Harold Lloyd, the front man
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Harold Lloyd, the front man |
| Original title | The Cat's Paw |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1934 |
| length | 101 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Sam Taylor |
| script | Sam Taylor based on an idea by Clarence Budington Kelland |
| production | Harold Lloyd |
| music |
Harry Akst Roy Turk |
| camera | Walter Lundin |
| cut | Bernard W. Burton |
| occupation | |
| |
Harold Lloyd, the Straw Man is a 1934 American comedy film directed by Sam Taylor and starring Harold Lloyd .
action
Ezekiel Cobb, the somewhat naive son of an American missionary who grew up in China, is sent back to his native city one day to look for a suitable wife. In Stockport, he soon gets caught up in the mills of small-town politics and its corrupt candidate for mayor, Jake Mayo. Ezekiel, by nature a man of pure heart, cannot deal with the omnipresent falsehood and cunning and initially believes everything that is told to him, even that Mayo pretends to be honest and a great political reformer. Ezekiel's image as a “pure goal” makes him the ideal victim of the ripped-off political professionals, and thus he is superbly suited as their ignorant henchman, in English: “Cat's Paw” (the original title). And so Mayo and his cronies decide to take advantage of the rapidly increasing popularity of Cobbs locally to send him into the race as a straw man himself, so that if he wins against all expectations, they will control him like a puppet in the office of mayor could. And indeed: he wins the election!
However, contrary to expectations, Ezekiel is not so easily pushed around and abused as assumed, on the contrary: he takes his new task very seriously and has a Chinese saying from his favorite poet Ling Po ready for every awkward and difficult situation. However, Cobb soon realizes the machinations of his alleged sponsors and he decides to clean up Stockport thoroughly. But the political establishment strikes back and tries to instrumentalize and manipulate Cobb. But now Ezekiel is also gathering his men behind him. These are mainly confidants and friends from the local Chinese community. Without further ado, the experienced and corrupt political hares and their insidious supporters are kidnapped and held in a mysterious "Tien Wang cellar". Ezekiel threatens the kidnapped: Since the Western methods have not proven themselves with them, he would now use tried-and-tested Chinese methods of antiquity: Either they would admit their wrongdoing or each of them would be executed.
None of the kidnapped people believe that this harmless booby from China would be capable of such a bloody act. But when Cobb grabs one of the men and goes with him into the next room, where the poor sinner is screaming for his life, the corrupt political gang gradually becomes queasy. With the severed head on the chest of the torso, the lifeless body is carried out in front of the horrific pale kidnapping victims. Soon a second man is brought in, and the game seems to repeat itself. But of course Ezekiel Cobb, the kind-hearted missionary son who knows a Chinese wisdom for every situation, is not at all capable of committing such a cruel act. He used the magic of the "Great Chang", a magician who is currently touring the United States and amazes the audience with his tics. The only thing that is mindless is the behavior of the kidnapped men in the basement who fear for their lives.
In fact, Cobbs and Chang's trickery showed its effect on die-hard political thugs. Jake Mayo gives in and promises to support Ezekiel Cobb in his candidacy for mayor. So he finally succeeds in sweeping away all the rubbish that has seized the city of Stockport over the years using his very own "Chinese method", and in the pretty Petunia Pratt he not only finds a supporter, but also her Woman for life. Ezekiel Cob decides not to return to China and henceforth declares war on corruption and crime in Stockport. But to his greatest surprise, it is of all people Pet, his future wife, who persuades him to return to China.
Production notes
Harold Lloyd, the straw man was written from January 30th to April 23rd, 1934 and was premiered on July 30th, 1934. The mass start was on August 7, 1934. The German premiere took place on November 30, 1934. In Austria, where the strip started a little later, the distribution title “Das Schwert des Foo Wang” was chosen.
Harry Oliver designed the film structures . Alfred Newman was the musical director.
useful information
The film has a few elements - the “pure goal” that has to fend off ripped-off types and mostly also corrupt forces (from politics, the state and business) - that were typical of the most important and idealistic productions of Frank Capra in the second half of the 1930s should be. One year later, “straw man” creator Clarence Budington Kelland also provided the material for Mr. Deeds goes to town with his short story “ Opera Hat ” , and Capra's Mr. Smith goes to Washington also tells a story of a decent and kind-hearted man from the provinces (James Stewart), who goes into the political shark tank of Washington big-time politics and cleans it up with cunning and beats his challengers with their own means.
Reviews
“'The Cat's Paw', Mr. Lloyd's first film in two years, is a farce borne more by her story than the gags. In fact, her producer and outstanding lead actor insists that she be free from gags and, moreover, one of two films he has made from an existing script. That doesn't really matter, since you should measure the quality of the film by the results it contains. (…) Mr. Lloyd does his part pretty well, especially in the later scenes. Miss Merkel is excellent as the girl who ultimately sympathizes with Cobb. Mr. Barbier does an excellent job as a busy politician and Alan Dinehart does a good job as a toiling ex-mayor. "
"The film has its laughs, but it is approaching them at a snail's pace."
Paimann's film lists summed up: “The first two thirds of the film are a satire of American conditions, which is not understood by everyone here, and live only from Lloyd's acting power and the dialogue interspersed with Chinese quotes, which, apart from a few Berlinisms, is quite well Germanized Has. In the last third, a series of brilliant series of grotesque events also lifts film that is sound and photographically good for the Harold Lloyd community above average. "
“Strange Capraesque comedy finds a strange resolution when Lloyd takes the law into his own hands. A real curiosity. "
"Extremely tame star comedy from the time when he saw himself more as a character comedian than a slapstick ace."
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Sword of Foo Wang (Harold Lloyd, the straw man) in Paimann's film lists ( Memento of the original from November 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
Web links
- Harold Lloyd, the straw man in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- extensive review in The New York Times