Movie Crazy
Movie Crazy is a 1932 American Pre-Code comedy film starring Harold Lloyd in his third sound feature.
| Movie Crazy | |
|---|---|
 Original Poster | |
| Directed by | Clyde Bruckman Harold Lloyd (uncredited) |
| Written by | Vincent Lawrence |
| Produced by | Harold Lloyd (uncredited) |
| Starring | Harold Lloyd Constance Cummings Kenneth Thomson |
| Cinematography | Walter Lundin |
| Edited by | Bernard W. Burton |
| Music by | Alfred Newman (uncredited) |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $675,353[1] |
| Box office | $1,439,000[2] |
The film's copyright was renewed in 1959.[3]
Plot
Harold Hall, a young man with little or no acting ability, desperately wants to be in the movies.
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After a mix-up with his application photograph, he gets an offer to have a screen-test, and goes off to Hollywood. At the studio, he does everything wrong and causes all sorts of trouble. But he catches the fancy of a beautiful actress, and eventually the studio owner recognizes him as a comic genius.
Cast
- Harold Lloyd as Harold Hall / Trouble
- Constance Cummings as Mary Sears
- Kenneth Thomson as Vance
- Louise Closser Hale as Mrs Kitterman
- Spencer Charters as J.L. O'Brien
- Robert McWade as Wesley Kitterman, Producer
- Eddie Fetherston as Bill, Assistant Director
- Sydney Jarvis as The Director
- Harold Goodwin as Miller
- Mary Doran as Margie
- DeWitt Jennings as Mr. Hall
- Lucy Beaumont as Mrs. Hall
- Arthur Housman as The "Customer Who Didn't Order Rabbit"
- Grady Sutton as The "Man Afraid Of Mice"
- Noah Young as The Traffic Cop
- Edward Peil as The Waiter
Production
This was the first film for Harold Lloyd in two years. Clyde Bruckman, who had directed Lloyd in his first two talkie films along with the sound version of Speedy, was recruited to direct Lloyd, who also served as producer. However, Bruckman soon fell ill to a lingering problem with alcoholism, which led to Lloyd stepping into direct, although he did not take credit for it.[4]
Background
The film was a major box office success. An estimated $675,000 was spent on the production and the film grossed over $1,439,000 in the United States alone.[2] The film also proved to be a major critical success as the vast majority of film reviewers praised the picture highly.[5] Cartoonist Ernie Bushmiller provided gags for the film.[6]
Renewed interest in Harold Lloyd
In 1962, scenes from this film were included in a compilation film produced by Harold Lloyd himself entitled Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and created a renewal of interest in the comedian by introducing him to a whole new generation.
See also
References
- Vance, Jeffrey and Suzanne Lloyd. "Harold Lloyd: Master Comedian" New York: Harry N Abrams. p 177
- Box Office Gross for Movie Crazy
- "Catalog of Copyright Entries 1959 Motion Pictures and Filmstrips Jan-Dec 3D Ser Vol 13 PTS 12-13". U.S. Govt. Print. Off. 1959.
- https://www.chicagofilmsociety.org/2011/03/17/movie-crazy/
- Los Angeles Times – April 10, 1932 – Page B15; New York Times – September 15, 1932 – Page F5; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – October 17, 1932 – Page 16 https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UZEnAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ZWkDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5933,1391741&dq=1932+movie-crazy&hl=en
- Comic Strip Artists in American Newspapers: 1945 - 1980, by Moira Davison Reynolds; published 2003, by McFarland & Company (via Google Books)
External links
- Movie Crazy at IMDb
- Movie Crazy at AllMovie
- Movie Crazy at the TCM Movie Database
- Movie Crazy at the American Film Institute Catalog