The Sin of Harold Diddlebock

Lloyd's last film - by no means the total disaster of reputation - kicks off with the final reel of The Freshman, then goes on to show Harold the go-getter of 1925, fired after 22 years stuck in the same dead-end job, breaking out in a wild Mad Wednesday spree which results in him drunkenly sowing the seeds of future success. Admittedly the quirkily sophisticated Sturges characters ('Sir, you bring out the artist in me' beams the bartender presented with the challenge of mixing Harold's very first drink) co-exist a trifle uneasily with Lloyd's cliffhanger exploits (which here include a rather tired rehash of the skyscraper antics from Safety Last). But the film is studded with gems, many of them contributed verbally by the Sturges stock company. It was re-released in 1950, cut to 78 minutes and retitled Mad Wednesday.