High and Dizzy (1920)

Director:

Hal Roach

Writer:

Frank Terry (story)

Release Date:

11 July 1920 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Short

Plot:

A tipsy doctor encounters his patient sleepwalking on a building ledge, high above the street.

Plot Keywords:

Doctor | Ledge | Hotel | Sleepwalking | Still

Cast

Harold Lloyd	...	The Boy
Roy Brooks	...	His Friend
Mildred Davis	...	The Girl
Wallace Howe	...	Her Father

Runtime:

USA:26 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Rolin Films

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Is It Real?: Extreme Sleepwalking (#2.12)" (2005)

Young Lloyd Still In The Learning Stage

I rarely mention what other reviewers say but since there are only a half dozen reviews of this Harold Lloyd Short, I read them all and would pretty much agree with the comments about it being "uneven" and Lloyd's drunk routine not up to his 'character,' a persona he had acquired by the mid to late '20s, I admit, though, he and actor Ray Brooks team up to do a few funny gags as the two drunks stagger their way around town. It's obvious Lloyd is talented, but was still learning what roles were going to work best for him down the road.

There are some other clever sight gags in here (a man tying himself up in post, Lloyd pretending to be his first patients as a doctor, etc.) but overall this isn't really much until the final five minutes when Harold goes into his walking-on- the-ledge of a building routine. It's pretty amazing stuff. The romantic ending with the quickest wedding 'ceremony' in history is totally goofy but fun to watch.

To be perfectly honest, I was expecting more. This isn't one of Lloyd's films I sit through often, even if it is short.