Courtesy of Photofest
Screening & Live Event
Harold Lloyd's Speedy: Slapstick on the Streets of New York
Presentation by John Bengtson, author of Silent Visions: Discovering Early Hollywood and New York Through the Films of Harold Lloyd
Screening with live music by Donald Sosin
In his wonderful books on Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, and Harold Lloyd, film historian John Bengtson has created an exciting new form of urban archaeology by extensively researching the locations in which silent films were photographed. While much of his work has focused on Los Angeles, his new book on Harold Lloyd offers a real treat for New Yorkers: a look at Lloyd’s delightful comedy Speedy, which costars Babe Ruth and features extensive location photography in New York, including Coney Island, lower Manhattan, the Bronx, and Yankee Stadium.
A beautifully restored 35mm print of Speedy (dir. Ted Wilde, 1928, 85 mins.) will be shown with live musical accompaniment, following Bengtson’s visual presentation about the movie’s production. In the film, Harold Lloyd plays a baseball-crazed soda jerk and cabby who picks up Babe Ruth as a passenger and has to hurtle through the city to get him to his game. The event will be followed by a book signing.
Free with Museum admission.
