4/02/2019

For Heaven's Sake (1926) - Lloyd's antics unleashed in a missionary setting

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A very glass-eyed and stiff-looking young lady stands beside a merry Harold Lloyd on this drawn and colorized poster for Sam Taylor's For Heaven's Sake

A loaded uptown man accidentally finances a missionary house and falls head over heels in love with a girl he meets during this entanglement.

For Heaven's Sake is written by Ted Wilde (The Freshman (1925)), John Grey (How's About It (1943)) and Clyde Bruckman (Three Hams on Rye (1950)) and directed by Sam Taylor (Skyline (1931)). It is one of silent era comedic superstar Harold Langdon's (Heap Big Chief (1919, short)) so-called 'gag pictures'.
Langdon tends to divide people, and I am not among his greatest fans. His slapstick routines become tired for me fairly quickly, when there is no fabulous overlying story, as is the case in this outing.
For Heaven's Sake does still have its funny moments and incredible stunts; particularly the bus scene towards the end is genuinely impressive.








Watch a video of clips of Langdon's slapstick from the film here

Cost: Unknown
Box office: Reportedly 2.6 mil. $
= Uncertain (but certainly a major hit)
[For Heaven's Sake premiered 4 April (USA) and runs 58 minutes. Shooting took place in Los Angeles, California. The production was reportedly troubled, and an underworld section was cut out. Langdon was unhappy with the result and considered shelving the film. Instead it became one of his biggest hits and, according to a 1932 Variety article, the 12th highest-grossing film of the silent era. Taylor returned with Exit Smiling (1926). Langdon returned in The Kid Brother (1927). 1,280 IMDb users have given For Heaven's Sake a 7.5/10 average rating.]

What do you think of For Heaven's Sake?

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