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Speedy (1928)
American Silent Comedy.
Speedy, a fan of Babe Ruth and the New York Yankees, saves from extinction the city’s last horse-drawn trolley, operated by his girlfriend’s grandfather.
It was Lloyd’s last silent film to be released theatrically.
Due to the general public’s apathy towards silent films, a sound version was prepared and released in the latter half of 1928.
While the sound version has no audible dialog, it featured a synchronized musical score with sound effects using both the sound-on-disc and sound-on-film process.
Interesting Trivia
During the Coney Island sequence, at one point Speedy gives the finger to himself while looking in a distorted mirror. This may be the earliest motion picture depiction of that gesture.
This obscene gesture was permitted by censors in motion pictures prior to the enforcement of the draconian Hayes Code in 1934.
Cameo Appearance
Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees, teammate of Babe Ruth, can be seen at the end of the scene where Speedy gives The Babe a ride in his taxi.
As Ruth gets out of the cab, Gehrig walks by the far side, and looking directly at the camera through the cab’s window, sticks out his tongue.
Gehrig is on screen for about three seconds.
| Directed by | Ted Wilde (silent version) Clyde Bruckman (sound version) |
|---|---|
| Written by | Albert DeMond (titles) Al Boasberg Paul Gerard Smith (dialogue sequences, all uncredited) |
| Story by | John Grey J.A. Howe Lex Neal Howard Emmett Rogers |
| Produced by | Harold Lloyd |
| Starring | Harold Lloyd Ann Christy Bert Woodruff Babe Ruth |
| Cinematography | Walter Lundin |
| Edited by | Carl Himm |
| Music by | Jesse Greer (original film score) Carl Davis (recent) Don Hulette (1974) Don Peake (1974 additional music) |
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Production
company |
Harold Lloyd Corporation
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| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
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Release dates
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Running time
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86 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
