a5c7b9f00b Steve Tuttle, the titular lazybones, takes on the responsibility of raising a fatherless girl, causing a scandal in his small town. Many years later, having returned from World War I, he discovers that he loves the grown-up girl.
"Lazybones", directed by Herr Frank Borzage was the beginning of this director's most fruitful period in the silent era. Like Herr Borzage's other most important and remarkable silent films,"Lazybones" was produced for Fox. <br/><br/>"Lazybones" tells the story of Steve Tuttle ( Buck Jones ) "a man as slow as molasses in winter" so the people gave him the nickname of "Lazybones" a man with many unrequited loves that he will sacrifice in a languid way true to his character. The film combines a refined sense of humour with a kind of melancholy melodrama developed by excellent actors who are perfect in their different characters. Buck Jones was mainly famous for his cowboy roles ( And Borzage himself was also noted for his early westerns ). Steve's opposite is JaneNovak (Zasu Pitts) , a victim of her strict mother, and who is a fragile character with little chance for rebellion in a town where convention rules and keeping up appearances is a very important matter.<br/><br/>In this film nature and the landscapes are very important too and become subtle characters in their own right. They sometimes reflect the different moods or the special way of life of the different characters of the film, ( sunny, idyllic and carefree for Lazybones and unsettled and windy for the women ). The decisive importance of the background shows an European influence, especially from the Danes and Swedes. The film is also an excellent example of the Herr Borzage mastery of storytelling and pacing. Technical effects, flashbacks and camera movements are combined in such an imperceptible manner that the audience can feel and sense the inexorable passing of time in an elegant, sad but beautiful way
,this German count, who lacks some of the common human feelings, still thinks that makes for poetry, doesn't it? <br/><br/>And now, if you'll allow me, I must temporarily take my leave because this German Count must go stretch.<br/><br/>Herr Graf Ferdinand Von Galitzien
The title character, Lazybones (Buck Jones), was named this because he's a ridiculous caricature when it comes to his sleeping all the time and being incredibly lazy. I didn't like this concept, as it just seemed very unreal. However, I did love his character later in the film when he showed he was more than just a one-dimensional guy. While fishing, he sees a woman trying to drown herself in the river (Zasu Pitts). It seems she's feeling desperate--she married a sailor who has since died and she's now stuck with his baby. Her family doesn't know and she anticipates that her nasty mother will reject her and the kid (in an 'I told you so' moment)--hence she threw herself in the river. Lazybones takes pity on her and agrees to take the kid home and raise it himself agrees never to tell anyone who the real mother is. Time passes and the child grows up in a nasty town where the other kids enjoy tormenting her because of her lowly birth. But despite this, she is a nice kid and grows to be a lovely woman. However, Lazybones doesn't see this transformation, as he's off in the war and when he returns he sees her in all her glory. He almost instantly falls in love with her (which is icky considering that he raised her) and plans on asking for her to marry him. But another man, much younger, has already won her heart and nice 'ol Lazybones is left with his unrequited love.<br/><br/>The film is very lovingly filmed and the director (Frank Borzage) did a great job with the material. The acting, likewise, was quite good. I just couldn't get past how one-dimensional some of the characters seemed (not just Lazybones but Pitts' mother) as well as the creepy notion of a guy wanting to marry a girl he raised. Still, it is a nice little film...if a bit odd.