My son and I stayed up late last night watching several old Harold Lloyd slapstick comedies back-to-back. We found the boxed set of them at Costco, and I knew we couldn't pass them up.We laughed our heads off.
And did I mention that these were silent pictures?
Even with all the advanced special effects that are in movies today, you can really appreciate the lengths they went to in making these films, and how the gags were timed to perfection and executed with precision.
There is a special feature commentary hosted by Leonard Maltin that you can listen to while watching the films that is also very fascinating. Lots of interesting history about many of the studios and actors of that time, as well as tidbits about how and where they were filmed.
It's really neat to see downtown Los Angeles and Culver City, CA as they were back then. One amusing scene in the film, Safety Last (which is where the infamous clock photo came from) shows Paramedics of that day doing their work on the streets of L.A., and then Leonard Maltin explains how they were able to get this particular shot several stories above the streets of Los Angeles. Harold Lloyd was a cinematic genius, way ahead of his time. A pioneer in the industry.
I also learned that Harold Lloyd was missing the thumb and forefinger on his right hand in this movie (and the above photo). He had a special prosthetic glove made so that nobody would ever notice. I was also surprised to find that he did many of his own stunts in his movies.
Watching these movies with Jericho brought back memories of my mom and I staying up late at grandma's house doing the exact same thing when I was about his same age.
Good times, good times.
Hooray for Harold Lloyd.
7 comments:
How great is it that you could spend so much time with your son! That is seriously so awesome!!!
I have never even seen a silent movie - how cool. I enjoyed this post. See ya.
LoVE Harold Lloyd and other slapstick. I've got a quirky sense of humor, I guess. Like really absurd comedy for some reason. Glad Jericho likes that, it's good clean fun and you laugh until you cry sometimes.
Hooray, indeed! :o)
(You know I was looking at the hand, right?)
Well I'm not a leader...but I end up teaching the class anyway! HA! My mother in law is the leader and I'm the helper but she doesn't like teaching and I do so....I teach! We are over the Sparkies 2nd grade. It's fun most nights but sometimes 2nd graders are not into waiting there turn to say their verses!!! Well after I typed that I realized Hey! thats a good thing!!!! HA! It's just nerve racking sometimes!!!!
Cecily R~I feel very blessed,for sure.
Kellan~Oh, you've gotta check these out with the family...everything is conveyed by their expressions, body language, and the occasional written explanation. Wacky fun for the whole family.
FrumpGram~I remember laughing until we cried over Harold Lloyd movies.
Daisy~LOL, me too! Pretty amazing all he accomplished in his career after the accident that left him handicapped...he didn't let it get him down or become a convenient 'excuse', and went on to break amazing ground in the movie industry. The accident was caused by some reporter doing a 'gag' photo where he gave Harold a 'gag' black bomb with a wick (like you'd see in cartoons) to light Harold's cigarette...only the 'bomb' exploded and actually caused damage in the building they were in! Could you imagine?! (I'm pretty sure that reporter was the predecessor to the modern day paparazzi.)
Brooke~Welcome to my blog! Good old AWANA. Some nights can be rough...but oh, so worth it in the long run!
Fun stuff, Becky!! What a great way to bond with Jericho.
When I was in highschool I went to a theater in El Segundo that had a huge Wurlitzer organ. They showed silent films that were accompanied by organ music. It was awesome!
I was also the youngest one there by at least 30 years. lol
Post a Comment