Speedy (1928)

Director:

Ted Wilde

Writers:

John Grey (story) &
Lex Neal (story) ...
(more)

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:

Soda Jerk | Railroad | Trolley | Grandfather | Yankee Stadium New York City

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Harold Lloyd	...	Harold 'Speedy' Swift
Ann Christy	...	Jane Dillon
Bert Woodruff	...	Pop Dillon - Her Grand-daddy
Brooks Benedict	...	Steve Carter
Babe Ruth	...	George Herman Ruth
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Ernie Adams	...	Coney Island Baseball Concessionaire (uncredited)
James Bradbury Jr.	...	Chauffeur (uncredited)
Josephine Crowell	...	Lady in Car (uncredited)
Andy De Villa	...	Traffic Cop (uncredited)
James Dime	...	Tough (uncredited)
King Tut the Dog	...	(uncredited)
Bryon Douglas	...	W.S. Wilton (uncredited)
Bobby Dunn	...	Tough (uncredited)
Herbert Evans	...	Restaurant Manager (uncredited)
Walter Hiers	...	Soda Fountain Cook (uncredited)
Jack Hill	...	Man (uncredited)
Hank Knight	...	Civil War Veteran (uncredited)
Gus Leonard	...	Civil War Veteran (uncredited)
Marvin Loback	...	Fat Man (uncredited)
Sam Lufkin	...	Man (uncredited)
Jack Perry	...	Tough (uncredited)
Dan Wolheim	...	Dan Abrith - Motorcycle Cop (uncredited)

Directed by
Ted Wilde

Writing credits
John Grey		(story) &
Lex Neal		(story) &
Howard Emmett Rogers		(story) (as Howard Rogers)
Al Boasberg		uncredited
Albert DeMond		titles (uncredited)
John Grey		screenplay (uncredited)
J.A. Howe		screenplay (uncredited)
J.A. Howe		story (uncredited)
Lex Neal		screenplay (uncredited)
Howard Emmett Rogers		screenplay (uncredited)
Paul Girard Smith		uncredited

Produced by
Kevin Brownlow	....	producer (1992 alternate version)
David Gill	....	producer (1992 alternate version)
Suzanne Lloyd Hayes	....	executive producer (video release) (as Suzanne Lloyd)
Suzanne Lloyd Hayes	....	executive producer: The Harold Lloyd Trust (1992 alternate version) (as Suzanne Lloyd)
Peter Langs	....	associate producer: The Harold Lloyd Trust (1992 alternate version)
Patrick Stanbury	....	associate producer (1992 alternate version)
Jeffrey Vance	....	producer (video release)
Harold Lloyd	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Carl Davis		(1992 alternate version)
Don Hulette		(1974)

Cinematography by
Walter Lundin

Film Editing by
Carl Himm

Art Direction by
Liell K. Vedder		(as L.K. Vedder)

Makeup Department
Wallace Howe	....	makeup artist: Mr. Lloyd (uncredited)

Production Management
John L. Murphy	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Gaylord Lloyd	....	assistant director

Visual Effects by
Roy Pomeroy	....	visual effects supervisor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Henry N. Kohler	....	special photography (as H. Kohler)

Editorial Department
Nick Adams	....	telecine engineer (1992 alternate version)
Bruno Mansi	....	editor: video tape (1992 alternate version)

Music Department
Richard Bradford	....	music recorded by (1992 alternate version)
Carl Davis	....	conductor: The Live Cinema Orchestra (1992 alternate version)
Mike Fairbairn	....	music dubbing (1992 alternate version)
Don Peake	....	orchestrator: Hulette
Konstantin Stoianov	....	orchestra leader: The Live Cinema Orchestra (1992 alternate version)
Paul Wing	....	orchestra manager: The Live Cinema Orchestra (1992 alternate version)

Other crew
Tom Eckersley	....	logo designer (1992 alternate version)
William R. Fraser	....	general manager: The Harold Lloyd Corporation
William MacDonald	....	technical director
Penelope Read	....	production assistant (1992 alternate version)
Thomas R. Sheppard	....	trustee: The Harold Lloyd Trust (1992 alternate version)
Lynne Wake	....	production secretary (1992 alternate version)
Ebenezer Henry	....	dog trainer (uncredited)
Joe Reddy	....	publicity director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• The Harold Lloyd Corporation

Distributors

• Paramount Pictures (1928) (USA) (theatrical)
• Harold Lloyd Trust, The (1992) (worldwide) (all media) (presents) (1992 alternate version)
• Photoplay Productions (1992) (worldwide) (all media) (presents) (1992 alternate version)
• Thames Television International (1992) (worldwide) (all media) (in association with) (1992 alternate version)
• Channel Four (1992) (worldwide) (all media) (in association with) (1992 alternate version)
• New Line Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• First Interstate Bank of California  trustee: The Harold Lloyd Trust (1992 alternate version)
• The Live Cinema Orchestra  music performed by (1992 alternate version)
• UCLA Film and Television Archive  restoration

Runtime:

85 min (22 fps)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Australia:G

Filming Locations:

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

Company:

The Harold Lloyd Corporation

Trivia:

Filmed extensively on location in New York City. The slums scenes, however, were built and shot on a backlot in Los Angeles.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Pop first stops the horse car to let a passenger off, the window to his right is up. When he resumes his route, the window glass is suddenly gone.

Quotes:

Harold "Speedy" Swift: It smells like rain.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Airplane! (1980)

Soundtrack:

Speedy Boy

Harold Lloyd's last silent film and a comedy sensation!

Produced by Harold Lloyd. Directed by Harold Lloyd and Ted Wilde.

Cinematography by Walter Lundin.

Starring Harold Lloyd, Ann Christy, Bert Woodruff.

Speedy is one of Harold Lloyd's greatest films. It was also Harold Lloyd's last silent film. Harold's nickname in real life was ‘Speedy' and that's where he got the idea for the title of this great silent film. Harold plays Harold ‘Speedy' Swift; a baseball-crazed fan who first has a job as a soda jerk and then a cab driver and the only person in the world he cares about is his girlfriend Jane (Ann Christy). Jane's grandfather `Pop' Dillon (Bert Woodruff) owns New York's last horse-drawn streetcar and a railway monopoly want the streetcar to stop running so that they can take over the line. Harold's original idea of Speedy was very different to the finished film. According to Harold:

There is almost no vestige left in Speedy of the original idea-an underworld story. Its origins date back before For Heaven's Sake; we wanted a big-city picture as a change, and began with a plot of New York politics, gangsters and such. It called for a girl who should live with a grandfather or an uncle…someone suggested that the grandfather drive a horse car. A horse car is quaint, has been little used in pictures, and provokes comedy of itself. There had been a horse-car line in New York until recently, operated to hold a franchise. This suggested a plot to steal the franchise from the old man, permitting to step in, thwart the conspiracy and win the girl, after the usual misadventures. The franchise plot grew until it crowded out the original underworld story.

Speedy was mostly filmed in New York and Harold uses the wonderful locations to their full extent. The film also partly inspired Buster Keaton to shoot several scenes in New York for his last great film The Cameraman (1928). However, Keaton found it extremely hard to work in New York due to the fact that crowds were forming as soon as he appeared on the street. On the other hand, to make Speedy a great Lloyd extravaganza, Harold simply took off his horn-rimmed glasses to shoot scenes to make the film perfect. Harold would just take off the glasses and he would go unrecognized. Of course the most famous segment in Speedy is the final chase scene where Harold drives the streetcar through Manhattan to get it back in time for `Pop' to have the streetcar as his own again. Harold was a master at chase sequences in his films and Speedy is probably the best example of it and highly ranks with the ultimate chase sequence in Harold's Girl Shy (1924). Harold's frequent leading lady during the 1920s was Jobyna Ralston whose contract expired after The Kid Brother (1927). So Harold then hired Ann Christy. Speedy was Christy's second film. Her first film was, strangely enough, entitled The Kid Sister (1927). The Kid Sister was released seven months after Harold's masterpiece The Kid Brother and Harold might've went to see The Kid Sister just out of curiosity and that's where he possibly noticed Ann Christy and so he hired her for his next production.

Speedy was a great achievement for Harold Lloyd and it grossed $2,287,798 at the box-office. Sound was approaching and as mentioned before, Speedy was Harold's last silent film and the art form that he was perfecting would soon come to an end. The silent film era was rich in comedy and we should be thankful that so much has survived through all these years. Harold Lloyd was just one of the few truly great cinema artists in the early days and was rivals with Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel & Hardy, Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Lillian Gish, Colleen Moore, Gloria Swanson etc.