The great Harold Lloyd was born 123 years ago today in Burchard, Nebraska. Though today he’s less remembered by the general public than Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton are, in his day, he was more popular at the box office than either of them, and his pictures hold up very well today. If you ever have a chance to see one of his films in a theatre with a live audience, don’t pass it up. You’ll have a grand time.
Happy birthday, Mr. Lloyd, wherever you may be!
We’ve dedicated ourselves to watching a few Joe E. Brown pictures of late, to see if he perhaps will grow on us (after seeing one or two of his films years ago, we had written him off).
Broadminded (1931), which we watched today, is our favorite so far, perhaps not surprisingly given that it was written by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby, who did stellar work with the Marx Brothers.
Another thing this picture also has going for it (in addition to the presence of the always-welcome Thelma Todd—another Marx Brothers connection)? Béla Lugosi as something of a foil for Brown’s misadventures. Best of all, Lugosi plays a character named Pancho Arango who, when asked what country he’s from, responds, “South America!”
