Lloyd film comedies land in L.A.

Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd were the kings of silent comedy during the 1920s. Lloyd was the Everyman of the group, a fresh-scrubbed, handsome go-getter who, in more than 200 films, often got into trouble -- such as when he found himself hanging off a clock’s hands high above Los Angeles in 1923’s “Safety Last!”

Though Lloyd’s films have screened at film festivals and revival theaters, many have not had major theatrical releases since the ‘20s. Since April, Sony Pictures has been exhibiting around the country 22 Lloyd films, which have been restored by Lloyd’s granddaughter, Suzanne Lloyd. (On Nov. 15, New Line will release them on DVD.)

Starting today, the Lloyd films will stop off for an 11-day engagement at the Royal Theatre in West Los Angeles. Among the films are “Safety Last!,” “Girl Shy,” “The Milky Way,” “The Kid Brother” and “Speedy.”

Jeff Blake, vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, says the Lloyd retrospective has been a labor of love. “I can’t say there is a lot of money in it, but it has been very rewarding,” Blake says. “We have had 22 different films in 200 play dates around the country.”

Info: Laemmle’s Royal Theatre, 11523 Santa Monica Blvd., West L.A. (310) 477-5581.

-- Susan King