Dir. John Ford
50 Minutes
USA
1920
Starring: Buck Jones, Helen Ferguson, Georgie Stone
***1/2/*****
Early John Ford comedy with a simple narrative about small town tramp Bim (Buck Jones) and his friendship with young runaway boy Bill (Georgie Stone). Leisurely paced hour long film about their various misadventures: Bim's love of a local schoolteacher, a devious pair who want to collect some reward money for Bill's return, and a scheme involving some stolen school fund money. The film is primarily episodic, drifting from plot to plot until the material escalates to its naturally happy conclusion, but Ford treats his characters with a seriousness despite the airy material. And his treatment of space to the small town gives the setting a real life, capturing a nice lived-in feel of the environment and its inhabitants without it feeling like excess baggage. Enjoyable film that may seem a trifle only when comparing to what Ford would be working with soon.
Viewed on July 10th, 2020
Part of an ongoing John Ford Project with notes from selected films.