Smiles & Spectacles: Harold Lloyd Treasury [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC] - Region 1 DVD

Best known for his irrepressible smile and daredevil stunts, Lloyd combined an appealing down-to-earth persona with an incredibly athletic (and in some cases literally death-defying) physicality.

Here is Harold in 23 films, ranging from his early one-reelers with lovely Bebe Daniels; through the silent shorts opposite his future wife, Mildred Davis; and on to some genuinely worthwhile talkies. No fan of classic comedy should miss out!

Disc One

All Aboard (1917) – Harold plays a stowaway to Bermuda in this rare, very early glasses-character short, the highlight of which is a heart-stopping sequence on a streetcar. 9 mins.

Are Crooks Dishonest? (1918) – Harold plays a con artist who tries to outwit a phony psychic, played by Bebe Daniels (42nd Street), but she turns the tables on him. 13 mins.

The City Slicker (1918) – Harold gets a job at a country inn and tries to modernize it with all sorts of newfangled gizmos and gadgets. 7 mins.

The Non-Stop Kid (1918) – Harold masquerades as Professor M.T. Noodle (get it?) so he can win impress the father of the fair Bebe Daniels. 12 mins.

Two-Gun Gussie (1918) – Harold plays a mild-mannered piano player in a western saloon who is mistaken by the sheriff for a ruthless killer. 10 mins.

A Sammy in Siberia (1919) – Very rare Lloyd short in which Harold plays an American doughboy (called a "Sammy" after Uncle Sam) in Russia who protects a family against some renegade Bolsheviks. 9 mins.

Ask Father (1919) – Bebe Daniels insists Harold ask her father for her hand in marriage, but every time he tries to see him, Harold is thrown out of the father’s office! Contains a pre-Safety Last scene with Harold climbing a building. 13 mins.

Billy Blazes, Esq. (1919) – Another western-themed Lloyd short with Harold riding to the rescue of a town that’s being held at the mercy of a crooked villain. 12 mins.

Bumping into Broadway (1919) – In a theatrical boardinghouse, Harold is a struggling playwright who sacrifices all for a struggling actress (Bebe Daniels). 21 mins.

Don’t Shove (1919) – Harold’s answer to Chaplin’s The Rink, with Lloyd vying for the attention of Bebe Daniels at her birthday party and a skating rink. 10 mins.

Captain Kidd’s Kids (1919) – A groom-to-be (Harold) passes out after his bachelor party and dreams he’s on board a ship and being held hostage – by female pirates! 22 mins.

Disc Two

Just Neighbors (1919) – Madness turns to mayhem when Harold and wife Bebe Daniels try to build a garden shed and get mixed up with laundry and chickens. 9 mins.

From Hand to Mouth (1919) – Harold is a penniless drifter who crosses paths with a wealthy heiress (Mildred Davis, in her first film with Lloyd, who later became her real-life husband). 18 mins.

His Royal Slyness (1920) – Harold’s answer to The Prisoner of Zenda, with Lloyd as an American who travels to an obscure European country to impersonate the Prince. 20 mins.

An Eastern Westerner (1920) – Harold is a city slicker who is sent west to become more macho. Lloyd’s first film after losing half of his right hand when a "prop" bomb exploded. Note the glove, which he’ll use for the rest of his career. 23 mins.

High and Dizzy (1920) – In another foreshadowing of films to come, Harold plays a doctor who gets drunk and winds up on the ledge of a hotel, high above the traffic. 26 mins.

Number, Please? (1920) – At a seaside resort, Harold tries to win back his ex (Mildred Davis) and encounters mean dogs, a mischievous goat, skeptical cops, and a mirror-filled funhouse along the way. 23 mins.

Disc Three

Now or Never (1921) – Mary (Mildred Davis) is babysitting little Dolly (Anna Mae Bilson, who appeared in the very first Our Gang short). After they board a train to go meet Harold, all hell breaks loose, with Harold winding up having to mind the little girl all by himself! 35 mins.

Among Those Present (1921) – Harold is a penniless hat-check attendant who pretends he’s an English nobleman in order to impress a rich girl (Mildred Davis) – who is unimpressed by wealth! 38 mins.

Grandma’s Boy (1922) – Harold’s first feature-length film finds him playing a coward who is afraid to go after the bully that stole his girl, so Grandma gives him a magical charm. 61 mins.

Disc Four

Dogs of War (1923) – A vintage Our Gang short in which the gang disrupts a movie set where Harold Lloyd (played rather convincingly by Harold Lloyd) is filming Why Worry?. 21 mins.

The Milky Way (1936) – Probably Harold’s best sound film, due to the sure-handed direction of Leo McCarey (Duck Soup, The Awful Truth). Harold is a timid milkman who is duped into becoming a prize fighter. Costars Adolphe Menjou and Lionel Stander appeared in A Star is Born the following year. 87 mins.

Disc Five

The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947) – The combined talents of Harold Lloyd, Preston Sturges – and Howard Hughes – went into this whimsical farce with Lloyd as a down-on-his-luck clerk who becomes inebriated and winds up getting involved with a horse, Margaret Hamilton (The Wizard of Oz), and thirty-seven lions! 85 mins.

BONUS:

Character Studies (1927) – A rare silent curiosity in which Harold Lloyd appears as himself, along with Buster Keaton, Fatty Arbuckle, Rudolph Valentino, Douglas Fairbanks, and Jackie Coogan also appearing as themselves. 6 mins.

Total: Approx. 600 mins./10 hrs.