Harold Lloyd and The Babe in "Speedy"

Harold, the Babe, and a smiling guest in the background. No, it isn't Gary Cooper.

A leisurely drive around New York City.


Just for a change of pace, here is a classic clip of Hollywood's vision of New York City driving in the bad old days. The cab driver is Harold Lloyd and this is from the movie "Speedy" from 1928.

During filming, the Southeast corner of E. 58th Street and Sutton Place.

New York City doesn't change much over time. In fact, sometimes it doesn't change at all. Unlike, say, Rome, the buildings that are preserved invariably are kept in use and aren't just monuments to bygone eras.

The same location today as in the picture directly above. Yes, the building is virtually untouched almost 90 years later, though the buildings across the way have changed into massive apartment complexes. That's New York for you.

The last part, "On weekends he drives a bus," is not New York City. It is Los Angeles. The streetcars are Los Angeles Railways Huntington Standard Streetcars. This was a Hollywood production, after all. Filming in New York must have been expensive back in the day, even though true film historians know that just 20 years before, New York City was the Hollywood of its day.

2019