On the Fire (1919) Online

I like Harold Lloyd, but Fatty Arbuckle did this movie first and better.

Though, technically, the plots are different. Many of the scenes in "On the Fire" seem to be direct copies from Arbuckle's earlier "Waiter's Ball." Such similarities as trying to kill a fish with a gun hopping around out of water, the tossing of the food to the waiters, and several other scenes seem to be carbons of Arbuckle's film.

Harold Lloyd had worked with Arbuckle at Keystone, and I doubt that he personally would have copied "Waiter's Ball," but someone in charge must have.

There are still a couple of funny parts, but watch "Waiter's Ball" for the superior effort and original idea.

Harold Lloyd is employed as "The Chef" for a fancy restaurant. Mr. Lloyd is obviously not one to labor over a hot stove; instead, he has the kitchen equipped with all kinds of common gadgets. The gadgets, including gardening tools, help him prepare food, while Lloyd relaxes with a cigarette. The kitchen may be imaginatively set up, but it isn't funny. Later, when Lloyd goes out to wait on tables, the Hal Roach comedy picks up considerably. Lloyd is worth waiting for. "Snub" Pollard plays an amusing assistant chef, plate slinger, and bottle washer; and, Bebe Daniels is an expectedly irresistible restaurant patron.

**** On the Fire (2/23/19) Hal Roach ~ Harold Lloyd, 'Snub' Pollard, Bebe Daniels

I think the repackaged version of this film was much better than the original. In 'Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy' there was a double bill of one or two reelers which included this one. The narrator gave a commentary over the unfolding events which brought something to the story that wasn't originally there.