James Blyler

Harold Lloyd starred in the successful Lonesome Luke series. However, he soon grew tired of the obvious Charlie Chaplin imitation. In an attempt to reinvent himself, Lloyd donned a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, and thus, a new comedy legend was born. Setting himself against Chaplin, Lloyd's "glasses character" was an everyman, a resourceful go-getter who embodied the ambitious, success-seeking attitude of 1920s America.

Marvin, a young aspiring writer from New York, moves to California to write a novel. He ends up rooming with a chaotic, bohemian musician named Jay. Marvin finds himself inexorably drawn into the vibrant youth culture of San Francisco's Mission District as both Jay and himself watch their worlds disintegrate. They discover that each has a lot to learn from the other. Mission is a coming-of-age story casting a spotlight on a place and time, moments before artistic aspiring types yielded the Mission to the dotcom entrepreneurs.

In this early short Harold Lloyd sneaks into a movie studio in order to locate an attractive young lady he's just met at a snack bar. He's retrieved a letter she dropped and wants to return it to her, but it's pretty clear that his interest extends beyond mere politeness. (She's the adorable young Bebe Daniels, so this is easy to understand.) The movie studio setting provides Harold with lots of opportunities to do what comedians do in comedies like this one: flirt with actresses, anger the studio brass, and dash through sets disrupting everything.

A short film starring Harold Lloyd.

A short film starring Harold Lloyd.

A photo studio operator seems only interested in flirting with women. Hilarity ensues.