Never Weaken (1921)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Fred C. Newmeyer

Writers:

Hal Roach (story)
Sam Taylor (story)

Release Date:

22 October 1921 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Comedy | Thriller

Plot:

Our hero (Lloyd) is infatuated with a girl in the next office. In order to drum up business for her boss...

Plot Keywords:

Acme Brand | Three Reeler

Cast

Harold Lloyd	...	The Boy
Mildred Davis	...	The Girl
Roy Brooks	...	The Other Man
Mark Jones	...	The Acrobat
Charles Stevenson	...	The Police Force

Runtime:

19 min | 29 min (2005 DVD version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

UK:U

Filming Locations:

Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Rolin Films

Trivia:

Pioneering stuntman Harvey Parry doubled for Harold Lloyd in several of the most dangerous shots in this and other Lloyd films; only after the death of Lloyd (who was always said to do his own stunts) did Parry "go public" about his involvement.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The Fall (2006)

The first half is rather amusing but the skyscraper routine in the second half makes it worth seeing

In a city full of skyscrapers a boy and a girl fall in love between window ledges. However their romance seems to be under threat when a lack of patients for her boss's doctor's surgery sees her told she'll be laid off. In order to keep his office hours relationship alive, the boy sets out to drum up some business and thus keep her job.

I've not seen enough Harold Lloyd to say whether or not I'm a massive fan but I have certainly never had any great desire to hunt his films down in the same way as I have with Laurel and Hardy (whom I generally adore). However with BBC4's consistently impressive Silent Clown's series of documentaries, I got a rare opportunity to see one of his shorts as selected by Paul Merton. The overly jaunty new score played over the film was a bit of a pain because although it fitted the action on screen, I didn't think it worked for the period the film came from. Regardless I got into the mild humour of Lloyd drumming up injuries on the streets as the film got going until it reached the high (sorry) point of the skyscraper conclusion. This section is pretty much the whole show as it demonstrates his daredevil sense of humour.

Sure he isn't actually 50 stories above the ground but the stunts are still very impressive let me assure you. His timing is good and although I didn't find this hilarious, he is impressive in how he plays the audience for laughs and gasps at the same time. The support cast all play to form but this is all about Lloyd and, considering I'm not a real fan, I did think he was well worth seeing.

Overall an impressive and amusing silent short film. Not as out and out funny as I would have hoped but the skyscraper scrapes are well worth seeing and make the second part of the film much stronger than the rather genial first half.