Harold Lloyd: Master Comedian

by Suzanne Lloyd

A heavily researched volume published to coincide with the release of the silent film innovator's major works on video and DVD examines his role in American cinema as well as every aspect of his creative output and processes, from his more than two hundred films to his pioneering efforts for the popular "thrill" comedy genre.

Genres: Biography, Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In

240 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2002

Reviews

[Mai M Ibrahim · Rating 5 out of 5]

جميل 😍😍

زي م قولت ع انستجرام قبل كده إني بعتبر هارولد احسن من شارلي شابلن و باستر كيتن ف جزء الأفلام الصامته

استغربت جدًا لما عملت سيرش بالعربي ع اسمه ف جوجل مفيش ولا حاجة باللغة العربية كله أيراني/فارسي

وده حمسني إني اعمل محتوي بالعربي عنه اكتر علشان الناس تعرفه

قرأت الكتاب ك تحضير ل حلقة هنزلها قريب اوي ع قناة "فيلم عميق" ع اليوتيوب لو حد مهتم ممكن يعمل subscribe علشان يعرف اكتر 😍 👇

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هصور الكتاب كالعادة من جوا ع انستجرام 👇
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[Tina · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book I recently bought as a gift to myself for a celebration of a personal triumph. All I can say is, for a classic cinema nut such as myself, reading it is as satisfying as biting into a piece of well-buttered, well-spread hearty bread. YUM. Tasty, delicious, and nutritious. Jeffrey Vance is one of my favorite classic cinema authors/biographers. His books are tasteful, sparkling with beautiful photographs, well-written, and honest without being cheap sensationalism. In this era of Internet trash rag and Rupert Murdoch-cheap, encouraged phone hacking tactics of "yellow journalism", it is truly refreshing to read something as informative and well-organized as this. Skoal!

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is similar in format to Jeffrey Vance's biography/filmography of Douglas Fairbanks, but for some reason, not nearly as good. The photographs are fantastic. The text, however, is often unsatisfying. The too-brief account of Lloyd's 1919 accident that cost Harold part of his hand raised more questions than it answered. The biggest question: How does a prop bomb in a photo shoot accidentally get replaced with a real bomb? And what triggered the explosion? From reading this book, you'd think that nobody gave this any consideration at all.

Harold's granddaughter, Suzanne Lloyd, is credited as a co-author. She's devoted her life to keeping Harold Lloyd's legacy alive. (I recall seeing her with Robert Osborne on TCM discussing her grandfather and introducing his films.) I'm sure she contributed a lot of good information to the book, but I wonder if she also, to the book's detriment, inspired some of the "Gee, wasn't he a great guy?" tone to the text. I wasn't looking for scandal and gossip, but I would have liked more objectivity.

At some point in the future, I'll probably look for another biography of Harold Lloyd; this one was infotaining, but I'd like to think there's a better one out there.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harold rocks my world.

[Susan Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love silent films. Harold Lloyd is someone who is absolutely fascinating. This is a great read for those who want to know this man and his passion for making pictures his own way.