Speedy (1928)

Director:

Ted Wilde

Writers:

Albert DeMond (titles)
John Grey (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 April 1928 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Family

Tagline:

LLOYD'S LATEST (original print ad - all caps)

Plot:

"Speedy" loses his job as a soda-jerk, then spends the day with his girl at Coney Island. He then becomes...

Plot Keywords:

Washington Square | Kicked In Butt | Taxi | Surveyor | Subway

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Harold Lloyd	...	Harold "Speedy" Swift
Ann Christy	...	Jane Dillon
Bert Woodruff	...	Pop Dillon, Her Grand-daddy
Babe Ruth	...	Himself
Bryon Douglas	...	W.S. Wilton
Brooks Benedict	...	Steve Carter

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

The Harold Lloyd Corporation

Trivia:

The streetcar crash into the elevated train support was an unplanned accident (no one was injured); the idea of replacing the broken wheel with a manhole cover had to be improvised on the scene.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the scene at Coney Island where Speedy thinks the shadows from a spotted umbrella are marks on his suit, the umbrella spots don't line up with the spots on the suit, which are obviously from a filter above and to the left of Harold Lloyd. And when he pushes the umbrella out of the light, the motion of the spots again doesn't match.

Quotes:

Harold "Speedy" Swift: It smells like rain.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in New York at the Movies (2002) (TV)

Very Entertaining, & Also An Enjoyable Time Capsule From 1920s New York

Besides providing plenty of entertainment from Harold Lloyd and the rest of the cast, this silent comedy classic is also quite enjoyable as a time capsule from 1920s New York, with wonderful footage of Coney Island and other sights, plus the amusing appearance by Babe Ruth. Even more so than most movies of its era, it gives you a very good feel for its time and place.

The plot has Lloyd, as perpetual job-seeker and job-loser "Speedy", trying to save the city's last horse-drawn streetcar, which is driven by the father of his girlfriend. The David-vs.-Goliath conflict gives Lloyd a lot to work with, and it is used to good effect both for gags and for character development. There are a number of good sequences, including a hilarious and detailed street donnybrook between the transport company's hired goons and Lloyd's ragtag neighborhood stalwarts.

The lengthy digressions from the main story also work very well. The taxicab sequence with Ruth is probably the best-remembered, and there is also a delightful sequence at Coney Island's Luna Park. Ann Christy and Lloyd work together well, and they make an especially pleasant and sympathetic couple in this sequence.

"Speedy" is a good showcase for Lloyd, since it combines action sequences that advance the story with other sequences that simply entertain and give you a feel for the characters. Overall, it has quite a lot to recommend it.