Speedy (1928)

Speedy, released in 1928, was Harold Lloyd’s last silent feature film (he would go on to make several sound features). 

Although released by Paramount it was made by Lloyd’s own production company. By this time Lloyd was in full control of his career. The director was Ted Wilde.

Dialogue scenes were later added (silent movies were rapidly going out of fashion in 1928) but the Criterion Blu-Ray edition reviewed here is the original silent version.

In this film he plays Harold "Speedy" Swift, an easy-going but irresponsible young New Yorker. He has no trouble getting jobs and even less trouble losing them. He

Speedy and Jane Dillon (Ann Christy) are madly in love. Her grandfather (always referred to as Pop) operates the last horse-drawn streetcar in New York. A railroad company wants to buy up Pop’s streetcar franchise. Pop won’t sell at the price being offered. 

The railroad resorts to nefarious tactics to pressure him and Speedy is determined to save Pop’s horse-car.

In the meantime Speedy gets and loses several more jobs while his romance with Jane continues to blossom.

Eventually there’s a madcap street battle and some breathtaking chase scenes.

The Depression had not yet begun so this movie has a breezy confident Jazz Age tone. 

This is an exciting carefree New York, that atmosphere being enhanced by some excellent location shooting. Lloyd was an early enthusiast for location shooting and the Coney Island sequences here are rightly celebrated. Lloyd was a big enough star for his movies to be generously budgeted and this film is technically impressive and very polished.

Speedy is a very likeable hero. He’s not a typical silent comedy buffoon. Unlike most silent comics Lloyd was capable of being a convincing romantic leading man.

Compared to most silent comedies Speedy is more in the mould of later romantic comedies except that in Speedy the romantic twosome are crazy about each other from the start.

Ann Christy isn’t the most memorable heroine but she’s cute and endearing.

Speedy is mercifully free from sentimentality. And we never doubt that things will work out for the two lovers.

This is a good-natured fast-paced lively very visually inventive movie.

I personally did not find it overly funny but at this point I should make the admission that while I’m a huge fan of silent movies I’m not a fan of slapstick, apart from Buster Keaton. I prefer the witty sophisticated silent comedies of Cecil B. DeMille such as Why Change Your Wife? (1920) and Male and Female (1919). So Speedy was never going to be quite my cup of tea.

Having said that there’s plenty here to admire and it is good-natured and cheerful. I’ll recommend it but if you love this style of comedy you’ll probably enjoy this one very much indeed.

The Criterion Blu-Ray offers a lovely transfer with various extras.