An Eastern Westerner
Dir: Hal Roach
1920
*****
In Hal Roach's 1920 short An Eastern Westerner, Harold Lloyd plays a spoiled New York socialite who is sent to live on a ranch in the wild west by his tired father, to give him a lesson and to take him away from New York and the temptations of misbehavior. Outlandish Cowboy themed stunts follow suit. Harold Lloyd is on fine form as always, maybe even more so considering he had just had half of his right hand blown off by a prop bomb just weeks before filming. Mildred Davis (Lloyd's future Wife) plays the love interest perfectly and Noah Young is the perfect bad-guy. It's not Lloyd's greatest short comedy but it's definitely up there.

Get out and get under
Dir: Hal Roach
1920
*****
Get out and get under was one of the first films to really discover the full potential of the automobile and its role in comedy. The Keystone comedies had used cars before but they never had stunts like this (although they did have a car drive round a house which was brilliant) No one ever jumped out of a moving car, ran after it and got back in before though, the great Harold Lloyd was the first and he made it look easy. It's timeless, wonderful and still very funny. One of Hal Roach's best, although I don't think he ever made a bad film.

High and Dizzy
Dir: Hal Roach
1920
*****
No one quite plays drunk as well as Harold Lloyd does in High and Dizzy. The ledge scene was obviously where he got the idea for Safety Last and will make anyone with vertigo feel quite dizzy. The timing as ever, is spot on and remains key to it's overall success. One of my very favourites of his.