Tonight's Movie: Safety Last! (1923)

I've now watched the first film on my list of 10 Classics for 2013 -- SAFETY LAST! (1923), a silent comedy starring Harold Lloyd.

One of the reasons I put SAFETY LAST! on my list is that I never watch silent movies and thought it would be good to challenge myself to see at least a couple this year. I've always found the narrative cards a challenge, inasmuch as I'm an extremely fast reader and find the "dead" time the card lingers on the screen after I've read it annoying. And when it comes to comedy, I like witty verbal wordplay, and of course there's not a lot of that going on in a silent film.

My father suggested I try SAFETY LAST! because he thought there might be fewer intertitle cards due to the film being so physical, plus he also thought Lloyd's smart humor would appeal to me. Lloyd's location shooting in Los Angeles is also a plus for someone such as myself who is especially interested in that topic. And I've been intrigued by seeing Lloyd's name honored in various places at my daughter's alma mater, USC, including a soundstage and a lobby in the Spielberg Building.

I'm happy to say the experiment was a success and I really enjoyed SAFETY LAST! Despite the lack of spoken words, I found it quite witty, starting with the opening visual gag at the train station, followed by Harold attempting to get on a train. Shortly thereafter there was a scene where Harold and his roommate hide from their landlady which I thought was extremely clever and cemented my interest.

The humor wasn't the simplistic pie-in-the-face type of physical humor which I find tedious, but very well-thought-out set pieces with many layers, each gradually building to a crescendo. I was also pleased that there didn't seem to be a great many narrative cards, and I liked that some of the cards were amusing in and of themselves.

SAFETY LAST! is about a young man named Harold (Lloyd) who leaves his small town to make good in the big city, promising to send for his sweetheart once he's a success. "The Girl" is played by Mildred Davis, who married Lloyd the same year; they remained together until her passing in 1969.

Harold is a low-paid department store clerk but goes without eating in order to send his beloved some beautiful jewelry. She mistakenly assumes he is "in the money" and heads to the city to surprise Harold and get married. When his sweetheart arrives, Harold manages to keep her from learning that he does not have a position of importance, and he hopes to earn money for their wedding with an unusual stunt...

The department store provides material for any number of funny scenes, my favorite being when Harold shows his sweetheart his "office." I loved when he accidentally pushed the buttons on the desk and an assortment of employees showed up, which he shrugs off to "the girl" as a fire drill!

The movie is justly famous for the final sequence, which finds Harold climbing the department store building; the scene with Lloyd hanging from the clock has become iconic. As someone who's not fond of heights, this sequence was almost hard for me to watch! I stuck with it and really enjoyed and admired it, even though I cringed and gasped each time Harold would wobble or fall.

A website I recently found has a number of interesting posts on SAFETY LAST! including the Downtown Los Angeles locations and a PowerPoint presentation on "How Harold Lloyd Filmed Safety Last!" I hope to learn more about Lloyd and the movie via this site as well as the DVD extras.

SAFETY LAST! was directed by Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor. Bill Strother plays "The Pal" and Noah Young plays "The Law." Co-director Fred Newmeyer is the driver who gets a parking ticket early in the film. The movie runs 73 minutes.

SAFETY LAST! is available on DVD in the Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection, Vol. 1. Extras include a commentary track with Leonard Maltin. The other titles in Vol. 1 include GIRL SHY (1924), THE CAT'S-PAW (1934), and THE MILKY WAY (1936).

It's also had a release on VHS.

In closing, I'd like to renew my invitation of a few days ago -- if anyone else would like to blog about SAFETY LAST! or Harold Lloyd anytime in January, please send me the link via comments or email and I will include your link at the end of this post! I will also send out a Tweet anytime I update the post with a new link.

When I posted my "10 Classics" list earlier this month, Paul of Lasso the Movies mentioned he had just seen SAFETY LAST! for the first time in 2012. Here's Paul's review! I liked his point that Lloyd wasn't going for the quick laugh, but that each scene is planned in order to build to the next.

I'd love to have others join me enjoying this classic silent comedy.

Update: Here's a terrific post by Ivan at Thrilling Days of Yesteryear, "Loco Boy Makes Good." (Love that apt title!) Ivan discusses how he came to enjoy Harold Lloyd movies and then moves on to his thoughts on Lloyd's movies in general, and SAFETY LAST! in particular. Thanks for this informative contribution, Ivan!

Update: Leticia, a film fan from Brazil, has posted her thoughts on seeing SAFETY LAST! for the first time at Critica Retro. I love that the Internet makes it possible for classic film fans to bridge distance and even language -- there's a handy translator widget on her blog page! -- to share our love for classic movies. It was wonderful to share the joy of seeing this film for the very first time with Leticia -- I loved her description of Harold as a "man lizard"! Thanks for joining me, Leticia!

Update: SAFETY LAST! will be coming out from the Criterion Collection on June 18, 2013.

Tonight's Movie: Hot Water (1924)

A few days ago I watched my first Harold Lloyd film in quite a while, DR. JACK (1922). I enjoyed it a great deal and resolved to catch up with more of the Lloyd films I've not yet seen, as I've never watched one yet which I didn't enjoy!

This time I chose the only unseen title from the half-dozen films he made costarring the enchanting Jobyna Ralston. This was Lloyd and Ralston's third film together, and their chemistry here, as in all their films together, is magical. She is sweet and funny and always completely believes in Harold. I only wish they'd made even more movies as a team.

HOT WATER has a brief running time of 59 minutes, and it's basically three set pieces starring Lloyd and Ralston as adoring newlyweds.

In the first section of the movie, Harold attempts to ride a streetcar carrying a huge load of groceries, topped off by a (live!) turkey he won in a store raffle; in the next section, he surprises his wife with a brand-new car, which is promptly destroyed in a series of misadventures on its maiden drive; and in the final segment Harold mistakenly believes he's poisoned his harridan of a mother-in-law (Josephine Crowell).

The mystery of the movie is how a woman as sweet as Ralston's "Wifey," as she's listed in the credits, came from such an odious family! In addition to her overbearing mother, Wifey has a lazy older brother (Charles Stevenson) and a bratty little brother (Mickey McBan).

HOT WATER isn't in the same league as Lloyd's best films, but any Lloyd film is worth watching, and the movie contains some wonderful moments. My favorite scene occurred when the car drives up on a sidewalk, where a "sidewalk elevator" meant for basement deliveries raises the car up in the air, with all five cast members inside! (It got me to wondering if such contraptions still exist anywhere in Los Angeles...especially as basements aren't especially common in Southern California.)

Harold trying to wrangle a turkey while a spider crawls through his pants is also quite amusing, and I think I laughed out loud near the end, as the tipsy Harold misunderstood everything he was hearing and jumped to the conclusion he'd killed his mother-in-law. There was some very clever writing in that section.

Hopefully after the end of the movie "Hubby" and "Wifey" moved far, far away from her family!

I thought I recognized Bunker Hill in Los Angeles during the car sequence, which was confirmed by John Bengtson's fabulous book SILENT VISIONS: DISCOVERING EARLY HOLLYWOOD AND NEW YORK THROUGH THE FILMS OF HAROLD LLOYD. The way Lloyd films document bits of Los Angeles as it looked in the '20s only adds to my enjoyment. Some of the buildings seen in the movie, such as the apartment house in the background where Lloyd and Ralston first meet, are still standing today, over 90 years later.

HOT WATER was directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor. It was filmed by Walter Lundin.

HOT WATER is available on DVD as part of the third volume of the superb Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection, released by New Line.

Harold Lloyd films previously reviewed at Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: DR. JACK (1922), SAFETY LAST! (1923), WHY WORRY? (1923), GIRL SHY (1924), THE FRESHMAN (1925), FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE (1926), THE KID BROTHER (1927), and THE MILKY WAY (1936).

Tonight's Movie: The Kid Brother (1927)

This year I've been enjoying watching a variety of new-to-me types of movies, from a Japanese drama to George O'Brien "B" Westerns to programmers directed by Lew Landers to the silent films of Harold Lloyd.

Tonight I followed up seeing Lloyd's SAFETY LAST! (1923) and
GIRL SHY (1924) by watching THE KID BROTHER (1927), which proved to be another very special film.

Lloyd plays Harold Hickory, the runt of a family which consists of his father, Sheriff Hickory (Walter James) and two huge, obnoxious brothers (Leo Willis and Olin Francis). Harold keeps house for the family and is constantly dismissed by the rest of the family as inadequate.

Harold's life changes the minute he meets Mary Powers (Jobyna Ralston), who arrives in Hickoryville with a medicine show. Mary, whose father owned the medicine show but recently passed on, is unhappy and frightened of the leering, oily men who work in the medicine show (Constantine Romanoff and Eddie Boland). Thanks to Mary's encouragement, Harold becomes one determined man when confronting problems; he not only proves to be Mary's knight in shining armor, he saves his father from a crisis.

This is a lovely movie which was at times quite stunningly filmed. There's an unforgettable scene where Harold climbs a tree to see Mary as she walks away into the distance, and as he climbs the tree, the camera rises with him. I actually gasped, for several reasons: surprise at the camera's mobility, admiration of Harold's agility, and with pleasure at the beauty of the moment. Who needs CGI? The real thing, with a camera following a man up a tree and gazing down on the beauty below, is so much better. (Some of the rural scenes were shot here in Orange County, in Placentia.)

This film reunited Lloyd and Ralston, whom I enjoyed so much in GIRL-SHY; they made several other films together, including THE FRESHMAN (1925) which I hope to see later this year. They have a very special chemistry, and Ralston is simply a magical actress. There's a scene when the medicine show stage has burned down and her tears fall on Harold's hand which made me cry, and I teared up again in the film's final seconds.

Ralston is not only a very sensitive actress, she matches Lloyd's comic timing and has some marvelous reactions. That said, the timing and visuals in the film as a whole are quite remarkable. One of my favorite moments was when Harold is confronted by the neighbors' mean dog, and we suddenly see that Harold had planned ahead, producing a cat to distract the dog! The film is packed with such moments which are great fun for the unsuspecting viewer to discover.

As someone who's always found the narrative cards in silent films to be an annoyance, as they interrupt the action and remain on the screen too long after I've read them, I continue to be really pleased that the Lloyd films go for very long stretches without using cards, and when the cards do appear they are often quite witty in and of themselves.

The Lloyd films have done a lot to encourage my interest in silent films, and if all goes well I'm going to combine a couple of this year's new interests by seeing George O'Brien in the "silent to sound" transition-era film NOAH'S ARK (1927) at UCLA tomorrow night.

THE KID BROTHER runs 82 minutes, It was directed by Ted Wilde and J.A. Howe, with IMDb also noting uncredited directing contributions by Lewis Milestone and Harold Lloyd. The cinematographer was Walter Lundin.

THE KID BROTHER is available on DVD from New Line Cinema in The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection, Vol. 2. It has a beautiful musical score composed by Carl Davis. Extras include a commentary track.

It's also been released on VHS.

THE KID BROTHER was recently shown on Turner Classic Movies, so perhaps it will turn up there again in the future.

For more on this movie, Will wrote about it last year at Cinematically Insane, and here's a short photo tribute to wonderful Jobyna Ralston.

Tonight's Movie: Girl Shy (1924)

This past January I watched my first Harold Lloyd film, SAFETY LAST! (1923), and tonight I followed up with my second Lloyd film, GIRL SHY (1924).

I think I liked GIRL SHY even better, thanks in part to leading lady Jobyna Ralston, who was absolutely charming, very sweet and also a gifted comedienne. The scene where she and Lloyd attempt to hide a forbidden little dog on a train is hilarious.

Lloyd plays Harold Meadows, who serves as an apprentice to his uncle, a tailor. The shy, stuttering Harold dreams of striking it rich thanks to his manuscript on the secrets of making love to various kinds of women. Needless to say, the book was not written from Harold's personal experience!

While traveling to the big city to deliver his manuscript to a publisher, Harold meets a lovely young girl (Ralston) who had to take the train after her car broke down. They bond over hiding her dog and Harold buying her a box of Cracker Jack, then get to know one another better at a subsequent chance meeting.

Harold dreams of marrying the girl, but circumstances bring about their separation and the girl regretfully consents to marry another man (Richard Daniels) -- who turns out to be already married! When Harold learns this news he is off to stop the wedding and save his beloved from bigamy, racing through the streets of L.A. by car, fire truck, trolley, and on horseback. Will there be a happy ending?

This film has it all -- touching romance, numerous funny comedic bits, and a, well, Cracker Jack finale with Lloyd surmounting obstacles galore as he races to the side of his sweetheart. In particular, the scene where he's hanging off a trolley is remarkably well done. The amazing thing about this sequence is that while Lloyd and Co. may have utilized some tricks of the trade, there was no CGI involved in the elaborate stunts; I was holding my breath as the trolley careened through a busy intersection!

After watching the movie I read the chapter on GIRL SHY in John Bengtson's book SILENT VISIONS, which I was inspired to purchase after seeing it in the gift shop at the TCM Classic Film Festival. The book has an amazing collection of photographs and maps showing where key scenes in the film took place; Bengtson also has a website, which includes posts on topics such as how Lloyd filmed the trolley stunts. As someone fascinated by movie locations, I loved the film's many shots of the Greater Los Angeles area in the 1920s.

I was quite taken with Jobyna Ralston from the moment her character is introduced, sitting in her broken-down car ("a good car with bad habits") feeding biscuits to her tiny dog. Jobyna's character is wealthy but she is sweet and unspoiled, and she's extremely grateful when Harold saves her dog from being left behind on the train platform. Ralston has a very expressive face which allows her to do a wonderful job playing comedy opposite Lloyd, and she also easily communicates her emotions without the need for words.

My main issue with silent films has been that I find the interruptions of narrative cards tedious, and I was impressed with GIRL SHY's relative restraint in using these cards, often letting the audience infer what the characters are saying without spelling it all out. Lloyd and Ralston are both such gifted actors that they're able to communicate a great deal to the audience regardless of the fact there's no soundtrack.

I came across an interesting 2004 page about the placement of an historic marker at the site of Jobyna Ralston's Tennessee birthplace. Ralston appeared in several Harold Lloyd films, and I'm looking forward to watching more of her work.

GIRL SHY would be a great film to show someone who doesn't watch silent films, as it's smart, funny, and exciting. The DVD print I watched, put out by New Line Cinema with the cooperation of the Lloyd Estate, was so crisp and clear that some of the scenes almost looked as though they could have been filmed last week, rather than 90 years ago.

The DVD provides a choice of two different soundtracks; I watched it with organ accompaniment.

This film has also had a release on VHS.

GIRL SHY provides a great viewing experience, and I very much recommend it.

Tonight's Movie: The Milky Way (1936) at the UCLA Festival of Preservation

It's been an extraordinarily busy week, getting work out of the way ahead of my time off for the TCM Classic Film Festival!

I've been looking forward to sharing some thoughts on Harold Lloyd's THE MILKY WAY (1936), which I saw on Monday evening at the UCLA Festival of Preservation. THE MILKY WAY was on a double bill with THE BIG BROADCAST (1932), which I reviewed here.

It was a nice surprise that Harold Lloyd's granddaughter, Suzanne Lloyd, came to introduce the movie, as she hadn't been listed as a guest on the UCLA website. Suzanne is an engaging and interesting speaker who has done phenomenal work preserving her grandfather's legacy. I also saw her introduce WHY WORRY? (1923) at the TCM Classic Film Festival last year with Leonard Maltin.

Suzanne shared that while most of her grandfather's movies were not shown on television -- his preference -- one day when she was young and at home sick from school, she stumbled across THE MILKY WAY on TV and loved it. Suzanne was raised by her grandparents, and she said she particularly loves THE MILKY WAY because there are moments when it closely reflects the real offscreen Harold Lloyd; she said the way he talks to the colt in the movie is the way he would talk to her and their dogs!

I was especially interested in seeing THE MILKY WAY for a couple of reasons: First, I've become a fan of Harold Lloyd and had not yet seen any of his sound films; and second, last fall I reviewed the Danny Kaye musical remake, THE KID FROM BROOKLYN (1946).

THE MILKY WAY was directed by Leo McCarey, who the following year directed the comedy classic THE AWFUL TRUTH (1937); when McCarey fell ill while working on THE MILKY WAY, there was some uncredited direction by Leo's brother, Ray McCarey, as well as by Norman Z. McLeod. McLeod, ironically, directed the remake, THE KID FROM BROOKLYN, a decade later! The movie was filmed in black and white by Alfred Gilks.

Lloyd plays Burleigh Sullivan, a milquetoast milkman whose defense of his sister (Helen Mack) against a couple of mashers leads to the impression that he knocked out a boxing champ (William Gargan). Soon Burleigh is on his way to boxing stardom, thanks to manager Gabby Sloan (Adolphe Menjou), but the truth is Burleigh has no idea what he's doing in the ring. Meanwhile Burleigh's fame dampens his new relationship with sweet Polly Pringle (Dorothy Wilson).

I enjoyed THE MILKY WAY quite well. Though it wasn't on a par with Lloyd's classic silents, it was a solid '30s comedy with a good cast. It was a bit odd at first for me to hear Lloyd's voice, having previously only seen his silents, but then it seemed perfectly normal! Burleigh's fancy footwork couldn't help but remind me a bit of Lloyd's "handshake routine" in THE FRESHMAN (1925).

This was my second Adolphe Menjou film at the festival in a week's time; his BACHELOR'S AFFAIRS (1932) was the highlight of the festival for me. It was fun to see him here playing a looser comic character as the manager.

Menjou's real-life wife, Verree Teasdale, has one of her best-ever parts in this as Gabby's glamorous, sarcastic girlfriend; she's an absolute knockout in a parade of stunning gowns, and she's sharply witty as well. (Her role was played in the remake by Eve Arden.) It was mentioned before the film that Menjou and Teasdale, like director McCarey, both had serious medical issues during the filming, which delayed production.

A great bit of trivia is that Lionel Stander, who plays trainer Spider Schultz, played the same role in the remake! The cast also includes George Barbier, Charles Lane, and Marjorie Gateson, who plays the society matron which Fay Bainter played a decade later.

Of course, comparisons between the two versions are inevitable; I found them roughly equal in terms of enjoyment. I really liked THE KID FROM BROOKLYN, particularly for its great color and the presence of Virginia Mayo, Steve Cochran, and Vera-Ellen, who I found more interesting than their '36 counterparts, but that later version does run on the long side, clocking in at 113 minutes. THE MILKY WAY runs 89 minutes, which was just right, and I especially enjoyed Menjou and Teasdale in the older version.

THE MILKY WAY is available on DVD in multiple editions, including the excellent Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection, Vol. I from New Line.

Amazon Prime members can stream the movie at no extra charge.

Tonight's Movie: Dr. Jack (1922)

The world lost Harold Lloyd 45 years ago this week, but what a legacy he left behind! His films continue to bring joy and laughter to audiences, closing in on a century after some of them were first released.

It had been too long since my last Lloyd film, so I pulled DR. JACK (1922) out of my "watch soon" stack. At just 59 minutes, it's an easy one to fit in.

It's also a delightful film which goes down very easily -- but then, can't that be said of all Lloyd's films? It certainly applies to all those I've seen; reviews are linked at the end of this post.

Lloyd plays the title character, a country doctor who works "7:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m." and who earned $300 in the previous year but has yet to collect it. We're introduced to the doctor as he rushes out of his house, gobbling breakfast off a tray held by his housekeeper as he hurries to his car. In a series of charming vignettes, Dr. Jack rescues a doll from a well and performs CPR on it, deduces a little boy doesn't want to go to school but saves him from a whoopin', and cheers up a sad little old lady by arranging a visit from her son.

The woman's son is a lawyer who thinks that Dr. Jack's unorthodox methods might be just the thing for his client's daughter (Mildred Davis), who is only referred to as The-Sick-Little-Well-Girl. For reasons which are never clear, the young lady's father (John T. Prince) felt she needed a doctor, and that specialist (Eric Mayne) treats her as though she's deathly ill...making a lot of money in the process.

One look at the young lady and Dr. Jack is dreaming of "castles in the air," and she's as taken with him as he is with her. However, the specialist doesn't want his gravy train to end and works to persuade her father that Dr. Jack should not be allowed to consult on the case any longer. Dr. Jack must find a way to prove that she's perfectly healthy and hopefully win her in the process.

There are many wonderful moments, whether it's Dr. Jack getting out of his moving car, which follows after him as he clears the road of cows, or the doctor hopping in a window to pay a call on a patient. A lengthy set piece near the end of the movie finds the doctor alternating two roles at once, pretending to chase a villain through the house to help demonstrate that the Sick-Little-Well-Girl needs some excitement in her life! Lloyd's physicality in these scenes is at times quite astonishing.

DR. JACK may not be the very best of Harold Lloyd, but it's an hour very well spent.

Lloyd's frequent leading lady Mildred Davis made only one more film with him, the classic SAFETY LAST! (1923), before marrying him in 1923. After a handful of other movies she retired.

For more on Lloyd's leading ladies, also including Bebe Daniels and Jobyna Ralston, here's an excellent article by Annette D'Agostino Lloyd, originally published in 1995.

DR. JACK was directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and the uncredited Sam Taylor. It was filmed by Walter Lundin.

My copy of DR. JACK is part of the Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection, Volume 2 from New Line. It's a wonderful set which includes several other films and loads of extras.

Harold Lloyd films previously reviewed at Laura's Miscellaneous Musings: SAFETY LAST! (1923), WHY WORRY? (1923), GIRL SHY (1924), THE FRESHMAN (1925), FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE (1926), THE KID BROTHER (1927), and THE MILKY WAY (1936).

Tonight's Movie: Why Worry? (1923) at the TCM Classic Film Festival

It's time for another entry in my periodic series looking back at individual screenings from the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival!

This year's TCM Classic Film Festival offered many special viewing experiences, but the most memorable for me was the Egyptian Theatre screening of Harold Lloyd in WHY WORRY? (1923).

WHY WORRY? was screened on Friday, April 11th, the Festival's first full-length day. It especially stood out among the 14 films seen as it was shown with a live orchestra performing a new score by Carl Davis.

The theatre was packed for an evening which began with Leonard Maltin briefly interviewing Harold Lloyd's granddaughter, Suzanne. Suzanne has been tireless in her work to preserve her grandfather's film legacy, and she was clearly thrilled to be present for such a special experience, with a large, enthusiastic audience buzzing with anticipation at the prospect of seeing the movie. The excitement grew with the appearance of Maestro Davis and the start of the film.

WHY WORRY? tells the story of Harold Van Pelham (Lloyd), a wealthy young hypochondriac who embarks on a South American sojourn for his "health," accompanied by his nurse (Jobyna Ralston) and valet (Wallace Howe).

Once in South America, Harold finds he's wandered into the midst of a revolution -- which he finds an annoyance as it's interrupting his vacation! Harold energetically attempts to put an end to the fighting so he can resume his rest...the end result being the realization by all that Harold is perfectly healthy.

WHY WORRY? may not be classic Lloyd on the level of titles like SAFETY LAST! (1923), GIRL-SHY (1924), or THE FRESHMAN (1925), but this 90-year-old film delighted its audience. Some of the film's sight gags are laugh-out-loud funny; the unexpected moment when Harold climbed a friendly giant (John Aasen) caused me to laugh until I had tears in my eyes. I just couldn't stop chuckling over it! There are many similarly funny moments.

As is the case in several other Lloyd films, lovely Jobyna Ralston is delightful as Harold's devoted, if perhaps skeptical, nurse. For much of this short 63-minute film her role takes a back seat to Harold and the giant, but she finally moves front and center towards the film's climax.

The live score was so perfectly synchronized that at one point I was startled to realize that I'd forgotten the music was live! Davis's score was charming, with slight Latin riffs here and there, in keeping with the film's South American setting. When the film came to its end the audience jumped to its feet and cheered its appreciation for Davis and the other musicians.

WHY WORRY? was directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor.

Those not fortunate enough to see WHY WORRY? at the TCM Fest or when it was screened on Turner Classic Movies a few weeks later can watch it as part of the outstanding New Line DVD set The Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection Vol. 1.

My friend Aurora was also in the audience at WHY WORRY? and wrote about it at Once Upon a Screen.

After WHY WORRY? there was another memorable moment, as KC, Angela, and I literally ran down Hollywood Boulevard to get to the Chinese multiplex, hoping to make it in time for the screening of the pre-Code EMPLOYEES' ENTRANCE (1933). Happily, we did make it in time, and we also enjoyed a special "Pre-Code 101" lecture by Bruce Goldstein of New York's Film Forum prior to the showing.

Tonight's Movie: For Heaven's Sake (1926)

One of the wonderful things about this year's 10 Classics viewing project is that it introduced me to the films of Harold Lloyd.

So far this year I've enjoyed Lloyd's SAFETY LAST! (1923), GIRL SHY (1924), and THE KID BROTHER (1927).

I particularly like the pairing of Lloyd with Jobyna Ralston, his leading lady in GIRL SHY and THE KID BROTHER, and was anxious to see another of the several films they made together. Tonight I watched them in FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE (1926), which is absolutely delightful. The movie has one great sight gag after another, along with sweet romance. Leonard Maltin rates it four stars, and I definitely concur.

Lloyd plays "The Uptown Boy," a rich young man who inadvertently pays for the downtown mission building run by Brother Paul (Paul Weigel) and his lovely daughter (Ralston). Lloyd is instantly smitten with Ralston and soon, in a tour de force sequence, he's rounding up a swarm of lowlifes to come patronize the mission. The couple become engaged, but then Lloyd's old uptown club friends decide to kidnap him on his wedding day...

This is quite a short film, at 58 minutes, but every second is packed with clever visuals, from Lloyd using a hubcap as a helmet during a police shootout to him running down the sidewalk, knocking people over like bowling pins, to the street sign on a runaway bus flipping to read "CEMETERY" in the final chase sequence. I gasped as the bus headed for a pair of trains crossing at an intersection!

My favorite moment of visual poetry was Harold courting Jobyna by moonlight -- and the moon then being revealed to be part of a laundry's neon sign.

I sometimes don't appreciate comedians who engage in a great deal of physical humor -- Laurel and Hardy being an example -- as I prefer witty dialogue; I've been delighted to discover that although Lloyd's silent films have no dialogue, per se, the humor is impressively sophisticated and creative, plotted out to perfection. Lloyd's particular style of physical humor I enjoy, plus some of the title cards are a riot!

Lloyd is great, of course, whether he's trying to survive a crazy ride on a double-decker bus or swooning over sweet Jobyna. I continue to find Jobyna absolutely charming and love her chemistry with Lloyd. I'm glad I still have more of their films ahead of me to see, including THE FRESHMAN (1925).

This film was directed by Sam Taylor and filmed by Walter Lundin.

FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE is available on DVD from New Line Cinema in the Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection, Vol. 3.

Particular kudos go to the score by Robert Israel heard on this DVD, which is exceptionally good.

Highly recommended.

Tonight's Movie: The Freshman (1925)

With the end of July just around the corner, it's time for me to get busy viewing this year's list of 10 Classics!

For several reasons, including seeing a significantly higher than usual number of films on a big screen so far this year -- 64 at last count -- I've been slow to check off watching my 10 Classics titles, other than WINCHESTER '73 (1950), which I saw at UCLA.

The second film seen from this year's list was Harold Lloyd's delightful THE FRESHMAN (1925). Having watched several of Lloyd's films over the past two years, including a marvelous screening of WHY WORRY? (1923) with a live orchestra at the TCM Classic Film Festival, I can now say I'm a bona fide fan. His films are smart and funny, never failing to wow me with the well-thought-out routines and even the witty narrative cards. (My favorite in THE FRESHMAN was the description of Tate University as "a large football stadium with a college attached.")

Most of the Lloyd films I've seen to this point have also benefited immeasurably from the charm of the entrancing Jobyna Ralston, Lloyd's leading lady in WHY WORRY? (1923), GIRL SHY (1924), FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE (1926), and THE KID BROTHER (1927). She's simply delightful, with exquisite facial expressions and hand movements.

In THE FRESHMAN Harold is off to college, bonding with Peggy (Ralston) over a crossword puzzle on the train. Unfortunately Harold has filled his head with silly ideas about how to be popular at college, and he doesn't realize that most people on campus don't take him seriously. When he learns the crushing truth, he's bolstered by Peggy's steadfast love.

When an opportunity comes up in the Big Football Game for Harold to finally get off the bench, he tells the coach he's taken being on the team seriously, even if the coach thought of him as the water boy, and he gets the unexpected chance to help lead his team toward victory.

There are so many funny and touching scenes in this film, one of my favorites being when Harold rescues a kitten on the auditorium stage. I also loved all his scenes with Peggy, starting with the aforementioned crossword puzzle scene. As they try to think of an endearment which fits the puzzle, saying "Sweetheart," "Precious," and "Darling," another passenger beams at them and says "Isn't it wonderful to be in love?"

A later scene where Harold is cleaning his mirror and Peggy's face appears is magical. My favorite moment, however, is when Harold spies Peggy with a bouquet he gave her, pulling off the petals and saying "He loves me, he loves me not," and he suddenly realizes Peggy loves him.

For those who are curious, according to IMDb the football game was filmed at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, California.

THE FRESHMAN is available in a Blu-ray/DVD combination set from the Criterion Collection.

THE FRESHMAN is also out in a fine DVD release from New Line, with many of the same extras as in the Criterion edition. New Line's Harold Lloyd Comedy Collection Vol. 2 includes other features and shorts including THE KID BROTHER (1927).

THE FRESHMAN can be rented or purchased for streaming from Amazon.

The list of 10 Classic Films I plan to see for the first time in 2014 can be found here.

THE FRESHMAN is highly recommended.

2020 Update: I had a great time seeing this film at the Hollywood Legion Theater Drive-In.

TCM in June: Highlights

Almost summertime and life is slowing down a little...which means lots of time to enjoy movies!

It's been a hectic workweek for me, hence this month's TCM Highlights post being up a tad later than usual, so time to relax with some good movies sounds especially great to me!

The Turner Classic Movies June schedule is particularly great this month, including TCM's new Spotlight series Mad About Musicals.

For details on how to sign up for the free course, a collaboration with TCM and Ball State University, please visit my post TCM Presents Mad About Musicals! which provides all the needed info and links.

Thanks to this month's musicals theme, I'll be placing a special emphasis on favorite musicals in this month's recommendations, highlighting two favorite films each day of the series.

Leslie Howard is the June Star of the Month. He was last the Star of the Month almost six years ago, in July 2012. There will not be a separate Star of the Month post in June.

This month's Noir Alley lineup is fantastic: THE LETTER (1940) starring Bette Davis airs tonight, June 2nd, and repeats Sunday morning, June 3rd; CONFLICT (1945) with Humphrey Bogart, Alexis Smith, and Sydney Greenstreet will air June 9th and 10th; PITFALL (1948) will air June 16th and 17th, starring Dick Powell, Lizabeth Scott, Jane Wyatt, and Raymond Burr; Wyatt, Lee J. Cobb, and John Dall star in THE MAN WHO CHEATED HIMSELF (1950) on June 23rd and 24th; and Charles McGraw stars in ARMORED CAR ROBBERY (1950) on June 30th and July 1st.

This stellar lineup includes the TCM debut of the newly restored THE MAN WHO CHEATED HIMSELF. It has fantastic San Francisco locations. Great L.A. locations can be seen in PITFALL and ARMORED CAR ROBBERY; the latter is one of my very favorite film noir titles. (Costar William Tallman is seen in this photo, shot at L.A.'s Wrigley Field.) And CONFLICT is quite enjoyable, with Greenstreet in a fun role. Be sure to tune in every week!

Treasures From the Disney Vault returns with Leonard Maltin hosting on June 6th, and Harold Lloyd is showcased every Sunday evening this month. Details below!

Here's a look at just a few highlights for June on TCM! Click on any hyperlinked title for my review.

...Sunday evening, June 3rd, TCM shows FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE (1926), a silent comedy starring the delightful team of Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston. This short film runs under an hour is absolutely charming, with Lloyd playing a rich uptown boy who falls for the daughter of a parson at a downtown mission. Every minute is packed with clever visuals. Do check it out!

...An eight-film birthday tribute to Rosalind Russell on June 4th includes THEY MET IN BOMBAY (1941), costarring Clark Gable. I reviewed it earlier this year; by no means a perfect film, it still has a lot going for it including the magical star powers of the two leads.

...The Mad About Musicals! series begins on Tuesday, June 5th and will feature 24-hour marathons every Tuesday and Thursday. It's a given that each of these days has countless enjoyable films on the schedule! On the 5th I'd particularly like to highlight FOOTLIGHT PARADE (1933), my favorite of three great Busby Berkeley films released that year, which features the amazing set pieces "Honeymoon Hotel," "Shanghai Lil," and best of all, "By a Waterfall," seen at the right.  James Cagney, Dick Powell, and Ruby Keller star. Also airing that day: Jeanette MacDonald's film debut in Ernst Lubitsch's THE LOVE PARADE (1929), costarring Maurice Chevalier. She's wonderful, a star from the very beginning of her career.

...Leonard Maltin returns with a new edition of Treasures from the Disney Vault on June 6th. This animal-centered night includes THE BEST OF DISNEY'S TRUE-LIFE ADVENTURES (1975), THE LEGEND OF LOBO (1962), GREYFRIARS BOBBY (1961), and BIG RED (1962). Don't miss the short A TRIP THROUGH THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS (1937)! Please note that THE BISCUIT EATER (1972), which was on the tentative schedule when I posted my June preview a couple months ago, was dropped from the final schedule.

...Time for more musicals on June 7th! It's quite an amazing lineup, kicking off with MacDonald and Chevalier in THE MERRY WIDOW (1934), my favorite film at this year's TCM Classic Film Festival. Later that night, another film I saw at the festival, the amazing Deanna Durbin in THREE SMART GIRLS (1936). In between there's lots of Fred and Ginger plus THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939). A great day to spend on the sofa!

...There's a hotel theme on Friday, June 8th, with films including HOTEL BERLIN (1945), just reviewed here last month; HER HIGHNESS AND THE BELLBOY (1945) with Hedy Lamarr, June Allyson, and Robert Walker; and an all-star MGM cast in WEEK-END AT THE WALDORF (1945).

...Saturday mornings in June feature Tom Keene Westerns from the early '30s, such as THE SADDLE BUSTER (1932) on June 9th, and Lex Barker TARZAN films. The Barker films have a different leading lady each week, including Brenda Joyce in TARZAN'S MAGIC FOUNTAIN (1949) on the 9th.

...There's more Harold Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston on June 10th! I saw WHY WORRY? (1923) with Carl Davis conducting a live orchestra at the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival; what a great memory! It's followed by AMONG THOSE PRESENT (1921), a 35-minute film costarring the woman Lloyd married, Mildred Davis.

...Robert Montgomery stars as amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey in HAUNTED HONEYMOON (104) on June 11th. Constance Cummings plays his bride.

...My two picks to recommend among the MGM musicals featured on Tuesday, June 12th, are THE HARVEY GIRLS (1946), with Judy Garland leading a delightful cast in "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe," and the delightful GOOD NEWS (1947) starring June Allyson and Peter Lawford. The latter film has many highlights, but most especially Joan McCracken dancing "Pass That Peace Pipe." (It goes without saying that everyone should also watch MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS on that date!)

...Patricia Morison, who passed away a few days ago at the age of 103, costars with Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce in SHERLOCK HOLMES IN DRESSED TO KILL (1946) on June 13th.

...Two choices from the musicals day on June 14th: June Allyson, Gloria DeHaven, and Van Johnson in TWO GIRLS AND A SAILOR (1944), because it became one of my younger daughter's favorite musicals from a very young age, and Betty Grable, Carole Landis, Don Ameche, and Robert Cummings in MOON OVER MIAMI (1941), one of the best examples of colorful 20th Century-Fox musicals of the 1940s.

...Father's Day on June 17th will include films themed to the day such as FATHER OF THE BRIDE (1950), FATHER'S LITTLE DIVIDEND (1951), THE COURTSHIP OF EDDIE'S FATHER (1963), and LIFE WITH FATHER (1947). (Incidentally, historian Alan K. Rode Tweeted the other day that he had been able to wish LIFE WITH FATHER star Jimmy Lydon a happy 95th birthday and that he is doing well!)

...Later on Father's Day the Sunday night Harold Lloyd mini-festival continues with a series of shorts: AN EASTERN WESTERNER (1920), NUMBER, PLEASE? (1920), HIGH AND DIZZY (1920), and GET OUT AND GET UNDER (1920). All four shorts costar Mildred Davis.

...It's time for 'round the clock MGM musicals on the 19th! My picks to recommend on this date begin with KISMET (1955), which I used to somewhat dislike but which was a revelation when I revisited it at the 2014 TCM Classic Film Festival. I feel like I cried happy tears throughout most of the movie, beginning with the gorgeous music over the opening credits. Howard Keel, Ann Blyth, and Vic Damone star, directed by Vincente Minnelli. My other pick for that day is THE BAND WAGON (1953), which simply put is one of the finest musicals ever made. Minnelli again directed, with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse leading a great cast.

...Several Errol Flynn films will be shown on his June 20th birthday, including NORTHERN PURSUIT (1943), an unusual WWII film set in Canada, with Flynn starring as a Mountie on the trail of Nazis. Raoul Walsh directed.

...Musical recommendations for June 21st begin with Doris Day and Howard Keel in the joyous CALAMITY JANE (1953), a real "feel good" film with a fantastic score. Watching it is also a good way to pay tribute to costar Allyn Ann McLerie, who recently passed away at the age of 91. (She's seen at the left with Day and Keel.) My other pick is my favorite film (along with MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS and THE SOUND OF MUSIC), SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS (1954), starring Keel and Jane Powell, and the best dance number ever filmed. SEVEN BRIDES was just reissued by the Warner Archive on Blu-ray, and I'll be reviewing it here at a future date!

...On the 22nd don't miss the great "French Revolution film noir" REIGN OF TERROR (1949), equally well known under the alternate title THE BLACK BOOK. Bob Cummings and Arlene Dahl star, directed by Anthony Mann and filmed in stunning black and white by John Alton.

...One more night of Harold Lloyd on Sunday, June 24th: An evening of shorts, beginning with BASHFUL (1917) and followed by BY THE SAD SEA WAVES (1917), THE BIG IDEA (1917), TAKE A CHANCE (1918), LOOK PLEASANT, PLEASE (1918), JUST NEIGHBORS (1919), A GASOLINE WEDDING (1918), THE MARATHON (1919), CAPTAIN KIDD'S KIDS (1919), and BILLY BLAZES, ESQ. (1919). His costar in these is Bebe Daniels, who later starred in pre-Code melodramas and the Busby Berkeley musical 42ND STREET (1933).

...The highly enjoyable KEEP YOUR POWDER DRY (1945) will be shown on June 25th. It's a WWII film about three WAcs starring Lana Turner, Laraine Day, and Susan Peters. It's a film I love and have watched multiple times; all three leads are great but Peters is incandescent.

...On June 26th my musical picks of the day are Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret in the highly enjoyable VIVA LAS VEGAS (1964) -- look for the poolside "The Lady Loves Me" and the A-M solo "My Rival," terrific numbers -- and one of the best stage-to-screen adaptations ever, THE MUSIC MAN (1962), starring Robert Preston and Shirley Jones. Be sure to check out photos of my April 4th tour of THE MUSIC MAN'S River City!

...June 27th one of the best John Ford and John Wayne Westerns ever made airs, SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON (1949). I shared many of the reasons it's worth watching -- and rewatching -- in my review at the title link.

...The picks are slimmer on the last day of the musicals series, June 28th, but there are still a couple good titles to be found, the tuneful FINIAN'S RAINBOW (1968) with Fred Astaire and Petula Clark, and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF (1971), featuring John Williams' Oscar-winning scoring adaptation. Lillian Michelson tells a great story about doing historical research for the latter film in the documentary HAROLD AND LILLIAN: A HOLLYWOOD LOVE STORY (2015).

...We close out this month's highlights on June 30th with MGM's BOYS' RANCH (1946), a family film charmer starring James Craig, Dorothy Patrick, and Jackie "Butch" Jenkins. I like this one a lot and keep hoping for it to turn up on DVD from the Warner Archive.

Finally, a side note for viewers who enjoyed the BLONDIE series last month on TCM: You can find a BLONDIE movie airing every Saturday on the Movies! Channel at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time. The films have commercial interruptions but a note before each showing says the films are unedited.

For more on TCM in June, please check out the complete online schedule. Additional information may also be found in my Quick Preview of TCM in June.

Happy movie viewing!!