Remembered as the “third genius” of silent comedy, Harold Lloyd was first at the box-office in the 1920s. Speedy (1928) is not as well known as Safety Last (1923) or The Freshman (1925), but is equally funny and shows Lloyd at the peak of his cinematic skills. Set in Manhattan, the films boast some still recognizable New York City locations, as well as vanished icons like old Yankee Stadium and Babe Ruth. This was Lloyd’s last silent film, and, along with the previous year’s The Kid Brother (1927), was a final summing up of his mastery of the silent comedy feature. One of Lloyd’s early one-reel shorts opens the program.

The Silent Clowns Film Series is New York’s longest-running regularly scheduled silent film showcase. Our programming reaches the serious film buff by including rarely-screened titles and rare prints, yet it also introduces kids and new audiences to the classics of the silent screen. Screenings feature live piano accompaniment by MoMA’s Ben Model, with an introduction and Q&A by film historians Model and Steve Massa.