An American Comedy - 5437

Do you remember the harassed young man with the circular specs, dangling from a clock hand high over Los Angeles, with the hand threatening momentarily to give ... at which point, in a welter of springs and gears, the clock pops from its case... or the college boy, also in large circular specs, whose suit disintegrates at the prom... ? Then you remember great moments in the films of Harold Lloyd, star of the silent comics. In 1928, just about the time that sound was revolutionizing the movies, Lloyd wrote about his film experiences, while the silents were still strong in memory. This is his only autobiography, a frank book that is packed full of information for the film scholar and for anyone who truly loves the film medium per se. It is one of the basic books about the early American screen -- the actors, comic and serious; the transfer of methods from the vaudeville stage to the film; the directors; the companies and financial aspects; the films themselves; and above all, the way that early silents were made. As Mr. Richard Griffith states in his introductory note to this book: "Nowhere else, to my knowledge, is film comedy construction discussed in so much detail." When An American Comedy first appeared in 1928, it was immediately recognized as a work of great importance, as well as a book that conveyed the same charm as the cinema work of Harold Lloyd. This Dover edition, approved by Mr. Lloyd, contains the complete original text, plus, as an appendix, an interview with Mr. Lloyd, "The Serious Business of Being Funny," conducted and edited by Hubert I. Cohen. It has also been enlarged with 37 additional stills from Lloyd pictures, making it one of the largest collections ever issued. Introductory note by Richard Griffith, Late Curator Emeritus of the Museum of Modern Art Film Library. New Index of persons, films and plays. 67 illustrations. xiii + 138pp. of text.
ASIN: 0486226840
VSKU: LFV.0486226840.A
Condition: Acceptable
Author/Artist:Lloyd, Harold
Binding: Paperback