HAROLD LLOYD?

  HAROLD LLOYD (1893–1971), born Harold Clayton Lloyd, may not be widely remembered today, but he was one of Hollywood's biggest stars in the 1920s. It's especially fun to watch his silents with commentary. I got to see Safety Last (1923), Haunted Spooks (1920), and Speedy (1923), listening to a film historan along with two of his granddaughters discussing Harold Lloyd's work. It was both fun and fascinating.

Haven't you seen Safety Last (1923)? Every film history textbook has a photo of Harold hanging from a clock face from this classic. Harold plays a country bumpkin determined to make big in the big city, he plans a human-fly publicity stunt, only to wind up having to climb the building himself. This is a top comedy of the decade.

Watch this and then see these other four films.



Haunted Spooks (1920) This short was big in Harold's life. It was delayed three months in the middle of filming when an explosion cost him part of his right hand. On the happier side he met costar Mildred Davis, whom he would later marry.
Speedy (1923) A real-life baseball nut, Harold got to play a baseball fan, constantly losing jobs due to this preoccupation. Babe Ruth, a huge movie nut (and Lloyd fan) was thrilled to make a cameo in Harold's speeding taxi.
The Freshman (1925) A small-town rube determined to be a big man on campus as a college freshman, Harold starts out as just the opposite -- a campus joke and football team tackling dummy.
Movie Crazy (1932) Harold's biggest "talkie" hit, in which he plays a Hollywood actor wannabe with bad luck & an inability to "fess up" when he has erred.


*Contributed by: "MarkMyWord" Date: Wed, 30 Dec 2015 / 16:13:39 PST

Academy Awards®
© A.M.P.A.S.®
1953 Won Honorary Award Master comedian and good citizen.