Hot Water (1924) also goes into the time capsule of great Lloyd features, even if it feels like a handful of shorter films shoehorned together. This one gets its charm from the basic domestic situation (Harold takes the family out for a spin in the new car, faces down his meddling mother-in-law). It turns to haunted-house jokes toward the end, which gives Lloyd a chance to do his electric-hair bit, a familiar gag from his films. Like Hot Water, For Heaven's Sake (1926) is an hour long; this funny one casts Lloyd as a rich twit who takes up with a girl whose father runs a homeless mission. It has a great love scene in a slum (the moon in the background turns out to be a neon sign) and another hair-raising chase. Just how did they get the shot of Lloyd on a speeding bus heading through an intersection with two trains crossing?

There's one talking picture, Movie Crazy (1932), a somewhat routine film from Lloyd's increasingly unsuccessful stint in talkies. He plays a young rube who arrives in Hollywood certain he'll be the next "new face." The silent shorts, of which there are many here, are better. Check out Haunted Spooks from 1920, which has its share of good jokes but which is also fascinating for its place in Lloyd's career. He suffered an off-set accident midway through shooting, costing him the thumb and forefinger of his right hand; after a hiatus, he completed shooting with a prosthetic glove (which he used in films thereafter). A heartfelt 15-minute documentary on Lloyd's palatial L.A. estate, Greenacres, uses copious home-movie footage to show the marvelous place and give a hint of Lloyd's homey, likable personality. --Robert Horton

Product Description
Studio: New Line Home Video Release Date: 11/15/2005 Rating: Nr