Lloyd Hamilton was one of the most imaginative (and among the funniest) of all the silent-film comedians. Why is he utterly forgotten? Unfortunately, the original negatives for a large percentage of his films were lost when the Fox warehouse burnt in the early 1930s. Hamilton was not handsome or graceful like Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd; nor was he dapper, like Raymond Griffith. And unlike Harry Langdon and (again) Chaplin, Hamilton did not try for audience sympathy.
However, his films were hugely popular at the time of their original release, and they remain hilarious today. Oscar Levant once claimed that he asked Chaplin if there was any other comedian whom he'd ever envied, and Chaplin instantly named Lloyd Hamilton. The character most frequently portrayed by Hamilton on screen -- a flat-capped naff, with fastidious hand gestures and a duck-like walk -- was later adapted by vaudeville comedian Eddie Garr (Teri Garr's father), and further adapted by Jackie Gleason as his 1950s TV character 'The Poor Soul'.
'The Movies', directed pseudonymously by Roscoe Arbuckle, is one of Hamilton's most innovative shorts, and it's hilarious. We first see him as a country boy, bidding farewell to his family outside their homespun cottage, on his way to the big city. Then he steps away from the cottage, and we see that it's IN the big city, with traffic booming all round him!
Eventually, our hero ends up at a restaurant (uncredited, but it's the Montmartre Cafe in downtown L.A.) where all the movie actors eat between takes. There's an amusing gag when Hamilton's bumpkin character meets three actors in costume and makeup as Presidents Washington, Lincoln and Roosevelt: this gag would have been funnier if the impostors looked more like the originals. Finally, our lad seats himself at a table, hoping to meet a celebrity. Sure enough, entering the restaurant and sitting at the very next table is a big movie star ... none other than Lloyd Hamilton! There's a very well-made double-exposure shot -- the join is nearly invisible -- when Lloyd Hamilton as himself greets Lloyd Hamilton as the country boy.
Sadly, Hamilton's peak period of creativity was very brief. He began his film career in crude slapstick films as one half of a double act (Ham and Bud, opposite Bud Duncan), and had a brief and blazing period of stardom in shorts during the late silent period. Sound movies were not kind to Hamilton, and he was quickly shoved down the cast list in some crude early talkies. Then he died young. Fortunately, 'The Movies' is quite funny, and a splendid introduction to this unique comedians' style. I'll rate it 7 out of 10.
