While Lloyd is in another room, he dumps the contents of a box of 'things' on the floor. As Lloyd puts them back in, he takes them out again. At this point, the wife arrives and comforts J.E.. J.M. finds a tool box,, and begins to saw off the leg of a stuffed chair. While Lloyd is fixing a baby bottle for J.E., J.M. nails his shoes to the floor. Lloyd is very clumsy transferring milk from the milk bottle to the baby bottle, and capping it. He ends up spilling most of it when it falls of the floor. Since there is no more regular milk, he refills it with buttermilk. We don't get to see what the baby thinks of buttermilk.......They read about a burglar who has hit several houses in their area, and imagine what they might do if he comes to their door. That night , Lloyd is disturbed by a circle of light, like a flashlight, moving around his bedroom(This is never explained). He gets up to investigate. The cat knocks over several things , scaring Lloyd., like he's afraid of a ghost(as in Lloyd's "Haunted Spooks"). The cat again makes mischief by knocking over a box of marbles, which roll down the steps. Also, it accidentally releases a helium balloon with a scary face. This gets caught on Lloyd's back, hence follows him. Eventually, the balloon bursts, causing Lloyd to assume he's been shot. An African American woman is walking around in the dark investigating the apparent gunshot. Lloyd crashes into her as he is running, causing her to drop her candle, which lands on a pile of firecracker rockets, which soon begin to zoom around the room. Then, someone knocks at the front door. Inadvisably, Lloyd opens it to reveal a face like he saw in the newspaper. He runs upstairs to the bedroom, and locks the door. The man runs after him, and beats on the door, claiming he's the night watchman, come to investigate the disturbances in this house. Lloyd doesn't believe. Meanwhile, the African American climbs the stairs and beats on the burglar, knocking him to the floor. Lloyd opens the door. What happens next is obscure. Lloyd opens the package his wife bought that day, and finds a tiny outfit for a baby. He assumes she is pregnant, which she confirms. Lloyd mouths "Oh, God", in horror........There are many highly unlikely contrivances in this section, which add to the fun, but make me cringe in disbelief.
Review of I Do
I Do
(1921)
The booze buggy, the kid from Hades, and the haunted house.
23 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers