Film #175 - Kid Speed (1924)
Viewed June 24, 2006
Kid Speed is another entry featuring Oliver Hardy from his days languishing as a character actor, bouncing from film to film, usually in the role of the heavy. This one revolves around two racecar drivers, The Speed Kid (Larry Semon) and Dangerous Dan McGraw (Hardy). Not only do they compete on the track, but they are also both after the hand of Lou DuPoise (Dorothy Dwan), daughter of race backer Avery DuPoise (Frank Alexander).
Semon is a pretty good comedic lead, with a deft hand at the slapstick and also capable of the romantic touches necessary. He and Hardy play off each other well, much as they do in the 1925 Wizard of Oz film in which they also appeared together. Still, Hardy seems to carry most of the load, with Semon doing a lot of reacting.
The story is typical silent comedy fare, mostly there just to move the jokes along. The outcome of the race and the romance is never really in question and, unfortunately, the journey wasn’t as entertaining as it could have been. The laughs just don’t materialize the way they need to in order for a formula film like this to work.
Like an awful lot of his pre-Laurel films, Kid Speed is worth watching if you’d like to see some early Oliver Hardy, but if not, you’re not missing anything by giving it a pass.
Note: I’ll be honest and say that I only watched Kid Speed by accident. I thought I had selected a different short (one featuring Hardy, but directed by Laurel) and didn’t realize I was on the wrong film until it was practically over.