Harold, the dragon slayer
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Harold the Dragon Slayer Warning, Harold, Warning! |
| Original title | Welcome Danger |
 | |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1929 |
| length | 113 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Clyde Bruckman Malcolm St. Clair (anonymous) |
| script |
Felix Adler Lex Neal Clyde Bruckman Harold Lloyd (anonymous) Paul Girard Smith (dialogue only) |
| production | Harold Lloyd |
| camera |
Henry Kohler Walter Lundin |
| cut |
Bernard W. Burton Carl Himm |
| occupation | |
| |
Harold the Dragon Slayer is an American slapstick comedy with crime thriller elements from 1929 by Clyde Bruckman with Harold Lloyd , who was also responsible as the producer, in the title role. It was Lloyd's first sound film.
action
The meek Harold Bledsoe leads an orderly and highly unspectacular life as a botanist. One day the Police asked Captain Walton to come to San Francisco. Harold, the son of the city's former police chief, is said to provide important assistance in the fight against the opium dens, which are in Chinese hands. On the way there, Bledsoe's train makes a short stop as a small repair is due. Harold seizes the opportunity and leaves his car because he has spotted a rare blossom on a tree that he finds interesting. In order to get closer to it, Bledsoe unceremoniously mounts a cow, which promptly gallops away with Harold on her at the sound of the train signaling the continuation of the journey. The train to San Francisco continues without him.
Harold is lucky: he meets the young Billy Lee, who wants to drive her handicapped little brother Buddy to an important operation in San Francisco. Billie has a machine problem that Bledsoe tries to fix without being really skilled. She takes him anyway. Harold is joking around with Billie because she looks more like a boy from a repair shop in the overalls she wears and the cap on her head. Another carelessness has given Billie a real engine problem, and she is forced to spend the night with Harold in the middle of nowhere. Since Bledsoe's cheekiness towards her persists, Billie decides to change into a tent. When she returns, a pretty young lady is standing in front of Bledsoe. He is so shocked - also about his snotty, chummy behavior - that he first runs away. Billie grabs Harold and they both start over. They later split up and Harold takes another train to take him to the west coast.
In the meantime, in San Francisco, Captain Walton is holding talks with the Chinese doctor Dr. Chang Gow, who doesn't believe in drugs at all. He's the surgeon supposed to fix Buddy's leg. Even John Thorne, who pretends to be a decent citizen, acts very harmless and plays the decent citizen. In truth he is the leader of the local drug gang and calls himself "The Dragon". Arriving in San Francisco, Harold, who initially appears harmless to Captain Walton, immediately cuts a fine figure when he disarms a criminal who has taken several officers hostage in the police office. Bledsoe learns everything about taking fingerprints and, extremely fascinated by this type of search for perpetrators, harasses every visitor to the police station with the desire to take fingerprints of him. Even the supposedly innocent John Thorne has to "believe in it". The sergeant on duty at the station is increasingly annoyed and wants to get rid of the newcomer who “intervenes” as quickly as possible. And so he decides to send Harold on a secret mission to Chinatown with a selected pair of fingerprints - those of Thorne of all things, which the sergeant claims are the prints of the "dragon". Here he should try to infiltrate the underworld gang. One is sure that Bledsoe will be busy for the time being.
During his foray into Chinatown, Harold sees Billie again and greets her. He wants to give her a small present and tries to buy a particularly beautiful potted plant in a Chinese flower shop, but for incomprehensible reasons they stubbornly refuse to sell this flower to Bledsoe. Harold is very persistent, without further ado throws money at the seller's feet and runs away with the plant, always two Chinese on his heels. Eventually Harold escapes and goes to Billie, where Dr. Gow looking at Buddy's lame leg. Carelessly, the flower pot falls to the ground and breaks. Instead of earth there is a small package with opium in it. Dr. Gow warns Billie and Harold not to tell anyone about the find and goes to the florist where he is kidnapped. Soon after, the radio reported Gow's kidnapping. Since Buddy's chances of being cured could be zero if he disappears, Harold immediately goes in search of the medic.
Because of the drug discovery, Bledsoe concluded with good reason that the flower shop in Chinatown must be the headquarters of the opium gang. On the spot he meets Officer Clancy, whom he already knows from the police station. Both go to the store, where one has already expected them and tries to confuse them with all kinds of scary gimmicks and to deter them from further penetration. Clancy leaves for a moment to call for reinforcements. Soon there is an open confrontation between Bledsoe, who disguised himself as a Chinese, and the gang members. While Harold is groping his way through the cellar below the flower shop, the "dragon" is already preparing the murder of Dr. Gows before. It comes to a duel, Harold against the "dragon". Although Gow's killing can be prevented, the gang leader manages to escape with his hostage. Reinforcements approach and arrest the subordinate gang Chinese. Back at the police station there are two surprises for Harold: Billie is already waiting for him, and he is informed that he has only been fooled with the fingerprint of the alleged “dragon”. But then Harold discovers a real fingerprint on his forehead, which the real "dragon" left while fighting him.
Indeed, this fingerprint on the hair is exactly the same as the Thornes. The police colleagues can not believe that and laugh at Bledsoe, John Thorne is considered a man of honor from head to toe. When Thorne shows up at the station, Harold confronts him face to face with his findings. He stays cool while Harold is temporarily booked in because of his alleged assaults. But Bledsoe escapes and secretly follows Thorne into his house. He believes he is safe here, so that Harold Thorne can even elicit a confession. The police show up because they followed Harold. Still nobody wants to believe that John Thorne is the "dragon". But then Harold discovers Dr. Gow gagged and handcuffed in a closet in Thorne's study. Thorne is arrested, and Billie accepts Harold's awkward marriage proposal.
Production notes
Lloyd's first sound film, Harold the Dragon Slayer , was made in mid-1929 and premiered on October 12, 1929. The German premiere took place on January 7, 1931. On June 16, 1980, the German television premiere took place on ZDF .
useful information
Director Malcolm St. Clair had started the film silently. When Clyde Bruckman took over the direction, the overall concept was changed to sound film. The film originally ran for 2 hours 45 minutes and was well received in this version during a test screening with an audience. Still, the length seemed overly hostile to the audience, and it was decided to cut out about half of Welcome Danger . Then you started with the synchronous work. The film was a huge box office hit. The total cost was $ 980,000 and the revenue was nearly $ 3 million. This made Harold the Dragon Slayer the most successful Lloyd flick since The Sports Student .
Reviews
The trade journal Variety ruled in October 1929 that Lloyd "had nothing to fear the sound film" and added, "His voice comes across perfectly and it shows personality in its rendering."
Mordaunt Hall of The New York Times wrote about Lloyds's first sound film, "Mr. Lloyd's voice may not be particularly impressive, but it fits his personality. (...) This film sparked laughter yesterday afternoon and at the same time some in the audience seemed to be completely satisfied with the outcome of the feverish event. It's a film full of ingenious gags, but the dialogue is invariably amateurish. It's hilarious, but never as engaging as "Speedy," Mr. Lloyd's last attempt. It has a number of wildly absurd incidents that are often funny nonetheless. While you laugh at them, you can also tell how stupid they are ... "
Halliwell's Film Guide concluded: "Moderate early sound comedy that shows the star had some problems with tempo and dialogue."
The film service says: “Lloyd's first sound film, which you can tell that it was conceived as a silent film and that it was enriched with dialogue passages that are now perceived as excessively long. Despite the length caused by the new technology, the film remains worth seeing as a contemporary document as well as for the sake of some incomparable gag sequences. "
Individual evidence
- ↑ Welcome Danger on tcm.turner.com
- ^ Critique in Variety of October 23, 1929, p. 17
- ^ Review in the New York Times of October 21, 1929
- ^ Leslie Halliwell : Halliwell's Film Guide, Seventh Edition, New York 1989, p. 1099
- ↑ Harold, the Dragon Slayer. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 31, 2019 .
Web links
- Harold, the dragon slayer at the American Film Institute
- Harold, the dragon slayer on Turner Classic Movies
- Harold, the dragon slayer in the Internet Movie Database (English)