Somewhere in Turkey

Although it has some good moments, overall this one has to be counted as one of Harold Lloyd's lesser efforts. Parts of it are amusing enough, but it never gets all that much out of the situation, and too much of it has a lot of action without any real point. It's watchable, but it doesn't compare with Lloyd's many successes.

Harold plays an explorer traveling "Somewhere in Turkey", and he gets captured by a sultan who has also just captured a young woman. From there, a lot of chasing and scuffling takes place, but much of it doesn't go anywhere. With Lloyd, Snub Pollard, and Bebe Daniels in the cast, it's hard to believe that they couldn't have written the story a little more skillfully, to take better advantage of the cast's abilities.

Harold Lloyd, Bebe Daniels and Snub Pollard made a lot of films together in the late 1910s. Eventually, Lloyd would go on to super-stardom in the 1920s as a solo act, but his older films (which were cranked out in very rapid succession) seemed mostly lost...until YouTube. Fortunately, many of these older films have been posted there...though I must admit the quality and style of his films during this period are nothing like his brilliant later films.

"Somewhere in Turkey" begins with sweet Bebe being taken captive by the evil Turks*. Soon, an archaeologist and his partner (Lloyd and Pollard) are also captured and sent to the palace. Eventually, Harold meets Bebe and tries to help her escape.

There are two big problems with this film. First, it really isn't very funny. Second, it's a product of its time, with a couple folks in black-face AND some crazy notions about what Turkish people look like. They are mostly dressed like Arabs and this isn't the most culturally sensitive film ever made! Mildly enjoyable at best.

*I think the Turks are the bad guy in this one because it came out during WWI...and the Turks were allies of the Germans and Austrians...and the USA was at war with these three empires.

There doesn't seem to be any opportunity for the 26 year old Harold Lloyd to soar professionally in his career in this short film. Whether he is abroad or at home, the themes are the same. There is a force of antagonism preventing him from reaching his full potential, and he does appear to be incapable of shaping the world he lives in. He is a prisoner of his own existence, and it is this misfortune that affords us entry into his humanity. Harold Lloyd and Bebe Daniels are the Adam and Eve of silent comedy. The themes that they possess in their short films together underpins the frustration of the human spirit when parameters have been set to limit progress.