Lloyd plays Harold, the youngest milquetoast son of the town sheriff, Jim Hickory (Walter James). Because of his weakling reputation, his father and two strapping big brothers, Leo and Olin, refuse to take him seriously. When Jim, Leo and Olin are away at a town meeting discussing the funding for construction of a dam, Harold fantasizes about being sheriff and puts on his father Jim’s badge and gun. A fast-talking carny, Flash Ferrell (Eddie Boland), mistakes Harold for the real thing, and Harold magnanimously gives Ferrell a permit for the medicine show he’s running for orphan girl Mary (Jobyna Ralston). When father Jim returns, he’s none too pleased and orders Harold to personally shut down the show. Things don’t go as planned. With the aid of Harold’s arch-rival, Hank Hooper (Ralph Yearsley), Ferrell makes a fool out of Harold and, in the ensuing ruckus, the medicine show burns down. Harold sheepishly agrees to take Mary in so she’ll have a place to sleep, but is left with the problem of hiding her presence from his slumbering father and brothers. Events come to a head when the money the town has put aside for the dam goes missing, and sheriff Jim is arrested for embezzling. Leo and Olin go after Ferrell and strongman Sandoni, who Jim suspects are the real culprits, but they have no luck. It’s left up to Harold to save the day. The concluding foot chase between Sandoni and Harold all over a huge abandoned ship, the villains’ hideout, is one Lloyd’s great comic setpieces.
Print courtesy of the Harold Lloyd Trust.
“Considered Lloyd’s masterpiece, The Kid Brother (1927) represents Lloyd’s richest and most beautifully sustained storytelling.” – Jeffrey M. Anderson, Combustible Celluloid
“Harold Lloyd has clicked again with The Kid Brother, about as gaggy a gag picture as he has ever done. It is just a series of gags, one following the other, some funny and others funnier.” – Variety
Explore more about this masterful silent comedian on the Official Harold Lloyd website.
Ariel Schudson discusses the legacy of Harold Lloyd on the New Beverly blog.
