It's a hard life, so never weaken. Harold and Mildred Davis are in love.... but Mildred's osteopath employer has no business, so Harold and an acrobat friend go out, fake some accidents and cause real ones to drum up business so he won't fire her.
It's one of Harold's best shorts, with a lovely series of gags in two parts. In the first half, watching Harold cause havoc in the streets of Los Angeles, and in the second, when Harold wants to kill himself -- Mr. Lloyd seems to have been the premiere comic when it comes to funny attempts to commit suicide. There's also one of his best thrill comedy sequences on a construction site (with liberal uncredited doubling by Harvey Parry) and what Lloyd later claimed was his most satisfying ending to any of his shorts.
Although perhaps the end was not yet. Miss Davis did not become Mrs. Lloyd until 1923.
Never Weaken
1921
Action / Comedy / Thriller
Never Weaken
1921
Action / Comedy / Thriller
Keywords: silent film
Plot summary
The Boy (Harold Lloyd) is infatuated with The Girl (Mildred Davis) in the next office. In order to drum up business for her boss, an osteopath, he gets an acrobatic and tumbling acquaintance from a nearby office to pretend to sustain injuries that The Boy "cures", thereby building a reputation and then hands out the doctor's business cards. When he mistakenly thinks that his girl is marrying another, he decides to commit suicide and spends the bulk of the film in thrilling, failed attempts.
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Roy Brooks Wants to Marry Mildred Davis
early Harold Lloyd
The Boy (Harold Lloyd) flirts with The Girl in a neighboring office. She becomes distraught when her boss informs her of them moving due to a lack of patients. The Boy causes mayhem in the streets as he tries to drum up business for her. A misunderstanding leaves him suicidal as he comically tries and fails to kill himself.
This early Harold Lloyd has his every man character and his sky high stunts. This 29 minutes short has all of the Harold Lloyd comedic concepts. The I-beam reminds me of an old cartoon. The sequence needs a little more work. This is a good starting point for early Harold Lloyd.
Out On A Girder With Mr. Lloyd
A HAROLD LLOYD Short Subject.
A lovesick young man must NEVER WEAKEN when he unexpectedly finds himself in a most precarious & dangerous situation.
Here is one of Harold Lloyd's thrill pictures, which offers quick-moving comedy and genuine suspense. The first half of the film has Harold trying to roundup patients for his girlfriend's boss. The second half puts Harold up on the framework of a building under construction - clutching, crawling & careening out over empty space. His obvious athletic ability is made even more remarkable by the fact that he was using only half of his right hand, his disfigurement, caused by a studio accident, hidden by a glove.
Pretty Mildred Davis, who would soon become Mrs. Harold Lloyd, plays the object of his affections.