Dr. Jack (Silent) (DVD)

Pure-hearted Dr. Jackson - "Jack" for short - is a well-liked physician who usually prescribes his patients rest, relaxation, and positive thinking over drug store medicine. That makes him the perfect doctor for pretty debutante Mildred Haskell, a hypochondriac who has been languishing under the treatment of Dr. Ludwig Von Saulsbourg. The quack doctor has been diagnosing the poor girl with various ailments just to keep up his luxurious lifestyle. Upon examination of Mildred, Jack realizes all the girl needs is a little excitement in her life - so he disguises himself as an escaped lunatic and runs amuck in her mansion! Though this unorthodox treatment seems to work, greedy Dr. Von Saulsbourg won't be scared out of the Haskell mansion so easily

After the success of his first feature-length picture, Grandma's Boy (1922), Harold Lloyd was granted a greater degree of creative control over the films he made for Hal Roach. His share of the profits increased from 72 to 80 percent, as well - a substantial amount considering Lloyd's movies were the blockbusters of their day. Going forward Lloyd would concentrate on features instead of shorts - alternating between what he called "gag pictures" and "character pictures." Though he considered Dr. Jack a simple "gag picture," some of Harold's personality broke through regardless. Lloyd insisted Dr. Jack was not meant as an endorsement of his belief in Christian Science, but it's hard not to see the correlation with the title character's insistence on "sunshine, good cheer, and common sense" over pharmaceuticals. If Dr. Jack's affection for Miss Haskell seems genuine, it's because it was - in just a year's time, Harold would marry actress Mildred Davis. They remained married until Mildred's death in 1969. Harold would die just two years later.

PLUS BONUS SHORTS:

HIS ROYAL SLYNESS (1919): Harold is a book salesman who's the spitting image of the royal prince of the kingdom of Razzmatazz. With the prince in America to be educated, Harold is convinced to take his place on the throne - only to be greeted by revolting peasants and a seductive vamp who wants to be his queen!

HIGH AND DIZZY (1920): In a precursor to Dr. Jack, Harold plays a young man recently graduated from medical school. His first patient is a sleepwalking socialite played by Mildred Davis. When Mildred's nocturnal wandering brings her to the top of a skyscraper under construction, Harold finds himself partaking in some classic Lloyd stunts to keep her from taking a big fall.

• silent