Ghent Film Festival puts Harold Lloyd in the spotlight

Harold Lloyd (1893-1971) ranks alongside Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton as one of the most popular film comedians of the silent film era. He is best known for his "Glasses Character", a hard-working, optimistic, all-American boy-next-door, complete with dark, oversized horn-rimmed glasses. Lloyd's films featured thrill sequences and daredevil physical feats, which he bravely performed himself. The actor dangling from the hands of a clock face high above the street in Safety Last! is one of the most enduring images in cinema history. Throughout the 1920s, Lloyd continued to shine at the box office, and in 1928 he was proclaimed the highest paid movie star of his time. Very often, his films outgrossed the movies of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin. In addition to Safety Last!, his best known films include A Sailor-Made Man (1921), Speedy (1928) and Welcome Danger (1929). In 1952, he received an Oscar for Lifetime Achievement. The exhibition at the Carmelite Friary features a wide variety of authentic photos and original pieces from the Harold Lloyd Estate, including scripts, sheet music, costumes and cameras. This is a rare chance to see so many different pieces from the Estate gathered together in a single exhibition. In addition to his acting career, Lloyd also had his hobbies, notably photography. At the exhibition, visitors can admire his work including photos of Marilyn Monroe and a series of Hollywood starlets. Sue Lloyd, Harold Lloyd's beloved granddaughter, will be attending the exhibition opening at the Carmelite Friary. She was raised by her grandfather and manages the Harold Lloyd Estate. During the 35th Ghent Film Festival (7-18 October), the restrospective section The Memory of Film will be featuring four newly restored Harold Lloyd films: Safety Last! (1923), Speedy (1928), Welcome Danger (1929) and Movie Crazy (1932). Many thanks to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for lending out photographs. The exhibition will be on view from 10 October to 21 December at the Carmelite Friary - Provincial Centre of Art and Culture, 6 Vrouwebroersstraat, 9000 Ghent. Tel.: 09/269.29.10 - e-mail: caermersklooster@oost-vlaanderen.be. Free entry.