Running Wild

The cops are trying to chase down Eddie Boland and, after a series of amusing gags evading them, he pretends to be a short order cook in a diner where pretty Ethel Broadhurst is waitress and the level of gags becomes more mixed.

As Harold Lloyd moved into three reelers and features, Hal Roach needed someone to replace him in one- and two-reelers. He had already set up Snub Pollard with his own series and had tried an aborted series with Toto, filled out with Stan Laurel, but Lloyd's success made clear the market for the light comedian -- someone who could take a pratfall and woo the leading lady. So Roach gave Eddie Boland a series of shorts for a couple of years and they are actually good -- a mixed bag of gags -- but somehow they were never tremendously popular, so eventually he closed down the series and stuck his ace director, Charley Chase back in front of the camera.

As I have already said, the Eddie Boland comedies were good, but they lacked a strong story line and Eddie, while a good comic, somehow is not a top banana. If you enjoy silent comedies, you will find this one very amusing in spots, but not overwhelmingly so.