This is surely Harold Lloyd's most satisfactory Sound film and, while it's hardly ever discussed in this context, one of the best comedies to emerge in the early Talkie era. As a matter of fact, ill-fated director Clyde Bruckman was a master handler of comedy (before booze got the better of him!) who guided the likes of Buster Keaton, W.C. Fields and Lloyd himself through some of their finest vehicles.
Anyway, the film finds the star at perhaps his most accident-prone - while the enchanting Constance Cummings is easily the strongest (and most talented) leading lady Lloyd ever had! As the title suggests, it provides a rare behind-the-scenes look at a Hollywood studio during its Golden Age and features a running-gag with Harold falling foul of a pompous studio executive. However, the film also involves typical situations for him such as mistaken identities (Lloyd unwittingly sends out to Hollywood the photo of a handsome guy, Cummings 'doubles' as a Spanish diva who ensnares our hero), romantic complications (the couple's frequent break-ups occurring as much through the intrusion of a rival as by the stars' individual character flaws) and disillusionment (Harold believes his disastrous screen-test was a triumph).
Amazingly, according to the IMDb, the film was shot with a Silent-movie camera to re-create the trademark Lloyd technique - with the the dialogue and sound effects added in post-production: sure enough, the energetic fistfight which caps the picture is highly reminiscent of the extended climactic bout in THE KID BROTHER (1927); similarly, the havoc caused by a magician's coat mistakenly worn by Harold during the uproarious party sequence recalls the suit-ripping gag from THE FRESHMAN (1925) - this scene, then, features very brief bits by amiable character actors Grady Sutton (as an overtly effeminate guest scared by a roaming mouse) and Arthur Housman (as, you've guessed it, a drunkard).
By the way, I wasn't aware that the PAL VHS released by the British Film Institute I previously owned (and which is how I had watched it) was actually the 80-minute re-issue version - though I couldn't quite tell what constituted the 'new' material!
