Trailer for THE CAT'S PAW (1934)

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Rob Farr
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Trailer for THE CAT'S PAW (1934)

Postby Rob Farr » Sat Sep 04, 2021 11:59 am

From the Chelsea Rialto Studios, which always comes up with rare stuff, here's the original release trailer for Harold Lloyd's The Cat's Paw. I don't know whether it was originally released in an amber tint, or if this is just an artifact of the transfer. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YhLQGzenkcQ
Rob Farr
"If it's not comedy, I fall asleep" - Harpo Marx

William Ferry
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Re: Trailer for THE CAT'S PAW (1934)

Postby William Ferry » Sun Sep 05, 2021 3:34 pm

Just my humble opinion: I know MOVIE CRAZY has its fans, but for me, THE CAT'S PAW provides a tantalizing glimpse of the Harold Lloyd that could have been. This characterization was a good fit for the now-mature (and somewhat prissy-sounding) Lloyd, who abandoned his boyish go-getter far too late. SPEAK EASILY (yet another Kelland story) was a poor fit for Keaton, but I think Lloyd could have pulled it off better. Even Lloyd's later films, flawed though they may be, at least attempted to dismiss the eager beaver for a more settled career man type. With better guidance, he might extended his career, albeit it not on the Big Three level he'd enjoyed through the Twenties.

Richard M Roberts
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Re: Trailer for THE CAT'S PAW (1934)

Postby Richard M Roberts » Sun Sep 05, 2021 3:58 pm

I completely agree William, I have always said THE CATS PAW is the best of Lloyd's talkies, and that it points a way, if not necessarily THE way, Lloyd could and should have changed his character as he aged and continued on with more success than he did. Lloyd should have let his character become a family or at least married-man in middle age, or let his rich-guy character be brought low by the Depression and got his way out of it. I think Lloyd was too rich, too insulated and too in-control for someone he might listen to to point him in the right direction, he knew something was wrong, and the eccentric fish out of water was as far as he was willing to go to change.

RICHARD M ROBERTS

Rob Farr
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Location: Our Nation's Capitol

Re: Trailer for THE CAT'S PAW (1934)

Postby Rob Farr » Thu Sep 09, 2021 9:05 am

This trailer didn't do Lloyd any favors. In every shot, he is completely inert except for his prissy half-smile. The trailer's not-so-subtle message is, "yes, its Harold Lloyd, but LOOK AT THE GREAT SUPPORTING CAST!!!"
Rob Farr
"If it's not comedy, I fall asleep" - Harpo Marx


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