Press Release:
Beverly Hills, CA — The rarely-seen silent version of Harold Lloyd's Welcome Danger (1929) will screen in conjunction with the opening of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' new exhibition, "Out on a Ledge: Photographs of a Comic Genius, from the Harold Lloyd Collection," on Friday, September 15, at 8 p.m. at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.
Hosted by Leonard Maltin, film critic and historian, the program will feature a new print made from original materials restored by the UCLA Film and Television Archive and premiere an orchestral score composed specifically for the film by Robert Israel, courtesy of Sony Pictures Entertainment.
In 1928, Lloyd began production on what would prove to be his final silent film. Directed by Clyde Bruckman, Welcome Danger stars Lloyd as a former police chief's meek son who returns to San Francisco to uncover a crime ring in the city's Chinatown district.
With the transition to sound pictures well underway, Lloyd announced plans to complete the silent version, preview and edit it, and then determine how to produce a sound version. He ultimately shot much of the film a second time, recasting several of the key roles, blending some of the footage shot for the silent film with new dialogue sequences, and adding sound effects.
The sound version of Welcome Danger became Lloyd's highest-grossing film. The silent version was sent out to theaters that were not yet wired for sound, but in the decades leading up to the film's recent restoration, it has not been available for public viewing.
Lloyd's career spanned from 1912 to 1947 and included more than 200 films ranging from silent one-reelers to feature-length sound pictures. A founding member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Lloyd was awarded an Honorary Oscar® in 1952 as a "master comedian and good citizen."
The companion exhibition, "Out on a Ledge: Photographs of a Comic Genius, from the Harold Lloyd Collection," will be on display in the Academy's Grand Lobby Gallery from Friday, September 15 through Sunday, December 17, 2006. The gallery is open Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and weekends, noon to 6 p.m. Admission is free. The Academy will be closed during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend — Thursday, November 23, through Sunday, November 26.
Tickets to Welcome Danger are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members. Doors open at 7 p.m. Seats are unreserved. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Free parking is provided in the garages located at 8920 and 9025 Wilshire Boulevard. For additional information, call (310) 247-3600.
You know, I was looking forward seeing all Harold Lloyd's seven talkies digitally HD restored and remastered someday on DVD and Blu-Ray in the future by the Harold Lloyd trust as well as all of Harold Lloyd's greatest silent shorts and features too can't hardly wait to capture new generations of the beloved third genuis of silent comedy.