Lazybones (1925)

Director:

Frank Borzage

Writers:

Owen Davis (novel)
Frances Marion (writer)

Release Date:

6 November 1925 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | War

Plot:

Steve Tuttle, the titular lazybones, takes on the responsibility of raising a fatherless girl, causing a scandal in his small town...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Cast

Buck Jones	...	Lazybones
Madge Bellamy	...	Kit
Virginia Marshall	...	Kit as a girl
Edythe Chapman	...	Mrs. Tuttle
Leslie Fenton	...	Dick Ritchie
Jane Novak	...	Agnes Fanning
Emily Fitzroy	...	Mrs. Fanning
Zasu Pitts	...	Ruth Fanning
William Bailey	...	Elmer Ballister

Runtime:

80 min

Country:

USA

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Company:

Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Lazybones opened at the Vanberbilt Theater on September 22, 1924 and ran for 79 performances.

The Inexorable Passing Of Time

"Lazybones", directed by Herr Frank Borzage was the beginning of this director's most fruitful period in the silent era. Like Herr Borzage's other most important and remarkable silent films,"Lazybones" was produced for Fox.

"Lazybones" tells the story of Steve Tuttle ( Buck Jones ) "a man as slow as molasses in winter" so the people gave him the nickname of "Lazybones" a man with many unrequited loves that he will sacrifice in a languid way true to his character. The film combines a refined sense of humour with a kind of melancholy melodrama developed by excellent actors who are perfect in their different characters. Buck Jones was mainly famous for his cowboy roles ( And Borzage himself was also noted for his early westerns ). Steve's opposite is JaneNovak (Zasu Pitts) , a victim of her strict mother, and who is a fragile character with little chance for rebellion in a town where convention rules and keeping up appearances is a very important matter.

In this film nature and the landscapes are very important too and become subtle characters in their own right. They sometimes reflect the different moods or the special way of life of the different characters of the film, ( sunny, idyllic and carefree for Lazybones and unsettled and windy for the women ). The decisive importance of the background shows an European influence, especially from the Danes and Swedes. The film is also an excellent example of the Herr Borzage mastery of storytelling and pacing. Technical effects, flashbacks and camera movements are combined in such an imperceptible manner that the audience can feel and sense the inexorable passing of time in an elegant, sad but beautiful way…,this German count, who lacks some of the common human feelings, still thinks that makes for poetry, doesn't it?

And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must go stretch.

Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien