Plot: As he enjoys the sun and sand of a local beach, Harold can’t help but notice all the beautiful girls, though he can’t seem to get their attention. When he sees that the girls flock to the lifeguard, he sees a chance to win them over and he gets himself a uniform to pretend to be one himself. Of course, this leads to one mishap after another, as he is mistaken for a real lifeguard and tasked to behave like one. Is all this trouble worth the attention of the beautiful girl that captured his attention, or has he gotten in over his head this time?

Entertainment Value: This Harold Lloyd short runs under ten minutes, but he is able to deliver some good laughs in that brief run time. There’s a nice little narrative with Harold getting into all kinds of trouble at the beach, which means the slapstick has some direction, rather than just random set pieces. I wouldn’t have minded either way, but I think it helps when there’s some method to the madness sometimes. The usual Lloyd touches are all present here, with fast paced slapstick, a little heart, and Lloyd’s battles against bullies and authority figures. You can tell he is still working out the kinks with the “glasses” character, but the basics are still here. He is joined by some of his regular costars, so you can see Bebe Daniels, William Blaisdell, and Snub Pollard in By the Sad Sea Waves, though of course, Lloyd is the main attraction. I had fun with this short and for fans of Lloyd’s slapstick, it is well recommended.