Silent Clowns Film Series: Harold Lloyd and Speedy

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.

SEATING POLICY | Programs are free and open to all, but registration is requested. Check-in line forms 45 minutes before the advertised start time. Registered guests are given priority check-in 15 to 30 minutes before start time. Five minutes before the advertised start time, all seats are released, regardless of registration, to our patrons in the stand-by line. If you arrive after the program starts, you will be seated at the discretion of our front-of-house staff.

STANDBY LINE | If registration is sold out or has ended, do not fret! We welcome you to come to the Library regardless of registration status and wait in our standby line, which forms 45 minutes before the advertised start time. Five minutes before the program starts, all remaining seats are released. While this is not guaranteed, we will do our best to get you into any of our programs.

ASSISTIVE LISTENING AND ASL | ASL interpretation and real-time (CART) captioning available upon request. Please submit your request at least two weeks in advance by emailing [email protected].

BRUNO WALTER POLICY | Please note that any unoccupied seat will be released five minutes before the show begins and holding seats for anyone beyond that is prohibited. There is no food or drink allowed inside the venue.

AUDIO/VIDEO RECORDING | Programs may be photographed and recorded by and at the discretion of the Library for the Performing Arts and will post signs indicating as such. If you would prefer your image not be captured, please let us know and we can seat you accordingly. Attending any program indicates your consent to being filmed/photographed and your consent to the use of your recorded image for any and all purposes of the New York Public Library.

PRESS | Please send all press inquiries to Alex Teplitzky at [email protected]. Please note that all recording, including professional video recordings, are prohibited without expressed consent from the Library.

Host or Publisher New York Public Library for the Performing Arts