How did I live the previous 54 years of my life without being aware of Hairbreadth Harry? This delightful series of two-reel comedies (well represented on VCI's 'Weiss-O-Rama' double DVD set) relate the comic misadventures of Harry (Earl McCarthy, apparently felled by a heart attack at age 26!), a young man perpetually tasked with rescuing Beautiful Belinda (Charlotte Merriam) from the grasping clutches of villain Relentless Rudolph (John J. Richardson). These broad satires of the movies and of 1920s mores (witness this film's focus on all things Hawaiian) are hilarious in their absurdity, crude special effects, and over-the-top physical comedy. The moustache-twirling, top-hat and spats wearing Rudolph surely served as a source of inspiration for Jay Ward's Snidely Whiplash, and Richardson clearly relished the role, absolutely devouring the scenery in between intertitles of him screaming 'CURSES!'. Withal, any movie fan worth their salt will get a kick out of the series, of which Fearless Harry is the first entry.
2 Reviews
Sort of like Snidely Whiplash battling Dudley Doo-Right.
planktonrules27 November 2021
In the early 20th century, C. W. Kahles created the "Hairbreadth Harry" comic strip and it was very popular...so popular it led to about a dozen short films made from 1926-1928. I've only seen three of them but the three are all EXTREMELY similar.
Sweet Belinda is in a pickle, as her father insists she marry the evil Rudolph...a man much like the later Snidely Whiplash from the "Dudley Doo-Right" cartoons...complete with tophat and evil mustache. He also wants to steal her father's secret formula (though they never say what's it a formula for!) and so it's up to Harry to stop him and rescue Belinda after Rudolph kidnaps her.
This short includes a wacky hideout where Rudolph and his men try to scare away Harry...but end up mostly scaring Rudolph's black butler. These gags are pretty outdated and might easily offend some today, but even without this the short is very short on laughs. If you are curious, you can find this and a few other shorts from the series on YouTube.
Sweet Belinda is in a pickle, as her father insists she marry the evil Rudolph...a man much like the later Snidely Whiplash from the "Dudley Doo-Right" cartoons...complete with tophat and evil mustache. He also wants to steal her father's secret formula (though they never say what's it a formula for!) and so it's up to Harry to stop him and rescue Belinda after Rudolph kidnaps her.
This short includes a wacky hideout where Rudolph and his men try to scare away Harry...but end up mostly scaring Rudolph's black butler. These gags are pretty outdated and might easily offend some today, but even without this the short is very short on laughs. If you are curious, you can find this and a few other shorts from the series on YouTube.
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