Bumping Into Broadway (1919)

Young playwright spends his last cent to pay the rent of struggling actress in a theatrical boarding house. Pursuing her, he winds up at a gambling club, where he wins big, just before a police raid.

Writer:

H.M. Walker (titles)

Stars:

Harold Lloyd, Bebe Daniels, 'Snub' Pollard

Cast

Cast overview:
Harold Lloyd	...	The Boy
Bebe Daniels	...	The Girl
'Snub' Pollard	...	Director of Musical Comedy (as Harry Pollard)
Helen Gilmore	...	'Bearcat' the Landlady
Noah Young	...	The Bearcat's Bouncer
Fred C. Newmeyer	...	(as Freddie Neomeyer)
Charles Stevenson
Sammy Brooks
Gus Leonard	...	Desperate Spinster

Storyline

She's a chorus girl in unpaid tryouts for a Broadway show, behind in her rent, about to be evicted. He's in the room next door, from Peoria, struggling to write his first comedy; he's also behind in his rent. He gives her his last dollar so she can square with "Bearcat," the landlady, then he has to avoid Bearcat and her bouncer. Later, he tries to get his comedy read by the production manager at the same theater where his neighbor's just been fired. She's desperate, so she agrees to lunch with a Lothario, who takes her to a speakeasy. Our comedy-writer follows them to the club where an accidental roulette bet, a police raid, and a hectic pursuit end the story.

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Plot Keywords:

boarding house | playwright | police raid | fired from the job | roulette wheel | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Short

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Certificate:

TV-G

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

2 November 1919 (USA)

Also Known As:

Broadway ütközet

Company Credits

Production Co:

Rolin Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

25 min 25 min (2004 alternate)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in Silent Clowns: Harold Lloyd (2006)

User Reviews

BUMPING INTO Broadway (Hal Roach, 1919) ***

Despite the title, the plot of this Harold Lloyd short is evenly distributed among three different settings: a boarding-house, a theater and an exclusive club. As in FROM HAND TO MOUTH (1919), comedy emerges out of the characters' desperation - but there's no denying the assuredness of the gags (in fact, I'd say that this one's an even better film) and, in any case, H.M. Walker's title cards are among the wittiest for a Silent that I've come across! Lloyd is in his element as the perennial dreamer, a novice playwright, and Bebe Daniels is an ideal co-star as an aspiring Broadway star. Still, the best scenes are probably those set in the casino - where the penniless Lloyd accidentally cops himself a large sum of money but, needless to say, he's not allowed to reap the rewards of his fortune because the joint is raided soon after by the Police!