I'm still starting with the work of the prolific Harold Lloyd, actually this was just the very first experience with a feature film with Lloyd. I have seen before only four of his short films (Bumping Into Broadway, An Eastern Westerner, Now or Never and I Do) and this was also the very first time I listened to the voice of Lloyd. Anyway, this film was a little different of what I was expecting, well actually I didn't know anything about The Cat's-Paw and the little synopsis from the box set only remarks that the film is talked and that it is a satire. It was different from those short films but The Cat's-Paw is a very good achievement in Lloyd's career, extremely funny and with some very true things.
In the beginning we watch a "kid Harold Lloyd" (like in Now or Never) who is Ezekiel Cobb the son of a missionary who's mission took Ezekiel Cobb to China since he was just a kid. 20 years later is time for Cobby to finally return to the place where he was born, to the United States of America but not to stay there, actually he just want to find the right woman to later return to China to continue with the mission of his father. So we have an innocent man lost in the city, a man who grew up surrounded of Chinese literature and who in short is just too kind so too unique in the city. You can imagine the immediate consequences but maybe not the future ones.
We have a very funny politic satire set during election times so when the whole theater of the politicians is in danger they will need immediately a solution, they need a new candidate since the original one died. These politicians will see in Cobby the perfect new candidate for their theater, who will "try" to win the election against the mayor Morgan (Alan Dinehart). Is hilarious to watch these politicians picturing the future of their new candidate, "a missionary from China comes to reform his birth place" and stuff. However Cobby will be the new mayor and the whole theater will be down. With Cobby as mayor the problems begins soon since the guy doesn't know a single thing of politics but he does know what is bad and what is good, he is a complete honest mayor and with that the problems really begins for the machine. So at one point, after Cobby suffers a conspiracy, he will be alone as a dictator and he still has the time to finally make the police work but this time is for something big, the patrols won't be enough, the whole scum of the town will be in one place. So what will happen when this honest man has all the scum in the place that he wanted? Well is just a magical ending! And Cobby will return to China with his beautiful lady (Una Merkel).
I was completely entertained with this film, I laughed very load in many parts, I do think it is a great satire so I do recommend it a lot. Ling Po will be a name that you will not easily forget!
In the beginning we watch a "kid Harold Lloyd" (like in Now or Never) who is Ezekiel Cobb the son of a missionary who's mission took Ezekiel Cobb to China since he was just a kid. 20 years later is time for Cobby to finally return to the place where he was born, to the United States of America but not to stay there, actually he just want to find the right woman to later return to China to continue with the mission of his father. So we have an innocent man lost in the city, a man who grew up surrounded of Chinese literature and who in short is just too kind so too unique in the city. You can imagine the immediate consequences but maybe not the future ones.
We have a very funny politic satire set during election times so when the whole theater of the politicians is in danger they will need immediately a solution, they need a new candidate since the original one died. These politicians will see in Cobby the perfect new candidate for their theater, who will "try" to win the election against the mayor Morgan (Alan Dinehart). Is hilarious to watch these politicians picturing the future of their new candidate, "a missionary from China comes to reform his birth place" and stuff. However Cobby will be the new mayor and the whole theater will be down. With Cobby as mayor the problems begins soon since the guy doesn't know a single thing of politics but he does know what is bad and what is good, he is a complete honest mayor and with that the problems really begins for the machine. So at one point, after Cobby suffers a conspiracy, he will be alone as a dictator and he still has the time to finally make the police work but this time is for something big, the patrols won't be enough, the whole scum of the town will be in one place. So what will happen when this honest man has all the scum in the place that he wanted? Well is just a magical ending! And Cobby will return to China with his beautiful lady (Una Merkel).
I was completely entertained with this film, I laughed very load in many parts, I do think it is a great satire so I do recommend it a lot. Ling Po will be a name that you will not easily forget!