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Cinematic City, Part One:City in Silence

As film historians have often pointed out, the

first great home of motion pictures was alittle Utopian village that seemed to have itall: idyllic vistas of bucolic country roads,stark urban landscapes, open fields,majestic bluffs, and charming 19th centuryfacades. It was called Fort Lee, New Jersey.It also had the long arm of Thomas Edisonand his intimidating Motion Picture PatentsTrust, which continually strove to stifle theburgeoning talents of movie makersstruggling to break free of its control. It was

for this reason, as well as the unpredictableeast coast weather, that pioneering filmmakers, like the American frontiersman beforethem, left the Hudson River Valley and traversed westward, eventually settling in theidyllic climate of Southern California. There, in a sleeply little hamlet of orange grovesand chicken farms called "Hollywood", an industry was born.

By the time Edison's Trust was declaredan illegal monopoly in 1915, the moviesand Hollywood were irrevocably united.When the European film industry was

decimated as a result of the First WorldWar, the American film industry moved tothe forefront of the world, and to theworld, movies meant America, andAmerica meant Hollywood. Though a fewrenegade filmmakers worked outside theHollywood box, by and large the mostfilms successful films of the period were those created and produced within theenvirons of Southern California.At the same time, New York enjoyed its first halcyon period as the playground for the

roaring hoards of revelers celebrating the

heady times of the 1920s. The city saw aneconomic boom that redesigned both thecultural and urban skyline of Manhattan. By1925, New York City became the mostpopulous city in the world, overtaking Londonwhich had reigned for a century. This hugeinflux of divergent energies, cultures, andraces created a metropolis that was itself a

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living, breathing entity. Ask anyone who has spent even the smallest amount of timetraversing it's thoroughfares; unlike any other city, New York has rhythms, intentions,and motivations all its own.

This singular characteristic appealed totwo filmmakers who were both reachingthe apex of their careers in the late1920s: Harold Lloyd and King Vidor.

Today, Lloyd is most recognizable as thebespectacled young man danglingprecariously from the hands of a clock onthe side of a skyscraper; it is one of thegreat iconic images of American film. Inthe 1920s, however, he rivaled Chaplinand Keaton in popularity and acclaim.What distinguished Lloyd was that he wasthe most archetypal "American" of thegroup; his aggressive, resilient, romantic

character was perfectly in tune with the era. He was 1920s America. More specifically,

he was 1920s New York City. His qualities, and the city's qualities, were a perfect mesh.While the majority of his films tapped into this unique and cosmopolitan (ie: New York)quality, ironically they were shot on the streets of Los Angeles, not New York. When thetime came to film what would be his final silent film, Speedy (1928), Lloyd decided torectify that.

"Speedy" was Harold Lloyd's real nickname, andthere is no better adjective for this incrediblyraucous, rollicking, roller-coaster ride of a film, or forthe city that it joyously celebrates. From the elevatedtrains criss-crossing the canyons of Manhattan to

the thrills of Coney Island, to a cameo appearanceby Yankee legend Babe Ruth, Speedyis a Valentineto an era long gone -- and that was quicklydisappearing as the film itself was being made. InSpeedy, Lloyd portrays Harold "Speedy" Swift , theblindly optimistic young man in love with the younggirl with a predicament: her grandfather's horse-drawn trolley is in danger of being swallowed up intoa corporate monopoly. But these characters andtheir story are really secondary to the third characterof the film: New York City. The immigrantneighborhoods, the impossibly crowdedthoroughfares, the overwhelming urban spectaclesare just as integral to the unfolding of the plot as anyhuman character. They present obstacles, enticeand seduce with their pleasures, threaten danger,create mishaps, but eventually bring our hero andheroine together at the end of the film.

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Take for example, a Sunday afternoon spent atConey Island. From the opening shots, whenthe boy and girl excitedly enter the subwaystation en route to Luna Park, the theatmosphere is charged with anticipation. Ratherthan construct a set, the sequence was shot atthe actual Wall Street subway station - completewith animated crowds pushing and shoving

each other into the waiting train - which lendsthe

scene not only a palpable energy, but anadded layer of authenticity. For many filmgoers, this was their first glimpse at thechaos of an subway ride, and the swift andstartling physical proximity betweenstrangers that it creates. This sudden andenforced physical intimacy naturally leadsto closer emotional intimacy for the couple,

and it continues to build with eachsubsequent "ride" once the couple arrivesat Coney Island. This is "The City" bringing

the couple together.

As in most of his films, Lloyd's character confronts one obstacle after another in anattempt to reach his goal. The difference in Speedyis that it is often "The City" throwingup the obstacle, and by turn, "The City" coming to his aid. Whether romancing his girlwith the plebeian pleasures of Coney Island, taking "The Babe" on the taxi ride of his lifeto Yankee Stadium, or the final climax of the film, a breathtaking chase on the trolley car

through the streets of Manhattan, Lloydand his team were fearless in capturingas much of the city as they could . Atvarious times their near "guerrillafilmmaking" techniques employedcameras hidden in milk wagons, on theback of trucks, and in one instance, onthe top of a speeding ambulance. Theirfearlessness resulted in the onlyAcademy Award nomination a Lloyd filmever received, for director Ted Wilde inthe short lived "Best Director of aComedy " category.

Even at this point in the history of thecity, the enormity of this achievement cannot be overstated. New York City, and it'shuddled masses, had defeated more than one filmmaker in 1928 -- notably BusterKeaton. One of cinema's great risk-takers, Keaton packed up after only a few weeks offrustrating New York filming and headed back to the controlled environment of Culver

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City to complete The Cameraman. And, though Lloyd did indeed film key scenes on hisstudio lot in West Los Angeles, what remains in the finished film is remarkable. The finalrace to the rescue, a hallmark of many of Lloyd's films, is especially noteworthyconsidering that a real accident--Lloyd's trolley car collided with an elevated traincolumn--threatened to derail filming. ("The City" literally throwing an obstacle in hispath). Showing the same remarkable ingenuity for which his film character's were noted,Lloyd and his crew integrated the crash into the plot, resulting in an even more thrillingfinale. It remains one of the most exciting and daring sequences in film comedy.

In retrospect, Speedy can beviewed as a comic metaphor forthe breakneck pace at which NewYork (and therefore, America)was hurling itself through thedizzying decade of the 1920s, aswell as the inevitable crash thatwas to come. Whereas Lloyd'sSpeedy assumes a lightheartedand satiric slant , King Vidor's

masterpiece, The Crowd, madethe same year, shows the otherside of this desperate race - andits dangerous and devastating tollon the human psyche. And onceagain, New York City is at theforefront of it all.

To be continued...