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For a number of people, this is their Harold Lloyd film, especially if they are from New York City. I can understand that, as it's a funny movie and has great shots of what it looked like in NYC in 1927. (The film was released in 1928). It also is famous for having a 5-minute guest appearance by Babe Ruth.

My vote still goes to "The Freshman," as Lloyd's best but that's all subjective. This is a solid entry and if nothing, else it's a great showcase to see what The Big Apple looked like 80 years ago.

This gets off to good start, too, unlike a number of silent comedies. Harold's ice- cream parlor antics, as a soda jerk, are a lot of fun to watch. I loved the way he signaled his co-workers on how his beloved home team, the Yankees, were doing inning-by-inning. After Harold loses that job, he winds up driving a cab and then, at the end trying to help his girlfriend's father. The elderly man drives the last horse-trolley in the city and is being threatened by someone who wants to buy him out, and Harold comes to the rescue with a dramatic race to beat the clock in the final hectic 15 minutes of the film.

While he was driving the cab, he gets the famous Ruth as one of his customers and he's so excited he almost cracks up the cab and Ruth goes crazy in the back seat. It's a funny scene.

Also tied in with the film is a nice, long scene with Lloyd and his girl (Ann Christy) having a wild day at Coney Island. That, too, was fun and interesting to see. In all, a fun movie and a chance to see Lloyd finish up his great silent career, before films changed to "talkies."

Harold Lloyd's last Silent effort is also one of his best vehicles: as ever, production values transcend its simple, comedic nature - the film is particularly relevant as a time-capsule for its view of 1920s New York City - while the narrative itself is filled with enough engaging subplots to please just about everybody - Harold's failure to keep a job for long (we see him, hilariously, as a soda-jerk and a cab driver), his passion for baseball (replacing the game of football celebrated in Lloyd's earlier THE FRESHMAN [1925] and even featuring a cameo by one of its legendary exponents, Babe Ruth, as himself), not to mention an outing with his girl (Ann Christy - okay, if not quite in the same league as regulars Bebe Daniels, Mildred Davis and Jobyna Ralston) at Coney Island.

The main plot, however, concerns a gang of big-city crooks intent on buying out Christy's grandfather (who owns the last operating horse-drawn cart in town); this eventually results in two wonderful set-pieces: the lengthy brawl between the villains and the team Lloyd rallies to resist them, a bunch of mangled but enthusiastic Civil War veterans, and the exhilarating final chase in which Harold ultimately makes good by bringing in the horse-cart on time against all odds - a tour-de-force in the style of Lloyd's climaxes for both GIRL SHY (1924) and FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE (1926). Incidentally, the ousting of an old-fashioned means of transport was also the theme of one of Ealing Studios' classic British comedies, THE TITFIELD THUNDERBOLT (1953), not to mention one of Luis Bunuel's Mexican films, ILLUSION TRAVELS BY STREETCAR (1954).

Tragically, director Ted Wilde - who had also guided Lloyd through his finest movie ever, THE KID BROTHER (1927) - died of a stroke at the young age of 36 the year after he made SPEEDY but not before receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Direction of a Comedy Picture, the only time an award of this sort was handed out by the Academy.

Unlike some of his films in which Lloyd plays an underdog until his final self-assertion, here Lloyd plays a would-be Horatio Alger type who nevertheless is fired from one job to another, yet who is ingenious in handling every minor problem that arises, such as finding seats on the subway while still failing at every job. Highlights: The taxi ride with a terrified Babe Ruth; the old geezers defeating a bunch of hired toughs; a dog who comes close to stealing the show; a climactic mad dash across New York in a horse-drawn trolley; a tender not mawkish romance; and always the Lloyd charm and calculating innocence.

Besides providing plenty of entertainment from Harold Lloyd and the rest of the cast, this silent comedy classic is also quite enjoyable as a time capsule from 1920s New York, with wonderful footage of Coney Island and other sights, plus the amusing appearance by Babe Ruth. Even more so than most movies of its era, it gives you a very good feel for its time and place.

The plot has Lloyd, as perpetual job-seeker and job-loser "Speedy", trying to save the city's last horse-drawn streetcar, which is driven by the father of his girlfriend. The David-vs.-Goliath conflict gives Lloyd a lot to work with, and it is used to good effect both for gags and for character development. There are a number of good sequences, including a hilarious and detailed street donnybrook between the transport company's hired goons and Lloyd's ragtag neighborhood stalwarts.

The lengthy digressions from the main story also work very well. The taxicab sequence with Ruth is probably the best-remembered, and there is also a delightful sequence at Coney Island's Luna Park. Ann Christy and Lloyd work together well, and they make an especially pleasant and sympathetic couple in this sequence.

"Speedy" is a good showcase for Lloyd, since it combines action sequences that advance the story with other sequences that simply entertain and give you a feel for the characters. Overall, it has quite a lot to recommend it.

A delightful Harold Lloyd piece in which, in a nice change of pace, his character is a self-assured, confident young man living in New York during the roaring twenties, who loves baseball as much as he loves his girlfriend. Trouble is afoot however, when business tycoons try to buyout his father-in-law's lone horse and buggy track for their development. Things turn unlawful when goons are hired to try and thwart the buggy's run, which must be made at least once every 24 hours, or Pop can lose his license.

Everything plays out in the traditional Lloyd way, with wonderful gags and set pieces, but the biggest treat of all is the roughly twenty minute escape Lloyd takes with his girl to Coney Island. Wonderfully shot, it is truly a pleasure to see Coney Island in it's hey day. As well, Babe Ruth does a nice turn playing himself.

A must see.

SPEEDY might not be as tight as his other masterpieces- it's a bit episodic, yet those scenes on Coney Island are lovely all the same, and the way they set up a little home inside the truck is poetic. This is the last silent of Lloyd, and it reflects the helplessness towards progression and the nostalgia of the good old past, which is the essence of what makes this film so wonderfully rich and graceful. That attempt of saving the last horse-drawn tram as goal(instead of personal achievement), and especially the help from the civil war veterans and on-lookers(instead of himself as an all-able hero) is atypical of Lloyd, but makes this film warmer, special, and very lovely.

Pop Dillon operates the last horse-drawn trolley in New York. His loving granddaughter Jane has boyfriend Harold 'Speedy' Swift (Harold Lloyd) who is constantly changing jobs and dreams of being a baseball player. A railroad is trying to buy Pop's track. Pop negotiates a price but Speedy torpedoes the negotiations when he reads that the big railroads need Pop's run. Speedy takes Jane to Coney Island. He next gets a new job as a taxi cab driver. It goes badly until he picks up Babe Ruth. At Yankee Stadium, he overhears a man scheming to steal Pop's track by stopping the run for 24 hours.

This is famed silent era star Harold Lloyd's final silent movie. It's great to see Coney Island at its heights and the old rides. Babe Ruth makes a solid cameo. Harold Lloyd driving the Babe around is harrowing and kinda infuriating. It actually made me not like Speedy as much. There is quite a bit of action. I love the old Coney Island rides. The car chases are sometimes interesting with one shocking crash. It looks like it really hurted. The plot rambles around a bit. This has some fun and it's an easy watch.

The last Harold Lloyd silent comedy, "Speedy" is a yuk-filled feature boasting some impressive thrill scenes and Jazz Age Manhattan ambiance. If not as satisfying as some earlier Lloyd silents, it manages to showcase just why Lloyd was the most popular of the big three silent clowns.

Harold plays the title character, who may have gotten his name from undiagnosed ADD. Speedy flits from job to job while he dreams of baseball and his girl Jane (Ann Christy). Jane wants to marry Speedy, but first there's the business of her grandfather's horse-drawn trolley, which a greedy railway magnate wants to put out of business any way he can.

As other commenters here point out, this is less a unified film than a sequence of four shorts stitched together as follows: 1. Harold the soda jerk. 2. Harold and Jane at Coney Island. 3. Harold the taxi driver. 4. Harold saves Pop's trolley. The only serious concession to "Speedy's" feature length is that some business of short #4 is introduced between shorts #1 and #2.

Add to that the hit-or-miss gagginess of much of the film, and what you wind up with is less satisfying than Lloyd classics like "The Freshman" or "The Kid Brother." Even early Lloyd features like "Grandma's Boy" or "Dr. Jack" had loftier goals than the laugh-driven "Speedy". Yet "Speedy" is funny most of the time, and does work in some other ways, too.

Though I'm not a Yankees fan, I'm a sucker with any movie that features Babe Ruth. Here, in a cameo, he does excellent work as a passenger afraid for his life getting a mad cab ride from the star-struck Speedy.

"Even when you strike out, you miss 'em close," Speedy enthuses, eyes on Babe and not the road.

"I don't miss 'em half as close as you do!" Babe yells back.

It's cool just seeing these two icons share the screen, and if you watch just before the 53rd minute, you'll see a third icon, Lou Gehrig, slip into the background during a Harold-Babe two-shot and proceed to stick his tongue out at the camera!

As fun as moments like that are, "Speedy" doesn't add up to the sum of its parts until the final third, when we resume the story of Pop's horse-drawn trolley. There we get a fitting capper to Lloyd's silent-clown career, with a hilarious street battle between young toughs and old coots fought with flypaper, horseshoes, and a pegleg, among other implements. Then there's the final trolley ride, which employs a horrific-looking real accident to create some tension over the question of whether Harold will save the day.

Like many note, "Speedy" is as captivating for what you see in the background. So much of it was shot for real in Manhattan, and even when there's no comically rude Hall-of-Fame first basemen in sight, there's a lot of energy and activity on view, whether its tugboats on the Hudson, taxis on Times Square, or street urchins ingenuously looking at the camera wondering what's up. The Coney Island sequence is the most labored part of the film for me, but it's still not only inventively played out but especially edifying for those of us who wonder what amusement parks were like before the age of the steel roller-coaster or more stringent safety regulations.

Lloyd and director Ted Wilde knew what the audience wanted, and deliver it here with a cherry on top. If not quite as on the money after more than 80 years, "Speedy" is still well worth watching for fans of Lloyd and silent comedy.

A SPEEDY young fellow races against time to save an unscrupulous syndicate from destroying the horse car line belonging to his girlfriend's grandfather.

Harold Lloyd made his final silent screen appearance in this very funny movie, which solidifies his reputation as one of the greatest film stars of the era. His impeccable timing and elaborate stunts are abundantly on display and his athletic abilities, despite the severe accident suffered to his right hand some years earlier, are still honed to a razor sharpness. He makes comic mincemeat out of his stints as soda jerk & taxi driver, and whether rallying the neighborhood Civil War veterans to fight off a gang of hoodlums, or ending the film with another of his marvelous trademark chase scenes, Harold is never less than utterly hilarious.

His new leading lady is played by spunky Ann Christy; they share a glorious, extended Coney Island Sunday sequence full of sight gags, high jinks & sweet romance. Elderly Bert Woodruff plays her beloved grandfather, a grumpy old coot with a heart of gold. And, for a few splendid moments, the immortal Babe Ruth finds himself uncomfortably ensconced in the back seat of Harold's taxi for a madcap dash to Yankee Stadium.

Movie mavens will recognize an uncredited Josephine Crowell as the very nervous lady in a limousine who has a close encounter with Harold's runaway trolley.

Rear screen projection was thankfully very rare during the silent era. What was filmed was really happening. However, it's use can be seen encroaching on the sublime reality of Harold's final chase sequence in SPEEDY. Safety factors, among other considerations, had to be accommodated.

Carl Davis has composed an excellent film score which perfectly complements Harold's antics on the screen.

Lloyd's last silent movie (and his last good pic) is - despite some great gags, high production values and eye-catching set-pieces - first and foremost a wonderful time capsule of New York City, 1928.

The direction evokes an authentically busy and buzzing Big Apple atmosphere, set in contrast to the relaxed good ol' times when horse carts were still popular.

There's not much plot to speak of, rather a string of sequences, with the middle section being particularly funny while the two(!) showdowns are too drawn out.

7 out of 10 cab drives with Babe Ruth

I really wasn't that familiar with Harold Lloyd until I saw this silent. I wasn't going to watch it at first, but I got immersed in it almost immediately! What glorious and successful use of slapstick! I'm not even into slapstick that much, but this one had me "rolling in the aisles," or should I say my living room chair.

Mr. Lloyd had a knack of making fun of himself, which to me is the essence of anything comical. I guess that's why I don't watch anything too recent, since so much comedy these days is either at somebody else's expense, or just plain stupid. Here we have the hero, Lloyd, trying to do something nice for someone else, while having absolute perseverance throughout impossible trials and tribulations. That makes it even better. No violence, thank goodness!

Mr. Lloyd was a genius, and he ranks with Buster Keaton in bringing timeless laughs.

the fact that films like this have over time morphed into complex tales with twists of irony and cynicism is kind of odd when you think about it. here you have old fashion pie eyed classic American values vs today's films which go as far as dogma or south park. the leap seems almost unimaginable. if this film has no other redeeming qualities it at least serves as beautiful archival footage of a time and place forever lost. new york city before the crash, the chrysler building, and king kong. outside of the plot and character, what unfolds on screen is a beautiful look at new york when horses and trolley cars still competed for space on the streets. and some wonderfully personal scenes of coney island. with in the movie is a typical harold comedy, complete with under cranked camera work in order to give the illusion of speed and early acting of physical comedy and choreography that has jackie chan as a distant offspring. the weird thing to think about during the film is that at this point in time everyone on screen has probably been dead for over fifty years! the comedy when it hits can be amusing, but nothing like the marx brothers or stooges would later achieve. llyod is a pioneer in that respect and often over shadowed by chaplin. the fight seen towards the end (what's new york without a huge riot?) goes on a bit too long and pushes the movie up to 85 min. which was rather long for that era. worth seeing once, at least 7 out of 10

Im a fan of silent films, classics, etc. And I still do not like Lloyd's work.

It's like the three stooges. I appreciate what they do, I appreciate the time when it was released that it was comical and entertaining. However, when films released a decade prior are more innovative, influential and are even timeless. This didn't age well, and I can't say it's my type of film to watch. It was a chore to get through 1 Hour before I skipped to the end. It's not for me. If it's for you, go for it. I can understand how it is enjoyable, like how I enjoy the mission impossible series, but I know a lot of people who don't. All subjective. 3/10.

This is simply a wonderful film and is among the greatest films of Harold Lloyd's career. Unfortunately, it was also the last silent film he made, as 1928 was a transition year in Hollywood--with a decent number of sound pictures being produced. By 1929, just about all the movies they made were talkies.

Harold is a well-meaning guy who just can't seem to hold down a job. Despite this, he takes his girl to Coney Island for an outing. While this segment of the film doesn't have a lot to do with the plot, I really enjoyed it because it gave an excellent view of Coney Island of 1928--with all the amazing old rides.

Another segment that really didn't relate to the overall plot was his brief run-in with Babe Ruth. He rushes him to the ballgame and gets to watch some of the game. Like the Coney sequence, this is a wonderful historical curio, as you get to see The Babe and Yankee stadium.

The girl's father owns a very old-fashioned non-electric trolley line in a small township in New York City. A big transit company is trying to buy him out, but he really wants to keep his business going. However, the scumbags at the big company figure out a loophole--if the small trolley line fails to operate for 24 or more hours, the contract is canceled and the big guys can steal the trolley line. So, they order a group of thugs to steal the trolley and hide it. Harold, up until then had been a lovable loser. However, he shows his mettle and goes to the rescue--leading to an amazing and fun extended chase as Harold tries to keep the trolley from missing its rounds.

Overall, this may not be the very best Lloyd film (I still think THE FRESHMAN is a tiny bit better), it is definitely among the very best and a great example of silent comedy at its best. Definitely on-par with the best of Chaplin or Keaton.

Today I watched a wonderful restoration of the Harold Lloyd gem "Speedy". Released nearly 90 years ago, this silent film demonstrates the power of great story telling and the genius of Harold Lloyd.

Lloyd plays the titular character, Speedy--an optimist who can't keep a job. He's a big Yankees fan and the daily exploits of the Bronx Bombers are his obsession. Babe Ruth appears in an extended scene, including an at-bat in Yankee Stadium.

The film is a tour of New York City, showing the skyline, Times Square, and numerous other locations. When Speedy takes his girlfriend, Jane (Ann Christy, to Coney Island--where he wins her a kewpie doll, a golliwog doll, and other trinkets--there are some nostalgic scenes of the park. Even the crush of the crowds on the NYC subway are grist for Lloyd's comedic mill.

The film is a dramatic triumph, including tender moments, hectic chase scenes, a comic street fight, and some terrific examples of physical comedy and dangerous stunt work. And it was all filmed without special effects, except rear projection. The director, Ted Wilde, was nominated for a best director Oscar in the comedy category.

For a glimpse of American comic cinema at its finest in 1928, just before sound changed the art form forever, there is no finer record of Harold Lloyd's mastery than "Speedy". A beautiful snapshot of New York City is a bonus, as are the references to Yankee Stadium and The Babe in the midst of his historic (1927) 60-home run season on Murderers' Row.

Unable to hold a steady job, an avid baseball fan nevertheless manages to impress his girlfriend by saving her grandfather's transportation business (and meeting Babe Ruth too) in this Harold Lloyd silent comedy. More of a collection of skits than a cohesive narrative, 'Speedy' lacks in the tension and urgency departments but makes up for it with several very funny moments throughout. While some of the gags are telegraphed a little too far in advance (a twitchy dog tied to a table), most are delightfully spontaneous, with some of the best parts involving Lloyd failing to get paying taxi passengers and using a police officer mannequin to his advantage. The single cleverest scene though has Lloyd trick a couple of unsuspecting passengers into giving up seats for his girlfriend and himself. There are also some incredibly funny moments to be had from Lloyd somehow getting a crab stuck in his pocket while at Coney Island; the reactions of a baffled balloon salesman beg to be seen. The bit part players here are actually universally solid though and indeed as funny as Chaplin or Keaton could be in their heyday, there is something to be said for how the biggest laughs in this Lloyd comedy come from the way others react to the strife he gets into. The pacing sometimes lags here with an extensive number of title cards for a physical comedy, but this is generally solid stuff.

SPEEDY (1928) tells the story of Harold "Speedy" Swift (Harold Lloyd), a young man that floats from job to job while dating Jane Dillon (Ann Christy), who lives with her grandfather Pop (Bert Woodruf). Pop drives the last horse-drawn passenger carriage in New York City. Unscrupulous developers who want to use his track for a streetcar will stop at nothing to take it out from under him. Can Speedy save the day? Directed by Ted Wilde.

1928 was one of the last great years in silent film. The art form had reached a technical high point thanks to such films as FW Murnau's masterpieces THE LAST LAUGH and SUNRISE, William Wellman's WINGS, and King Vidor's THE BIG PARADE, which featured sophisticated cinematography and expressive acting. Many other films benefited from these innovations, and SPEEDY is one of them. Befitting its title, it features taut editing and vivid, fluid cinematography, using many tracking shots and shots from the front or the rear of a moving vehicle. We also get a wealth of wonderful location shots that show 1920s New York City in all its glory. No cheap looking back lot sets here; everything is REAL. And it makes a huge difference.

Most importantly, though, it's a hilarious movie with moments of tenderness and quite a bit of suspense. We get an outing with Babe Ruth in a speeding taxi to Yankee Stadium, and a hilarious mêlée between Civil War veterans and the unscrupulous developers, as well as genuinely exciting chases and rides to the rescue. The film makes a nice detour from the plot to show Speedy and Jane's eventful outing at Coney Island. It doesn't matter that it's not really part of the plot – it works because it establishes the characters and it's full of funny moments, like the painted fence, a persistent dog, and Lloyd's comical efforts to avoid getting his suit dirty that are nearly foiled at every turn. This movie is very, very funny, but it also has a lot of warmth too – like the scene between Speedy and Jane in the moving fan, sitting among the furniture and imagining their married life together, as well as Speedy's devotion to Jane and her grandfather.

Lloyd carries the film with his trademark good-natured, can-do persona, and he doesn't overplay either – he's very restrained and realistic. He holds it all together with his somewhat bumbling yet also quite inventive character, and his relentless optimism, which appealed greatly to 20s audiences and still does today. Lloyd and Christy make a charming couple. Apparently Ann Christy only made a few more appearances, mostly in Poverty Row efforts. It's a shame she didn't have more of a career – she's very likable and effective here, an appealing heroine. Everyone in the cast does fine work in their roles.

I could say more, but it's best to see it for yourself. SPEEDY hasn't gotten as much acclaim as SAFETY LAST or THE FRESHMAN, but in my opinion, as great as those two movies are, this one is even more so. A true classic. RATING: 10/10

There's so much to see here, especially on how New York and Coney Island is back then. Not so much speed on the first half, luckily it went on full speed on the second. Not really a fan of the comedy, it does bring slight chuckle out of me but it's not really that funny. Still the movie's smooth flow is there to be appreciated.

"Harold" (Harold Lloyd) is a bit of a wastrel. He can't hold down a job and really only cares about watching the New York Yankees play baseball and his girlfriend "Jane" (Ann Christy). After a particularly enjoyable trip to the seaside, he decides to pop the question but she's reluctant until her granddad "Pop" (Bert Woodruff) is sorted. He runs the final horse-drawn tram in the city and despite the encroaching railroad, he has no intention of hanging up his reins. Things really start to heat up when the railway boss decides that what he cannot buy he can get by coercive means, and so now the pair have to rally round the old gent and see that he keeps his service running reliably enough before city hall shuts him down. It's presented in a lively and entertaining fashion along episodic lines that introduce us to "Speedy" and his gal and her gutsy old pop in stages, culminating in a fun race against time, and some baddies, through the bustling streets. Babe Ruth makes quite an important contribution not just for us, but for his super fan with a bit of ding-dong dialogue and there's plenty of slapstick antics with planks, wheels, wooden legs and horses to ensure a smile is never far away. The filming looks like it was shot on location rather than on a sound stage, and that photography and the ambient sounds of the city add quite a bit of richness to the whole quickly paced ensemble effort. I was never Lloyd's biggest fan, but this is a fun compendium of stories that finishes up well and I did quite enjoy it.

The last silent film by the great comedian Harold Lloyd is not one of his biggest achievements and at times the plot feels a little derivative, but it's still great fun and very entertaining and has some absolutely outstanding stunts in the streets of New York and L. A. Also, the long sequence in the sadly demolished Luna Park on Coney Island is a standout.