I'm a huge HL fan and I just saw SPEEDY for the 2nd time tonight and it appeared the HL flips off the mirror at Coney Island... anyone else catch this? It clearly wasn't his index finger (real or otherwise)...
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Ha I saw it for the first time last night on TNC. Was with my father flicking through channels, and nothing was on. We joked that the film made it 1928 would probably be better than the stuff they were putting out today, and turned out to be right! What a fantastic film!
I did catch that finger flip off, and thought that it was strange for the time. Later, I recalled this picture was before the Hayes Commission, which made codified rules concerning what could and couldn't be on screen. Films in the 20's and early 30's were much more risque than films after around 1934, when the code came into being. Even films from the 40's were not as risque as some of the films from the roaring twenties.
This film was fantastic, a breath of fresh air really, even though it's almost one hundred years old.
I saw it for the first time last night, and I was very impressed. I think it deserves a even higher rating than 7.7 here on IMDb.
LOL! Yes, he gives himself the finger for messing up his new suit. If you have the HL comedy collection DVD set watch this movie with the commentary. His granddaughter Suzanne says she was so shocked at her grandfather, for slipping that into the film, but she said it in a kinda-joking naughty naught grandfather type of way, lol. And also any HL movies in that DVD set that has commentary watch them with the commentary! They all have Richard Correll talking about his memories with Harold and facts Harold told him about the movies. It is a treasure to hear people talk about someone who was born over 100 years ago!
"He who gazes upon the sun, need not debate it's brilliance! ... Uh, Ling Po." -Harold Lloyd
I THOUGHT that's what he did! The first time I saw it, my reaction was: "Did he just do what I think he did?" I watched it again. Yep. Very interesting!
shareHeck, in that generation, "thumbing the nose" was considered as obscene as giving the bird, and that was a running joke in several sequences.
And agreed, it is a great film!
You are forgetting, He lost his thumb and forefinger. The middle finger, ring finger and pinky were all he had on his right hand.
shareThis is a brilliant film, Harold Lloyd was a genius.
I suppose only a nitpicking baseball fan would point this out, but did anyone notice when he was displaying the score of the game so cleverly in the donut case (used a pretzel for a 3, etc?) that the Yankee score was displayed in the top half of the inning. It was confirmed that the Yankees were playing in Yankee stadium (hence, a home game) more than a few times and, as such, the Yankees would have been batting in the bottom half of the innings. I realize this almost a ridiculously minor flaw to point out, but Lloyd was known as a perfectionist (and I think a baseball fan, too), so kind of surprised it made it past him. Now everyone can piss on me.
Hi--- nope, I didn't forget about HL's 1919 prop bomb accident. I caught Speedy tonight on TCM for the 3rd time and thanks to my trusty DVR, replayed this "finger" shot over and over... yup, he's definately flipping himself off. Also, consider the logistic nightmares involved in shooting this on location in '27... HL was a megastar (at least as popular as Chaplin and far more so than Keaton). The subway scenes I undertand were shot late at night... but Luna Park/Coney Island must've been a near riot.
shareI suppose only a nitpicking baseball fan would point this out, but did anyone notice when he was displaying the score of the game so cleverly in the donut case (used a pretzel for a 3, etc?) that the Yankee score was displayed in the top half of the inning. It was confirmed that the Yankees were playing in Yankee stadium (hence, a home game) more than a few times and, as such, the Yankees would have been batting in the bottom half of the innings. I realize this almost a ridiculously minor flaw to point out, but Lloyd was known as a perfectionist (and I think a baseball fan, too), so kind of surprised it made it past him. Now everyone can piss on me.Sorry I didn't notice this earlier and I know it's 5 years later, but here goes: it wasn't officially codified that the home team bats last in MLB until 1950. Before that, the home team had its choice. That being said, it was always custom for the home team to bat last (since it's an advantage), and virtually nobody EVER opted to bat first at home, which is probably why it was eventually made a rule. But as of 1928, it was technically possible for the Yankees to bat first while at home. share
In case anyone is interested in the still frame of the middle finger instance:
http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv57/gudsrost/Harold-Lloyd-flips-th e-bird-1.jpg
Tomato, tomato.
This is the second Pre-Code film I've seen with the middle finger. The first is "Parachute Jumper" from 1933. The film starred Doug Fairbanks, Jr. and Frank McHugh showed the finger. Another film I've seen, but didn't notice the "offensive" action, is "The Miracle Woman" with Barbara Stanwyck. I'll look better next time.
If I had choice of weapons with you, sir, I'd choose grammar.
I'll be keeping an eye out for those. Thanks! It's fascinating to realize how much the production code made society in general look more "wholesome" than it really was. I have a love-hate relationship with the code era. On one hand it angers me that films had to be altered, rather than getting to see what filmmakers really intended. On the other hand the code forced some of them to be more creative than they might have been without it, which is something I think had a lasting influence on filmmakers, even to this day.
The middle finger scene in "The Miracle Woman" happens when her promoter interrogates her chauffeur and makes a veiled but obvious threat to fire the chauffeur if he won't spy on her for the promoter. After leaving the room, the chauffeur closes the door and very visibly shoots the bird at the promoter, who he knows can't see it.
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There is another 'middle finger' scene in the 1931 version of "The Front Page." One of the supporting characters says, "Hi, Your Honor" to an unpopular character while casually lifting his middle finger as he walks by. Another supporting character reacts with surprise. It's interesting how far things would have gotten in the late '30s, '40s & '50s movies if the Hayes Code had never happened.
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