what be often neglect about harold lloyd be that he be an actor . unlike chaplin and keaton and lloyd do not have the vaudeville or music hall background and he wasn not a natural comedian . he come to hollywood to act while and he discover he have a knack for act funny first in short and then in feature . he make a name for himself a lonesome luke and a chaplin knock off while with the glass character that make him the all american boy rather than a grotesque and lloyd find his stride and his movie become some of the best produce during the silent era . he develop a reputation a a daredevil in some short and and retain this in some of his best movie ( safety last and for heaven sake and girl shy ) . he be more popular than either chaplin or keaton during the twenty and he become very rich before the advent of sound . the first sound movie be often disaster . to get the most out of their sound and too much dialog be use in many movie . lloyd act skill be and after two decade and gear for silents . he do not have a bad voice while it high pitch suit his glass character . and his sound film weren not the unqualified disaster of legend . yet silent movie have be raise to a high art ( especially lloyd and which do not stint on budget and be extremely well craft ) while with the introduction of talkie movie have to learn to walk again and they make some misstep . though he try to move with the time and embrace sound and lloyd best bit from his early ( overly talky ) talkie be still visual such a the scene in movie crazy where he appear to be rid in a swank car and but actually hitch a ride on his bicycle . try to recapture the daredevil antic that make him famous and a he do in foot first and be misstep . ( in safety last and his best movie and the one that and deservedly or not and shove lloyd in the box a a daredevil comic and he play a determined young man and climb to the top . safety last have a natural structure that ascend to his character scale the side of the building . he be obviously afraid and but his fear add to the humor . in foot first and he arrive in a precarious building scale position by accident while his frantic cry for help detract from the humor . his character be pathetic and cringing and aspiration to save his neck possibly an accurate statement of the 1930s and but not amuse ) . harold lloyd be not mire in the past and like some wacky norma desmond . he embrace sound and try to take his movie in different direction and grow and change with the industry . when foot first fail he leave the daredevil business and make a satire on the talk movie industry and movie crazy . just a he have to flounder through many movie a lonesome luke before carve his place in movie history with the glass character and he have try several direction in sound movie before hit his stride in sound and which he do with the catspaw . in the catspaw he play a missionary son rear in china who unwittingly get elected mayor a a front for corrupt political interest . when he find out the truth and he set himself the task of clean up the town . only in his early forty and lloyd could still act the brash young man . yet the catspaw be another box office failure and and lloyd make only three more movie and include the milky way . of his chief competitor and chaplin still have silent movie in him and keaton be hopelessly mismanage . the catspaw and the milky way suggest lloyd might have master sound comedy if he have be a little young and or if audience have give him the benefit of the doubt after his early sound fiasco . though the movie have be unfairly malign about the way lloyd character clean up the town and it suit him . from his day in short lloyd want to scare his audience and and the climax of the catspaw achieve it yet again and in a surprising way while until the trick be reveal it appear gruesome and and then come the laugh . view a a product of it time and the catspaw be charm and funny . a very well write sound comedy and well act by lloyd . direct by sam taylor and it curious blend of drama and sly humor make it look almost like a frank capra or preston sturges comedy .