Highlighting visions of a bygone age preserved in the background of Harold Lloyd's films, this history explores the urban landscapes of Hollywood, Los Angeles, and New York--popular settings for his films--through archival photographs, vintage maps, and scores of then-and-now photographs. From Coney Island to Catalina Island and from Brooklyn to Beverly Hills, Lloyd's timeless movies reflect visions of early 20th-century America unequalled on the silver screen and exemplified in the historical settings found in such classics asSafety Last,Girl Shy,The Freshman, andSpeedy. Tracing Lloyd's career from his early work to owning and operating his own studio, this account illuminates Lloyd's mastery of his oeuvre--an actor and director more popular than Keaton, more prolific than Chaplin, and who sold more tickets than any other comedian of his era, as well as a comedic genius whose expert staging and editing have influenced films for decades.

John Bengtson is a business lawyer, a film historian, and the author of Silent Echoes: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Buster Keaton and Silent Traces: Discovering Early Hollywood Through the Films of Charlie Chaplin. He lives in San Francisco. Kevin Brownlow is a film historian and the documentary filmmaker of Abel Gance: The Charm of Dynamite, Buster Keaton: A Hard Act to Follow, Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius, Hollywood: A Celebration of the American Silent Film, and Unknown Chaplin. He is the author of How It Happened Here and The Parade's Gone By.