User Reviews

This is one of the earliest surviving short comedies in which Harold Lloyd plays what he called his "Glass Character," the bespectacled boy he would portray for the rest of his movie career. Prior to this, Harold was Lonesome Luke, a hobo-like eccentric Lloyd later admitted was a Chaplin imitation in all but costume. Considering how soon Harold made All Aboard after abandoning his former screen persona it's remarkable how quickly he landed on the formula that would fit him like a glove in dozens of comedies to follow.

When we first meet Harold he's in a garden flirting with adorable leading lady Bebe Daniels, but her parents disapprove of him for some unspecified reason, and attempt to force her into a match with Harold's burly rival (played by Harold's frequent screen nemesis Charles Stevenson). They whisk Bebe away on a cruise to Bermuda, "land of the festive onion," but Harold manages to stow away on the ship, where he continues his romantic pursuit while battling the rival.

That's the gist of it, and it's fast-moving and pleasant, sprinkled with cute gags that are typical of Lloyd's films from this period. For instance, there's a scene in Harold's kitchen where we find that his appliances serve double duty: his phone is also a salt shaker, the fridge is a closet, etc. It's nice to see that Harold himself is more agreeable and less aggressive than in some of his other early comedies, which are occasionally as violent as Chaplin's scrappiest Keystones. It's also notable that Harold has abandoned most of the Chaplinesque mannerisms he employed as Luke, although Lloyd's debt to The Little Tramp is clear nonetheless: in June of 1917 Chaplin released his great short comedy The Immigrant, which featured a memorable sequence set on a wildly rocking boat. In the ship's dining hall the rolling of the sea causes some passengers to become ill and rush for the exit. At the height of the action a woman loses her balance, falls to the ground, knocks Charlie over and rolls back and forth helplessly as he tumbles over her. All Aboard, released in November of 1917, also features a sequence set in the dining hall of a wildly rocking boat. In the ship's dining hall the rolling of the sea causes some passengers to become ill and rush for the exit. At the height of the action a woman loses her balance, falls to the ground, knocks Harold over and rolls back and forth helplessly as he tumbles over her. Oh well, I guess if you're going to borrow material you may as well borrow from the best! It would be difficult to find a screen comedian working at this time who didn't owe something to Chaplin. In any case Lloyd would soon be concocting his own gag sequences which owed little or nothing to the competition. What's striking about this cheery little comedy is how fully it anticipates the style and tone of much of Harold's own later, more accomplished work.

This is Harold Lloyd before he became the lovable everyman that is more common of his work from the 1920s. Lloyd is brash and cocky, not the naive man who would star in "The Freshman" or the dare-devil of "Safety Last". He's in love with Bebe Daniels, and really, who wouldn't be - but her parent don't approve of Harold. They want her to marry the "barren" and go to Bermuda, the land of the festive onion (or festered bunion).

For the most part, this is fairly standard slapstick of the era, including the exaggerated facial hair of the "villain". Expect people getting kicked in the seat of their pants, knocked off the dock into the water, heavy objects being dropped on people's feet, etc. And, since part of the movie takes place on a ship at sea, there's the almost obligatory mass seasickness among the passengers - exacerbated by the amplified rocking of the ship back and forth.

I'm not familiar with Lloyd's "Lonesome Luke" character, except that it's usually considered to be somewhat similar to Chaplin's tramp and much of Lloyd's acting in "All Aboard" is similar to Chaplin's of a year or so earlier.

Harold is in love with Bebe Daniels, but her father wants her to marry another. So to prevent her marrying Harold, he spirits her off to Bermuda but Harold stows away. When he is discovered, the film becomes a standard chase-type film. In the end, a totally unconvincing happy ending ensues.

Up until about the time this short was made, Harold Lloyd was in search of a persona. He had starred as "Lonesome Luke" and some other characters in early films, but in many ways they were a lot like a ripoff of Chaplin. Here, though, we see Lloyd with his trademark glasses, though his character doesn't exactly act the same way he did throughout the 1920s--being a little more brash. Still, despite this shortcoming and that the plot isn't particularly inspired, this is a decent little comedy and well worth a look if you are a fan of this comic genius. Even if you're not, it's still worth a peek.

By the way, this film features a rocking ship sequence that was VERY overdone (like Chaplin's THE IMMIGRANT). This just didn't seem to work very well and subtle it wasn't.

Kepp away with a beautiful Lady. The Boy has his work cut out for him in this short. Lots of action and pratfalls and athletic moving in tight spaces to keep traffic moving and fussing to a minimum, ever try to move in a crowded space? Many of Lloyd's films have acrobatic antics for maneuvering in tight spaces and this is no exception. Also the ship board antics are full of action and fun.

A joyful and delightful movie.

there are many laughs from inadvertent situations, and that makes silent films fun. Also there isn't an emphasis on Politics as modern movies which is always welcome.

Bebe Daniels, who starred in Dorothy in the earliest surviving "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" (1910) film, was hired at 14 to co-star alongside Lloyd early in the Lonesome Luke series in 1915.

Despite being just 16, Daniels is involved in a romance with Lloyd in November 1917's "All Aboard." Her father wants her to get away as far as she can from her admirer by booking himself and his daughter on a liner to Bermuda. But Harold foils his plan by becoming a stowaway, igniting a rockin' chase scene throughout the cabins.

It's been observed the Lloyd women are more fully drawn than other comedic romantic interests seen in film during that time. Harold varied the social status of his "Glass" character throughout his filmography. And with his differing class positions for each movie, accompanying females also achieved his differing status surroundings, making them the well-rounded women who could appeal to the love-lorn Lloyd.

If you have ever been in a street car in America or Canada you will appreciate what HL has done in this short film. He takes it upon himself to become a stunt man with a street car which makes entertaining viewing and productive use of resources that are available to him.