Among the giants of silent comedy, Harold Lloyd stands second in our esteem only to Buster Keaton (we hear you gnashing your teeth, Chaplin fans), so we’re pleased to honor him today, on his 122nd birthday.
Happy birthday, Mr. Lloyd, wherever you maybe—and thanks for the laughs.
Most New Yorkers we know get a kick out of seeing motion pictures that were shot in the Big Apple. It’s fun to watch for spots you know, to think, “Hey, I live just a few blocks from that restaurant—I had brunch there once” or “I used to walk by that store every day on my way to work.” And even transplants to the city feel like a true New Yorkers when we can spot continuity errors, when a character steps out the door of his building on the Upper East Side, for example, and rounds the corner, only to be on the Upper West Side in the very next shot.
Even more fun is watching classic movies that were filmed in New York (though most NYC-set pictures in those decades were shot on studio lots in Los Angeles). Harold Lloyd‘s Speedy (1928) is a great example of a movie shot in NYC, and Lloyd’s climactic race at the helm of a horse-drawn trolley that covers the length of Manhattan during the picture’s climax provides some terrific opportunities to see New York as it once was (and to watch for a few landmarks, such as the arch in Washington Square Park, that are still standing).
We’ve never resided in Los Angeles (though we’re not averse to the notion), but having spent a week at a time there on several occasions over the past decade, we find that we’re able to spot a number of familiar locales and locations when we watch movies that are set there. And, of course, site spotting while enjoying old movies that are set in Los Angeles is great fun. One of our favorite examples is the frequent appearances made by downtown L.A.’s Bradbury Building; that classic structure shows up in any number of movies, old and new, including the 1950 thriller D.O.A. (in one scene in that noir classic, Edmund O’Brien takes a head-first spill while running through the building’s lobby; when we paid a visit to the Bradbury some years back, we couldn’t resist taking a fall of our own as a sort of tribute).
All of which is by way of setting up the following video clip, which is stock footage shot in 1935 and meant, we presume, to serve as the background for scenes that were meant to take place in automobiles but were filmed in those studio-bound contraptions that were rigged to resemble a car’s interior.
The car carrying the camera that shot this footage starts near Canon Drive and travels east along Wilshire Boulevard through Beverly Hills. If you grew up near there in the 1930s, you’ve got a real treat awaiting you. If you didn’t, this may be as close as you can hope to get to experiencing what it was like then.
We can’t help it; we’re suckers for quick trips back in time such as this one.
Here’s a two-part video follow-up to last week’s photograph of that “ghost sign” in Vancouver that, ninety years ago, advertised Harold Lloyd‘s first feature-length film, Grandma’s Boy.
1920’s Harold Lloyd Film Poster found in Vancouver from VanArts.
History of Harold Lloyd & “Grandma’s Boy” from VanArts.
The building on which the sign was painted has since been razed, and we’re not happy about that. We can’t help but hope someone tried to preserve the sign.
Though admittedly, there are not that many spots where such a thing could be displayed, so we’re no doubt kidding ourselves.
We enjoyed this video tribute to the silent era, and thought we’d share it with you.
The person behind it, Alejandra Espasande Bouza, is an independent filmmaker based in Los Angeles. She holds a B.A. from the USC School of Cinematic Arts and a M.A. in Moving Image Archive Studies from UCLA. and here’s what she has to say about the project:
This video is a tribute to the forgotten pioneer Hollywood cinematographers who captured the moving images of the silent film era. In turn, these images serve as a reminder of the intrinsic beauty and charm of silent cinema, and the importance of its preservation. To that end, and in the tradition of this historic film period, no narration is employed. Apart from film stars of the time, the video showcases scenes that represent main themes of this film period: slapstick, adventure, horror and romance.
Sit back and enjoy the beauty of these moving images edited to the rhythm of Antonio Vivaldi.
Featured actors include: Gloria Swanson, Rudolph Valentino, Greta Garbo, Clara Bow, Charlie Chaplin, Douglas Fairbanks, William S. Hart, Ben Turpin, Harry Langdon, Buster Keaton, Harry Gribbon, Harold Lloyd, Mary Philbin, Lon Chaney and Roscoe Arbuckle.
If you enjoyed this, cast your vote for Ms. Bouza’s work in the MishMash Getty Images Music/Video/Remix competition.
