The Kid Brother (1927)

The most important family in Hickoryville is (naturally enough) the Hickorys, with sheriff Jim and his tough manly sons Leo and Olin. The timid youngest son, Harold, doesn't have the ... See full summary »

Directors:

Ted Wilde, J.A. Howe

Writers:

John Grey (story), Ted Wilde (story),

Stars:

Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Walter James

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Harold Lloyd	...	Harold Hickory
Jobyna Ralston	...	Mary Powers
Walter James	...	Jim Hickory
Leo Willis	...	Leo Hickory
Olin Francis	...	Olin Hickory
Constantine Romanoff	...	Sandoni (as C. Romanoff)
Eddie Boland	...	'Flash' Farrell
Frank Lanning	...	Sam Hooper
Ralph Yearsley	...	Hank Hooper (as R. Yearsley)

Storyline

The most important family in Hickoryville is (naturally enough) the Hickorys, with sheriff Jim and his tough manly sons Leo and Olin. The timid youngest son, Harold, doesn't have the muscles to match up to them, so he has to use his wits to win the respect of his strong father and also the love of beautiful Mary.

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Plot Keywords:

medicine show | sheriff | rural setting | father son relationship | farm | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Family | Romance

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

17 January 1927 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Mountain Day

Filming Locations:

Placentia, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Harold Lloyd Corporation

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min 82 min (1990 alternate)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Production originally began with Lewis Milestone as director. Production photos show that Milestone directed a few scenes but, due to contract difficulties with Warner Brothers, he had to resign. He was replaced by Ted Wilde, but Wilde had to leave the film due to illness (he later died of a stroke). Harold Lloyd replaced Wilde with gagmen J.A. Howe and Lex Neal, but Lloyd wound up directing much of the film himself, as he did with most of his films. He never took credit for directing, however, only producing.

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Goofs

Harold's position changes when he falls into the little boat.

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Connections

Featured in Silent Clowns: Harold Lloyd (2006)

User Reviews

One Of The All-Time Classics

All silent movie buffs know about Chaplin's THE GOLD RUSH and Keaton's THE GENERAL. Strangely, THE KID BROTHER has been almost forgotten, which is a shame, as it is Harold Lloyd's masterpiece.

Better known for the "human fly" sequence in SAFETY LAST, it is in THE KID BROTHER that Harold reaches the top level of silent comedy stardom, alongside Chaplin & Keaton.

The story is a Western, set mostly on the ranch where Harold lives with his burly sheriff father and two older brothers. There's a dumb bully down the road, a very pretty young lady, a traveling medicine show and a nasty, bald bad guy. I don't want to give away any of the plot, but suffice it to say that Harold gets to showcase his famous athletic agility and there is a very complex & satisfying final showdown with Mr. Bad Guy at the climax.

For pure romanticism, however, there are few scenes in any silent film that can beat the one where Harold climbs a tree, ever higher, for one more glimpse of the very pretty young lady. It's about as sweet as they come...