Harold Lloyd Silent Comedies With Live Music Friday Night at Webster University

“I’m just a regular fellow – step right up and call me ‘Speedy’ “

THE FRESHMAN (1925) and THE MARATHON (1919), both starring Harold Lloyd, will screen this Friday, September 5th at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium

There’s nothing better than silent films accompanied by live music and I’d go as far as saying there’s nothing better than silent films accompanied by the Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra. The group is a treasure and St. Louis is lucky to have them here. I’ve seen them perform with silent films several times, often at The St. Louis International Film Festival, and usually at Webster University’s Moore Auditorium and it’s always a fantastic time at the movies. Last summer the Rats and People played along to some Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton at the SLIFF/KIDS film fest, and this Friday night, September 5th,  they will be accompanying two films starring the great silent film comic Harold Lloyd; THE FRESHMAN (1925) and THE MARATHON (1919)

While not as much of a household name as Chaplin or Keaton, Harold Lloyd was one of the most popular and influential film comedians of the silent era. Lloyd made nearly 200 comedies, both silent and “talkies”, between 1914 and 1947. He is best known for his bespectacled “Glasses” character, a resourceful, success-seeking go-getter who was perfectly in tune with 1920s era United States. Llyod’s films frequently contained extended chase scenes and daredevil physical feats. The image of Lloyd hanging from the hands of a clock high above the street in SAFETY LAST (1923) is now part of cinema folklore. Lloyd performed these dangerous stunts himself, despite having injured himself in August 1919 while doing publicity pictures for the Roach studio. An accident with a bomb mistaken as a prop resulted in the loss of the thumb and index finger of his right hand (the injury was disguised on future films with the use of a special prosthetic glove).

In THE FRESHMAN (1925), Lloyd plays Harold ‘Speedy’ Lamb, a college freshman at Tate University in 1925, the days of Prohibition, beanies, flappers, the fox trot, and college sweaters with big letters on the chest. Harold is the butt of everyone’s jokes from beginning to end, except for a maid of simple taste who loves him. He dreams of playing varsity football and tries to convince the other players he’s more than the humble water boy he actually is. In one memorably funny sequence, he dances in a suit that is only half made and as the night progresses proceeds to lose pockets, sleeves etc. until he is left only in his underwear. The film climaxes of course, with the big game, and I can’t wait to see THE FRESHMAN, which runs 72 minutes, on the big screen with live music.

Also showing will be the 10-minute short THE MARATHON (1919). In it Harold Lloyd tries to impress a girl but gets chased by her father and the police right into an ongoing marathon. There are plenty of Harold Lloyd gags jammed in to ten minutes, including the use of a midget, a small dog, and an impressive mirror joke.

I highly recommend seeing these two silent films on the big screen Friday night September 5th along with the Rats and People Motion Picture Orchestra. The show starts at 7:30.Webster University’s Winifred Moore Auditorium is located at 470 E. Lockwood Ave.

Admission is:

$6 for the general public
$5 for seniors, Webster alumni and students from other schools
$4 for Webster University staff and faculty

Free for Webster students with proper I.D.

Here is a trailer for THE FRESHMEN:

Advance tickets are available from the cashier before each screening or contact the Film Series office (314-246-7525) for more options. The Film Series can only accept cash or check.