Movie Crazy

Movie Crazy (1932) starring Harold Lloyd, Constance Cummings

Synopsis of Movie Crazy

In Movie Crazy, Harold Lloyd is a country bumpkin who desperately wants to go to Hollywood and become a star.  However, he’s not that good when trying to act – but unintentionally hilarious.  Despite failing his screen test, fate allows him to be hilarious on screen, and get a movie contract.

Review of Movie Crazy

The plot of Movie Crazy isn’t the most original, but Harold Lloyd is hilariously funny!  His character earns his nickname of “Trouble” – unintentionally.  His character isn’t funny on purpose, but he’s hilarious.  There’s an extended fight scene at the end of the film that’s one of the funniest things that I’ve ever seen.  Fans of the Three Stooges will recognize a bit there that was later “borrowed” in Sing a Song of Six Pants.  But the entire fight scene is equal parts comedy and serious.

There is the typical “boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back” romantic subplot with Constance Cummings.  He has a romantic rival in Kenneth Thomson, who becomes his opponent in the fight scene.  But before then, he attends a dance.  A formal dance, where he’s wearing a tuxedo.  A tuxedo borrowed from a magician.  Anyone who’s seen Curly Howard do this in the Three Stooges shorts knows exactly what happens next.  And, along the way, he manages to alienate a producer’s wife.  It’s a very funny scene, that starts slowly and works up to its’ conclusion.

Cast of characters

• Harold Lloyd (Bumping into Broadway) … Harold Hall aka Trouble
• Constance Cummings … Mary Sears
• Kenneth Thomson … Vance
• Louise Closser Hale … Mrs. Kitterman
• Spencer Charters (Look Who’s Laughing) … J.L. O’Brien
• Robert McWade … Wesley Kitterman – Producer
• Eddie Fetherston … Bill – Assistant Director
• Sydney Jarvis (Spite Marriage) … The Director
• Harold Goodwin (College) … Miller
• Mary Doran … Margie
• DeWitt Jennings … Mr. Hall (as De Witt Jennings)
• Lucy Beaumont … Mrs. Hall
• Arthur Housman (Our Relations) … Customer Who Didn’t Order Rabbit

Additional cast

• Bruce Bennett … Dinner Guest (uncredited)
• Jack Chefe … Party Guest (uncredited)
• Edmund Cobb … Harold’s Classmate Bill (uncredited)
• James Ford … Party Guest (uncredited)
• Wally Howe (Get Out and Get Under) … Minor Role (uncredited)
• Colin Kenny … Man Leaving Men’s Room (uncredited)
• Fred Kohler Jr. … Young Actor in Waiting Room (uncredited)
• Gus Leonard (Bumping into Broadway) … Janitor (uncredited)
• Carl M. Leviness (The Passionate Plumber) … Headwaiter at Dinner Party (uncredited)
• Sam McDaniel … Men’s Room Valet (uncredited)
• Frank McLure … Dinner Party Guest (uncredited)
• Harold Miller … Party Guest (uncredited)
• Bert Moorhouse … Dinner Party Guest (uncredited)
• William H. O’Brien … Waiter (uncredited)
• Edward Peil Sr. Edward Peil Sr. … Waiter (uncredited)
• Jack Perrin … Man in Screening Room (uncredited)
• John J. Richardson … Drunk (uncredited)
• Constantine Romanoff (Saps at Sea) … Duval (uncredited)
• Ronald R. Rondell (A Chump at Oxford) … Party Guest (uncredited)
• Dick Rush … Studio Guard (uncredited)
• Grady Sutton (The Bank Dick) … Man Afraid of Mice (uncredited)
• Ellinor Vanderveer (The Battle of the Century) … Mrs. Crumplin (uncredited)
• Harold ‘Hal’ Varney … Kitterman’s Chauffeur (uncredited)
• Blackie Whiteford (The Hoose-Gow) … Tough Studio Cop (uncredited)
• Noah Young (Do Detectives Think?) … Traffic Cop (uncredited)

Trivia

• Clyde Bruckman is the credited director, but most of the film was actually directed by Harold Lloyd. This was due to Bruckman’s often being incapacitated due to his alcoholism.
• The final climax of the picture on board of the ship between Harold and Vance was basically reworked from Harold Lloyd’s “The Kid Brother“. The film was also shot with a silent film camera to re-create the Lloyd silent technique and the sound effects and dialogue were recorded in post-production.