Friday, July 26, 2013

Harold Lloyd: it's cartoon time!




This is a Mickey Mouse cartoon about a polo match, with a ragtag assortment of celebrity caricatures cavorting around. Unfortunately we only get to see Harold in the stands (bottom left), but he's right there beside W. C. Fields and (presumably) Greta Garbo. In the back row, Charles Laughton as Henry VIII, and Eddie Cantor, known on radio as Banjo Eyes.

Was the original in colour? I doubt it. They didn't make them back then. Someone must have colorized it somewhere along the line. BTW, I don't think Harold ever wore a red bow tie. Interesting that he wears gloves: a horrific hand injury forced him to wear a prosthetic glove on camera.




Here he's singing in a chorus in Mickey's Gala Premiere, which features dozens of "stars" doing all sorts of wacky things. Looks like Clark Gable on the right, with Edward G. Robinson and - ? - Adolphe Menjou? - in the front row. Help me here.




A funny little thing I found on YouTube, an animated trailer for Harold's last silent picture, Speedy. Wish I could see more of him, but isn't that always the case?




Congratulations, Mickey!



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