The Sin of Harold Diddlebock

Director Preston Sturges drew silent-comedy star Harold Lloyd out of retirement for this 1947 sequel to The Freshman (possibly Lloyd’s best-known feature), picking up over 20 years after that film left off. The Sin of Harold Diddlebock may not be Lloyd’s funniest work, and it certainly doesn’t represent a career zenith for Sturges either. But much like Chaplin’s Limelight, this is the product of two mature filmmakers interested in more than just pratfalls. It’s also pretty damned funny. This movie has become notable to film historians as marking an odd chapter in Sturges’ career, as it effectively began and ended his brief attempt to found a studio with eccentric mogul Howard Hughes. Conflict ensued among all involved, and after a lukewarm reception, Hughes spent three years recutting the film before re-releasing it in 1950 as Mad Wednesday. The Hughes cut is notoriously misguided, but Sturges and Lloyd’s original version has been experiencing something of a critical reevaluation in recent years. It’s not a perfect film by any means, but it’s far more than the mere historical curiosity it’s traditionally been considered. The Asheville Film Society will screen The Sin of Harold Diddlebock Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 7:30 p.m. at The Grail Moviehouse, hosted by Xpress movie critic Scott Douglas.