Here’s a lovely surprise. The Harold Lloyd estate has started posting complete, HD restorations of the Lloyd Catalogue on their YouTube Channel. There are currently the beautiful Criterion prints of his features SPEEDY and SAFETY LAST, but the real gems are some less common one-reelers from 1917-1918. Featuring Harold alongside Snub Pollard and Bebe Daniels, the selection includes one of the very scarce surviving Lonesome Luke films. I feel like I’ve always neglected the Lloyd one-reelers a bit in favour of his ‘mature’ work, and I’m looking forward to acquainting myself with these. These prints look stunning, which really makes the films more enjoyable. Below are a couple of highlights, but be sure to subscribe to the YouTube channel for further updates. Thanks to the Lloyd Estate for making these available!

LOOK PLEASANT PLEASE – lots of fun gags in this one, and a great jazz score.

LONESOME LUKE, MESSENGER: One of the few examples of Lloyd’s Chaplinesque character to survive the fire in his vaults:

BASHFUL: A charming little film, an early example of Lloyd being a less brash, more shy character.

There’s also the fantastic Brownlow & Gill documentary, HAROLD LLOYD – THE THIRD GENIUS