Look Pleasant, Please

Look Pleasant, Please (1918)

** (out of 4)

A group of women go to have their pictures taken but the photographer is somewhat of a creep as he can't keep his hands off them. This doesn't sit well for one woman (Bebe Daniels) who calls her husband (Bud Jamison) who threatens to kill the photographer. Before he gets there however, an innocent man (Harold Lloyd) takes over the job and he doesn't realize the trouble he's in. LOOK PLEASANT, PLEASE is a pretty weak comedy and in fact there's really not any laughs. The basic "story" is pretty simple as you wait and wait and then wait some more for the husband to show up but this doesn't happen until the very end of the film. Everything leading up to that was pretty boring as Lloyd finds himself taking pictures even though he hasn't a clue to what he's doing. For the most part we just get a group of people showing up and Lloyd makes them pose in weird positions. It's just not funny. I will say that the comic legend does a nice job with the part and he certainly keeps it a lot more interesting than it deserves to be. Daniels pretty much disappears from the picture so she can't add much and the same is true for Jamison who just doesn't get anything to do.

Look Pleasant, Please is one of the early Harold Lloyd shorts, where the comedian adopted his signature "glasses" character, who, while consistently well-meaning, always found a way to get into trouble and waltz into sticky situations. Here, he plays a man who is victim to a cruel misunderstanding when a photo studio operator ('Snub' Pollard), who's prime interest is flirting with his female customers, takes a pass at one of his female clientele (Bebe Daniels) and goes too far. She phones for her husband, who agrees to come down and rough up the photographer, but when the photographer lends his job over to Harold in a panic, he now becomes the unintentional target for the woman's brutish husband.

There isn't a great deal to say about Look Pleasant, Please other than its own look is rather unpolished and quite manic but not to any particular fault. It moves, it's kinetic enough to be entertaining, but it also stops and recognizes setup is key overall, never loaning too much of its energy to slapstick, although finding a time and place for it. Lloyd is a thoroughly watchable talent, frantic and bearing enough energy for the entire cast of characters, and clearly loves what he's doing every step of the way. The short is sweet and cheerful and, in its own right, a staple to what the late 1910's cinema was all about.

Starring: Harold Lloyd, 'Snub' Pollard, and Bebe Daniels. Directed by: Alfred J. Goulding.

The premise to "Look Pleasant, Please" is quite funny. Unfortunately, it was made early in Harold Lloyd when he played mostly unlikable jerks...and the sweet 1920s version of Harold could have made this a much better short film.

The film stars the usual trio from this period in Lloyd's career...Harold, Bebe Daniels and Snub Pollard...along with a few others. It is set at a photographer's studio...and the photographer is a perv who cannot keep his greasy hands off pretty ladies. One of them (Daniels) is so incensed at him that she calls her jealous husband...who vows to kill the photographer.

In the meantime, Harold is running from the police for swindling customers at his grocery store. He ducks into the photography studio and the photographer leaves Harold in charge and runs! Now, poor Harold has to contend with not only customers who he has no idea how to help but a homicidal husband.

As I said above, Harold's character is NOT a nice guy but a real jerk...so there is no sympathy for him and his plight. Still, despite this problem the film has quite a few funny moments and is a must-see for Lloyd fans. Non-fans should instead look for his later and much better work.

Harold Lloyd was still settling into his Glasses character at the time this one was made and after a short introduction as a greengrocer with a few jokes on that subject, he winds up substituting for a portrait photographer who has insulted Bebe Daniels and whose husband, Bud Jamison, is seeking revenge.

The gags are still very violent at this stage in the Glasses character's evolution, but they are fairly amusing and brilliantly timed. I have some issues with the screen titles, which are more pun-concerned than usual. Also, Snub Pollard, although given his customary credit, doesn't have much of a role. This one is about Harold and the others are supporting players.