His Royal Slyness

Probably the most famous political satire from the inter-war era is the Marx Brothers' "Duck Soup". However, Harold Lloyd had starred in one a decade earlier. "His Royal Slyness" casts him as an ordinary guy who just happens to resemble the visiting prince of a foreign country. When the prince doesn't want to return home, Lloyd's character goes in his stead. Because the country has an incompetent, self-serving government, and the peasants are rising up against it, that doesn't make things any easier for poor Harold!

This movie doesn't go for the jugular the way that "Duck Soup" did, but still sympathizes with the peasants (who wouldn't after seeing the worthless people who dominate the government?). It's no masterpiece but still a fun look at politics and the people's discontents therewith (which continue to this day).