Fantastic breakdown of his legacy! Thanks for doing Harold Lloyd - he absolutely does not get the attention he deserves. Speaking of his character pictures, I think my favorite of his features is Girl Shy, for the acting and that chase sequence. Safety Last! is the one I tell people about, though. It's just so undeniably impressive.
Thanks! Yeah, I’m trying to spread the word about him because I find he doesn’t get mentioned nearly as much as Chaplin or Keaton (especially here on RUclips) despite being just as good. Also, Girl Shy is an excellent choice! I’ve heard that the director Mike Nichols actually hired Harold Lloyd on as a consultant for the ending climax of The Graduate (1967) where Dustin Hoffman is racing to stop the wedding because he was such a fan of Girl Shy!
@@JoshuaSutlive I knew the ending of The Graduate was an homage, but I didn't know he actually consulted on it! I'm continually amazed at how far-reaching his influence was (and is!).
The football game at the end is the most brilliant demonstration of how to milk a situation and pile one gag on top of another that I know. It is breathtaking. Harold was a subtly underplaying reaction comic who created an atmosphere in which everyone round him became funny too. Like Jack Benny, he shared the laughs generously. The action grew out of everyday events and social interactions, not the stylized and grotesque cutups of burlesque. It looks forward to the naturalistic TV sitcoms of 50 years later. Harold was not a red-nosed clown or an ethnic caricature; he was your regular Middle American go-getter, more in tune with the Twenties than Chaplin's Dickensiana or Keaton's lack of affect. No wonder Preston Sturges idolized Lloyd.
@@JoshuaSutlive I will add that 'Mad Wednesday', pace some critics, is not a hot mess but a fascinating coda to Harold as the 'glass' character, crammed with sterling support from the Sturges rep company. The ingenue is sweet too. She may have been a protegee but she earns her spot. HL is older but not ponderous. The scene in which he explains why he could never marry any of the Miss Otises is beautifully touching, suggesting that if he had needed the money he might have been a fine character actor. And the slapstick set pieces there with the lion (and on the train in 'Professor Beware') are cherishable. Harold handled the switch to Sound more easily than Keaton or Chaplin bc of the inherent realism of his persona.
Josh just discovered you channel. Love the way you discuss these movies. Some great taste! The Freshman was a great discovery for me last year. Awesome CC digipak too.
I came for the Matthew Broderick/Marlon Brando movie and got a nice surprise about Harold Lloyd. Thanks 🤓
Fantastic breakdown of his legacy! Thanks for doing Harold Lloyd - he absolutely does not get the attention he deserves.
Speaking of his character pictures, I think my favorite of his features is Girl Shy, for the acting and that chase sequence.
Safety Last! is the one I tell people about, though. It's just so undeniably impressive.
Thanks! Yeah, I’m trying to spread the word about him because I find he doesn’t get mentioned nearly as much as Chaplin or Keaton (especially here on RUclips) despite being just as good.
Also, Girl Shy is an excellent choice! I’ve heard that the director Mike Nichols actually hired Harold Lloyd on as a consultant for the ending climax of The Graduate (1967) where Dustin Hoffman is racing to stop the wedding because he was such a fan of Girl Shy!
@@JoshuaSutlive I knew the ending of The Graduate was an homage, but I didn't know he actually consulted on it! I'm continually amazed at how far-reaching his influence was (and is!).
The football game at the end is the most brilliant demonstration of how to milk a situation and pile one gag on top of another that I know. It is breathtaking.
Harold was a subtly underplaying reaction comic who created an atmosphere in which everyone round him became funny too. Like Jack Benny, he shared the laughs generously. The action grew out of everyday events and social interactions, not the stylized and grotesque cutups of burlesque. It looks forward to the naturalistic TV sitcoms of 50 years later.
Harold was not a red-nosed clown or an ethnic caricature; he was your regular Middle American go-getter, more in tune with the Twenties than Chaplin's Dickensiana or Keaton's lack of affect. No wonder Preston Sturges idolized Lloyd.
Well said! I couldn’t agree more.
@@JoshuaSutlive I will add that 'Mad Wednesday', pace some critics, is not a hot mess but a fascinating coda to Harold as the 'glass' character, crammed with sterling support from the Sturges rep company. The ingenue is sweet too. She may have been a protegee but she earns her spot.
HL is older but not ponderous. The scene in which he explains why he could never marry any of the Miss Otises is beautifully touching, suggesting that if he had needed the money he might have been a fine character actor. And the slapstick set pieces there with the lion (and on the train in 'Professor Beware') are cherishable. Harold handled the switch to Sound more easily than Keaton or Chaplin bc of the inherent realism of his persona.
Josh just discovered you channel. Love the way you discuss these movies. Some great taste! The Freshman was a great discovery for me last year. Awesome CC digipak too.
Thanks!