''Welcome Danger'' is a 1929 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

Clyde Bruckman Clyde Adolf Bruckman (June 30, 1894January 4, 1955) was an American writer and director of comedy films during the late Silent film, silent era, who continued working into the 1950s. Bruckman collaborated with such comedians as Buster Keaton, Mo ...

and starring

Harold Lloyd Harold Clayton Lloyd Sr. (April 20, 1893 – March 8, 1971) was an American actor, comedian, and stunt performer who appeared in many Silent film, silent comedy films.Obituary ''Variety'', March 10, 1971, page 55. One of the most influent ...

. A sound version and silent version were filmed.

Ted Wilde Ted Wilde ( – December 17, 1929) was a comedy writer and director during the era of silent movies, though he also directed two talkies released in 1930. He was born in New York City. His initial career was as a member of Harold Lloyd's writing s ...

began work on the silent version, but became ill and was replaced by Bruckman. Wilde died from stroke two months after this film’s premiere.

Plot

Botany student Harold Bledsoe is bound for San Francisco to help investigate a crime wave in the city's "

Chinatown Chinatown ( zh, t=唐人街) is the catch-all name for an ethnic enclave of Chinese people located outside Greater China, most often in an urban setting. Areas known as "Chinatown" exist throughout the world, including Europe, Asia, Africa, O ...

" district. Since Harold is the son of San Francisco's former police captain, municipal authorities hope he will be as skilled as his father in solving crimes. Also traveling to the city, but by car, are a young woman named Billie Lee and her little brother Buddy, who needs his lame leg treated in San Francisco by "the famous Chinese physician" Dr. Chang Gow. During a brief train stop in

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

, Harold has his photograph taken at a

vending machine A vending machine is an automated machine that dispenses items such as snacks, beverages, cigarettes, and lottery tickets to consumers after cash, a credit card, or other forms of payment are inserted into the machine or payment is otherwise m ...

. He is surprised to see a double-exposed print of himself and Billie Lee. He finally meets Billie when her car breaks down and she removes the

carburetor A carburetor (also spelled carburettor or carburetter) is a device used by a gasoline internal combustion engine to control and mix air and fuel entering the engine. The primary method of adding fuel to the intake air is through the Ventu ...

. A motorist gives them some gasoline, but after he leaves, Billie realizes that she left the carburetor on the other car's running board. Now Harold and the Lees must spend the night along the roadside. Next morning, the trio harnesses a cow to pull their car to a gas station. Harold then catches another westbound train. Once in San Francisco and at police headquarters, Harold is fascinated by

fingerprinting A fingerprint is an impression left by the friction ridges of a human finger. The recovery of partial fingerprints from a crime scene is an important method of forensic science. Moisture and grease on a finger result in fingerprints on surfa ...

, and takes prints of everyone at the building, including respected citizen John Thorne, who is pressuring the police to crack down on crime. The desk sergeant gets rid of Harold by assigning him to find the "Dragon," the mysterious master of the city's Chinese underworld. To "aid" Harold in his search, the sergeant gives him Thorne's fingerprint, but he lies and tells him it is the Dragon's print. Harold goes to Chinatown and sees Billie, who gives him the address where she and Buddy are staying. Harold gets a potted flower for Billie. Dr. Gow, examining Buddy's leg, accidentally breaks the flowerpot, revealing a package of

opium Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid mor ...

. The doctor goes to the flower shop, where he is kidnapped. Harold leaves to rescue the doctor. In Chinatown, Harold and Clancy, a street cop he had met earlier, go to the flower shop. Aware of their presence, employees there set up a series of spooky effects to frighten them from the premises. Harold soon encounters the masked Dragon and some of his men preparing to execute Dr. Gow. Harold struggles with the Dragon, who escapes with his hostage before the police burst in and arrest everyone else. Harold recognizes Thorne's fingerprint and denounces him, but the police think Thorne is above suspicion. They release Thorne and detain Harold. Harold gets away and follows Thorne to his home, where he eventually extracts a confession from him. The police arrive and remain skeptical until Harold finds Dr. Gow bound and gagged in a closet in Thorne's study. Thorne is arrested, and Billie accepts Harold's clumsy proposal of marriage.

Cast of the sound version

- Harold Bledsoe * Barbara Kent - Billie Lee * Noah Young - Patrick Clancy * Charles B. Middleton - John Thorne *

Will Walling William R. Walling (June 2, 1872 – March 5, 1932) was an American actor of stage and film in the silent era. Biography Before he acted in films, Walling traveled the United States performing with stock theater companies. In 1912, he wa ...

- Captain Walton *

Edgar Kennedy Edgar Livingston Kennedy (April 26, 1890 – November 9, 1948) was an American comedic character actor who appeared in at least 500 films during the silent and sound eras. Professionally, he was known as "Slow Burn", owing to his ability to por ...

- Police Desk Sergeant * James Wang - Chang Gow *

Douglas Haig Field marshal (United Kingdom), Field Marshal Douglas Haig, 1st Earl Haig (; 19 June 1861 – 29 January 1928) was a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the British Army. During the First World War he commanded the British Expeditionary F ...

- Buddy Lee * Blue Washington - Thorne's Henchman

Premiere

In its October 3, 1929 issue, the popular New York-based trade paper ''

The Film Daily ''The Film Daily'' was a daily publication that existed from 1918 to 1970 in the United States. It was the first daily newspaper published solely for the film industry. It covered the latest trade news, film reviews, financial updates, informati ...

'' covered the

premiere A premiere, also spelled première, (from , ) is the debut (first public presentation) of a work, i.e. play, film, dance, musical composition, or even a performer in that work. History Raymond F. Betts attributes the introduction of the ...

of ''Welcome Danger''. Notably, the premiere took place two weeks prior to the Stock Market Crash of 1929.

Harold Lloyd's first "talkie"

Lloyd had already completed ''Welcome Danger'' as a silent feature when his distributor,

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, was heavily promoting talking pictures. Lloyd decided to remake ''Welcome Danger'' with sound, going so far as to recast some of the supporting roles with stage-trained actors familiar with dialogue. Moviegoers in the United States began to hear for the first time the voices of many of their favorite stars as

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

released more and more talking pictures in 1929. Many reviewers at that time, in addition to expressing their opinions about a movie's plot and production values, provided readers with their initial impressions after hearing an actor actually speak on screen. Since ''Welcome Danger'' was Harold Lloyd's first venture into the sound era, there was significant public interest in his voice. In October 1929, the influential New York entertainment publication '' Variety'' gave overall high marks to ''Welcome Danger'' and to Barbara Kent's spoken lines but offered a somewhat mixed review regarding Lloyd's recorded dialogue: Walter R. Greene, however, a reviewer for ''

Motion Picture News The ''Motion Picture News'' was an American film industry trade paper published from 1913 to 1930. History The publication was created through the 1913 merger of the ''Moving Picture News'' founded in 1908 and ''The Exhibitors' Times'', founde ...

'' in 1929, complimented Lloyd's stunts in ''Welcome Danger'' as well as the tone and general quality of the comedian's voice. "Harold Lloyd", Greene wrote, "has nothing to fear from talking pictures," adding "His voice registers excellently, and there is personality in its reproduction." Paramount also offered the completed silent version to those theaters that had not yet converted to sound.

Racism protest in China

On February 21, 1930, the first day of its release in China, the film sparked outrage among 35 viewers who, in their anger, wrote to Shanghai's ''Republican Daily News''. They criticized the film for mocking the Chinese diaspora in America, depicting them in a deceitful and ugly manner, essentially humiliating and disgracing the Chinese people. The following day, the Chinese playwright and film director Hong Shen visited the Grand Cinema in Shanghai to watch the film. He left the theatre in protest when a scene showed Harold Lloyd throwing money on the ground to a Chinese flower seller. Before the next screening, Hong returned to the theatre to give a speech, condemning the film's offensive portrayal of Chinese people and urging the audience to boycott it. His call to action resonated with many, leading some to demand refunds. Upon learning of this, the theatre's general manager had Hong forcibly taken to his office and reported to the police. After being detained for about three hours, Hong was released. He immediately reported the incident to the Nationalist Party's Shanghai branch, calling for a ban on the film's screening.

Preservation status

Both the silent and sound versions have been restored by the

UCLA Film and Television Archive The UCLA Film & Television Archive is a visual arts organization focused on the film preservation, preservation, film studies, study, and appreciation of film and television, based at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). As a nonpro ...

. This film was included in Optimum's region 2 'Harold Lloyd: The Definitive Collection' 2005 box set from the U.K., but was left out of the New Line region 1 'The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection' 2005 box set from the U.S. The film entered the public domain on January 1, 2025.

References

External links

*
''Welcome Danger'' Detail View
SilentEra.com, accessed August 7, 2015. {{DEFAULTSORT:Welcome Danger 1929 films 1929 comedy films American comedy films American black-and-white films Films directed by Clyde Bruckman Films set in San Francisco Paramount Pictures films Films with screenplays by Felix Adler (screenwriter) 1920s English-language films 1920s American films English-language comedy films