MovieChat Forums > Speedy (1928) Discussion > 'Civil War veteran' characters

'Civil War veteran' characters

posted 10 years ago by vinidici
2 replies | jump to latest

A rollicking and terrific comedy, as you can always expect of any Harold Lloyd picture. My one quibble is that none of he actors who played the Civil War veteran gang / Lloyd's buddies looked old enough to have fought in any war that had ended 63 years before SPEEDY's release.

Still, it's extremely doubtful that anyone in their late 80's and older could have executed the scene of the big brawl between the vets and the hired thugs who were dispatched to eliminate the competition posed by the horse-drawn streetcar.

Okay folks, show's over, nothing to see here!

[–] MissyH316 8 years ago

You may be right - however, keep in mind that some Civil War soldiers were barely in their teens; some as young as 12 years old. So it's not beyond the realm of possibility that at least a few of the older men might have been real Civil War veterans.

Heck - Apparently there were even a few surviving Civil War veterans who were special guests of honor at the 1939 Atlanta premier of "Gone With the Wind", if the newsreel footage I've seen of that event is correct. Those men were VERY elderly, bless their hearts! :-)

"I dislike being outnumbered-it makes for too much stupid in the room." -Sherlock (BBC 2012)

[–] MissyH316 8 years ago

You may be right - however, keep in mind that some Civil War soldiers were barely in their teens; some as young as 12 years old. So it's not beyond the realm of possibility that at least a few of the older men might have been real Civil War veterans as "young" as their late 70's.

Heck - Apparently there were even a few surviving Civil War veterans who were special guests of honor at the 1939 Atlanta premier of "Gone With the Wind", if the newsreel footage I've seen of that event is correct. Those men were VERY elderly, bless their hearts! :-)

"I dislike being outnumbered-it makes for too much stupid in the room." -Sherlock (BBC 2012)