Silents Please! Harold Lloyd - genius!

Born April 20, 1893, Harold Lloyd, one of the giants of early film would be 117 years old today!

Harold Lloyd is often remembered as one of the three greats of silent film comedy along with Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, and he was.

Harold Lloyd is often remembered as being the great stuntman of these three and of all time for the harrowing comic stunts (usually involving heights) that he pulled off, and he was.

But like all things that are this far in the past, I wonder how many folks who know these two factoids, have ever seen a Harold Lloyd film.

You really owe it to yourself.

He was so much more than just fantastic stunts, he was a master of character and storytelling too. He created his "Boy with Glasses" character and developed him over a decade and more, and the kind of sympathy/empathy the audience had with this character rose above the rest in my opinion. The pitiable soul of Chaplin's "Little Tramp" and the that-poor-schmuck bemusement at Keaton's stone-face were both personalities the public embraced and took a liking too, but the "Boy with Glasses" was a character they/we can all relate to on a personal level.

The character and world that Lloyd created was a much more real one to the movie-going public. And the plod upon "Boy Next Door" that would get himself hamstrung, could very well have been us.

Here's a quick sample of Lloyd in action in probably his most famous stunt...but instead of the 8 seconds you usually see of him hanging off the side of the building, you can see what gets him into the situation:



For more and more great stuff, there is a wonderful DVD compilation of almost all of Lloyd's surviving work with plenty of added features. This is the kind of stuff I love to view. I like getting the whole picture! Check it out here on Amazon.

Watching silent movies involves a whole different set of muscles than any other kind of viewing. There is absolutely no passivity in it at all...no potty breaks while you listen to what's going on...no running for popcorn! It demands the viewer be involved.

And there's nothing wrong with that. You SHOULD be involved no matter what you watch. If you're just looking to turn off your brain and kill some time, go outside and watch the grass grow.

At least you'll get some fresh air.

The really wonderful thing about watching these films is, like with all mediums, that first generation of creators had to find ways to tell you their story. No established shortcuts. No cheap tricks to saving themselves any work. Once you get those viewing muscles engaged, it's wonderful what they were able to "get across to you" without seeming like they were trying.

Here's another quick piece of Harold Lloyd in action. This was taken from his great film "Speedy" and put into a short snippet about driving in New York city, but still fun to watch. This time with a cameo by Babe Ruth himself...Harold is a taxi driver taking The Babe to Yankee Stadium:



If you're not already a fan of silent cinema, shame on you...we have nothing to discuss, you philistine! But if you'd like to, but aren't sure where to start...Harold Lloyd is as good, if not better, than any.

He's a big hit on "Silent Movie Night" down at "The Drink Hole". Jeffy's Angels think he's dreamy!


Thanks Harold! For all the hard work that you made seem so easy. One of the true hallmarks of an artist!

Hal Roach and His Gang

Tomorrow is the birthday of Hal Roach, born January 14, 1892, he would be 118 years old today...not so far-fetched since he actually lived to 101.

Roach was born in Elmira, New York and as a young boy saw a presentation by the great Mark Twain. Almost immediately Hal knew that comedy would be the life for him.

He spent his young manhood adventuring around from Alaska and all the way down the west coast, doing everything from gold prospecting to what-ever came his way. When he made it to southern California in the early 1910's he became an extra in western films.

After receiving a small inheritance, Hal partnered up with young film comedian Harold Lloyd and began producing comedy films for him as the character "Lonesome Luke".

He wanted to expand his work to a full-fledged studio, and bought some land from Harry Culver in what is now Culver City and the rest is history.

Hal Roach produced and directed films for Lloyd, Will Rodgers, Charley Chase, Harry Langdon, Zasu Pitts and others...but most famously it was Roach who first teamed Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy and created the Our Gang series.

Hal Roach Studios:

Hal Roach and Harold Lloyd:

Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy:

YouTube is a little sparse on good Laurel and Hardy footage...but here's a nice medley of stuff from 3 of their films. Not always remembered, the musical pieces they performed are some of my favorites:

Hal Roach and his Our Gang kids including at far right, Sunshine Sammy Morrison, the original star of the series:

The Our Gang series can be held up to history as the first ever film series to star and be centered around an African-American. Sunshine Sammy was the original inspiration for the films and starred from the beginning in 1921.

With each succession of the kids (they got older and left and younger kids were brought in) there were usually a representation of certain types in the microcosm of the world of kids. The freckle-face boy, the fat kid, the cute girl etc. You can generally tell the year the short is from by who the little black boy is. Here they are in 1925 with Farina front and center...the fat kid is Joe Kobb:

1929 with Joe Kobb and Farina again...current star Wheezer down front with Pete the Pup:

Here's 1930 and the beginning of the sound era. Stymie is the kneeling kid in the bowler (given to him by Stan Laurel incidentally) and Wheezer mugging for the camera. Standing in the center looking distainfully at Wheez is the new star Jackie Cooper and next to him is the new fat kid Chubby and next to him Farina:

Jackie and Chubby at odds in 1931:

1933 with Stymie and a very young Spanky front and center:

1934 has Spanky driving a run away toy fire truck with Stymie driving the hook and ladder rear seat:

Here's 1937, the just a couple years before Roach sold the series to MGM. The cast most of you probably know best. Alfalfa, Darla, Spanky, Buckwheat and Porky:

After Roach sold the series to MGM, the quality went downhill quite a bit. Unfortunately a lot of these are what is in mass circulation...you know, the ones with Froggy and Mickey Gubitosi (Robert Blake) at the forefront.

Here's a nice tribute to the Gang:



These are just some of the things Roach was responsible for bringing us, there were many years in the television industry too. An amazing aggregation of work from the mind of one man. And all with a huge impact on us.

Thanks Hal, for seeing the humor and bringing it to us!