Ann Christy

Ann Christy's, first film was a bit part in the film Long Pants(1927), starring Harry Langdon. She performed in film comedies with Bobby Vernon and Neal Burns. In 1928, Christy was chosen by Harold Lloyd to play his leading lady in the comedy Speedy(1928). Following her performance in Speedy, Christy vacationed in New York. When she returned to Hollywood, she discovered that she had been forgotten. She made her last onscreen performance in the film Behind Stone Walls(1932), starring Edward J. Nugent.

Speedy (1928). Harold Lloyd's real-life nickname.

Speedy (1928). Silent film. Cast: Harold Lloyd and Ann Christy. It was his last silent film to be released in theatres. The film was written by Albert DeMond, John Grey, J.A. Howe, Lex Neal, and Howard Emmett Rogers with uncredited assistance from Al Boasberg and Paul Girard Smith. Director: Ted Wilde (the last silent film to be directed by him). It was shot on location in New York City.

In this Silent Film, "Speedy," who is unable to hold a job, comes to the rescue when his girl's grandfather nearly loses his horse-drawn streetcar business. A gang of men steal the car and hide it, but "Speedy" finds it. (In one of my favorite scenes in the film Speedy puts shaving cream on his dog and yells "MAD DOG"!! to scare off the gang of men). Speedy then drives the horse-drawn streetcar wildly through the crowded streets, and gets it back on the track in time to make the daily run.

I really wasn't that familiar with Harold Lloyd until I saw this silent film. What a wonderful comedy. Mr. Lloyd, really seemed to be enjoying himself and in my opinion, he ranks with Buster Keaton, in the laughs department.

FUN FACTS:

"Speedy" was Harold Lloyd's real-life nickname. He had previously used it for his character in the 1925 film The Freshman.

During the chase scene, Speedy's horse-drawn streetcar is seen crashing into an elevated railroad platform. This was a real accident during filming, the footage of which was kept and the storyline of the film rewritten around it.

Lloyd can be seen giving the finger to his own reflection in a fun house mirror during the Coney Island sequence. (His granddaughter, Suzanne Lloyd, notes this on the DVD commentary track).

Babe Ruth makes an cameo performance as himself, as Speedy's cab customer. Ruth was a fan of Lloyd, and director Wilde had directed him the previous year in the film, The Babe Comes Home.