Year: 1920
Director: Hal Roach
Country: US
Language: English
Harold Lloyd is best known for hanging off the clock in Safety Last! (1923), an enduring image in classic cinema. In the 1910's he was just coming into his own in Hollywood, working with Hal Roach to create an "everyman" persona who's comedy came from unwavering confidence in the face of tremendous adversity. They called this persona the "Glass" character & it would eventually rival Keaton's "Stoneface" & Chaplin's "Tramp" in terms of popularity in the 20's. An Eastern Westerner (1920) would be made just as his popularity was about to skyrocket into the stratusphere.
A spoiled rich city boy is shipped off to a ranch in the 'wild west ' by his father. Therin he is swooned by a woman and bullied by an outlaw.
Early two-reeler comedy Westerns were often made cheaply and thus had a very low production quality. It was often quire obvious that they were made in a studio, with the actors in front of a painting or low quality set. An Eastern Westerner is notable because the setting is incredibly detailed. It's dusty and rough looking, with big outdoor sequences that take us back to that era. It certainly feels like we've been transported to the Wild West.
An Eastern Westerner is a very satisfying comedy that is consistently clever and amusing, offering an assortment of gags and a decent love story. LLoyd comes off as quite charming; his character is quite likeable especially compared to his previous shorts. The build up to the manic chase scene, which seems to have obviously inspired A Hard Day's Night, is worthwhile and proves the picture also had an excellent choreographer on set.
Though I'm a bigger fan of his feature length work, Harold Lloyd's shorts are nothing to dismiss either & An Eastern Westerner is the best of them. With a run-time of only 20 minutes, this is a film you have time to see TODAY. What are you waiting for? Go watch it!
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