Get Out and Get Under (1920)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Hal Roach

Writer:

H.M. Walker (titles)

Release Date:

26 September 1920 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Plot:

The comic adventures of a new car owner.

Plot Keywords:

Fly | Chase | Dog | Fire Hydrant | Motorcycle Cop

Cast

Harold Lloyd	...	The Boy
Mildred Davis	...	The Girl
Fred McPherson	...	The Rival

Runtime:

25 min (1995 alternate version) (2004 alternate version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-G (TV rating)

Company:

Rolin Films

Trivia:

The title, "Get Out and Get Under," comes from a popular 1913 song, "He'd Have To Get Under - Get Out And Get Under (To Fix Up His Automobile)" (Music by Maurice Abrahams; Lyrics by Grant Clarke and Edgar Leslie). Robert Israel's score in the 2004 alternate version frequently uses melodies from this song.

Goofs:

Continuity: As the little boy closes the hood of the car, all of the tools slide into the engine compartment. Two shots later, as Harold cranks up the car, they're back on the open hood.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "American Masters: Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius" (1989)

Get Out And Get Under (Hal Roach, 1920) **1/2

Fair Harold Lloyd short which presents several gags he would re-use and improve upon in his later feature films. It opens with a scene at a photographer's studio where Harold discovers that his girl Mildred Davis is about to marry another man - but it all turns out to have been just a dream. He's involved in amateur theatricals and, being late for a performance, rushes out to the venue in his beloved car: amid the vehicle's breaking down on him, he falls foul of an elderly neighbor and a colored child; the race-against-time, then, culminates in the usual pursuit by a horde of policemen. The automobile trouble eventually gets a bit repetitive, but the film nevertheless includes the occasional inspired and hilarious gag - such as when Harold 'disappears' inside the car's engine compartment, an actor accidentally falling off the stage (after being 'killed') promptly going back up to resume his performance i.e. affecting a typically melodramatic 'exit' and, especially, when Lloyd sees a junkie getting high in the street and reasons that, if he injects his vehicle with the same substance, it will be likewise revitalized - which is what happens, as the car goes off on its own soon after 'taking' its fix!