boblipton When Harold Lloyd switched from his Lonesome Luke character to his "Glasses" character in 1917, it was so he could appear in a wider variety of stories. Luke's ill-fitting assortment of clothes -- visually an anti-Charie-Chaplin type-cast in lower-class and bum characters. By adopting his more normal -looking garb, he could offer more situations.For a while, he did not. He continued offering the same old gags-in-a-setting film; gags at the beach in BY THE SAD SEA WAVES; gags in a park in TAKE A CHANCE. However, by 1919, he was actually doing stories, and with this one, we see a fine integration of high-speed gag construction and story. Oh, true enough, it's a pure burlesque of western stories, with Harold as the gunslinger, Bebe Daniels as the pretty barmaid who is menaced and Snub Pollard as the sheriff. However, he was ready, and in a few months, he would switch from two-reelers to three-reelers and full stories and take the take the industry by storm.

JoeytheBrit I thought this film might have been made at the same time as Lloyd's The Eastern Westerner, but apparently the films were made a few years apart. This film is ultra-short, lasting a little over twelve minutes (although perhaps a section is missing). The sets for both films certainly look very similar. Lloyd also performs the same cigarette-rolling trick here (twice) that he used in the later film.This is pretty frantic stuff. Bebe Daniels plays the daughter of an old boy threatened with eviction by his bullying landlord (although an intertitle suggests he owes eleven years in back rent which suggests he's actually one of the most patient landlords you're ever likely to meet). Daniels is a pretty girl with a saucy smile and sturdy knees, and it's no wonder Lloyd goes out of his way to rescue her. Compared to Lloyd's later output this is pretty primitive stuff, but it still manages to pack a good number of laughs into its brief running time.

Petri Pelkonen Hrold Lloyd is the fearless gunslinger Billy Blazes.His job is to safe the town of Peaceful Vale from Crooked Charley who has been ruling it through fear and violence.There's not too much help of the yellow sheriff 'Gun Shy' Gallagher.The tavern keeper Pierre is ran out of town by Charley.He takes his pretty daughter Nell as his prisoner.So it's not only the town Billy has to safe.Hal Roach' Billy Blazes, Esq.(1919) is 13 minutes of fun and gags.Harold Lloyd makes a surprisingly believable western hero in this comedy.Bebe Daniels is a terrific western girl.It would be just right if Harold got the girl in the end.But does he? Watch the movie and find out.You also get to see another great silent comedian, Harry 'Snub' Pollard playing the Sheriff.He's very funny as this character who's afraid of gun shots and crooks.This group offers you some some good laughs.

Michael_Elliott Billy Blazes, Esq. (1919) ** (out of 4) Billy Blazes (Harold Lloyd) rides into a rough Western town to take out the bad guys and escape with the girl. This 13-minute short remains interesting throughout but the strange thing is that it appears the director forgot to go for any laughs. It's not like there are gags on screen that don't work but instead there aren't any gags for some reason.You can find this short in New Line's wonderful box set that features countless shorts, features and some very nice extras. All the films come with a new score and remastered video.