Bumping Into Broadway

This is a very entertaining Harold Lloyd comedy, with some good settings and good joke ideas. There is lots of action, with Bebe Daniels, Snub Pollard, and Noah Young all adding to the fun. Much of the emphasis is on the various characters chasing each other or attempting to elude one another, and Hal Roach is in his element, keeping the pace and the timing on track.

There are basically three sequences, first at a boarding house, then backstage, and then at a gambling club. The first sequence, with Young as the landlady's enforcer, and the third one, with lots of manic chase action, are both very good, and the middle sequence also has some good moments.

The settings and many of the story developments must have been highly contemporary at the time, and yet the enthusiasm from Lloyd and the cast makes it seem fresh and up-to-date. When Lloyd was in his best form, he made you feel as if you knew his characters and understood their troubles, and that's one of the things that makes this one fun to watch.