FORMAT: VHS
People online complain incessantly about “Nepo Babies”, famous people who more or less own their career to their even more famous family members. I hate to break it to them, but that isn’t exactly a new phenomenon. Just look at The Flaming Urge. It stars the son of silent comedy legend, Harold Lloyd, the aptly named Harold Lloyd Jr. Do you think he could’ve landed this role without his name recognition? Based on his performance here, probably not.
Lloyd stars as Tom, a meek guy who moves into a small town and gets a job in a department store. Tom has a problem though. Every time he hears a fire alarm, he runs off to watch the firemen put out the blaze, even if it means leaving his job unattended. Luckily, his boss is a fellow “fire chaser” and tries to break the young man of his habit. However, when a rash of fires break out, Tom is suspected of arson, thanks to his obsession with fires. He then sets out to prove his innocence.
Was “fire chasing” a real thing back in the day? I mean everyone has their thing, but it just seems odd. It particularly seems like a really niche ailment to base an entire movie on. Much of the problem lies with the supporting characters, who all seem to understand Tom’s problem and go out of their way to help him. It just all rings false and even worse, zaps the film of any potential drama it might’ve had. It also doesn’t help that a random ass Irish tenor breaks into song halfway through, stopping the already lethargic movie dead in its tracks.
Lloyd isn’t exactly leading man material either. He looks and sounds like his old man though. Fortunately, he doesn’t try to ape his dad’s brand of physical comedy, or things might’ve been even more painful.
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