Haunted Spooks is a 1920

1920 in film

The year 1920 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* November 27 - The Mark of Zorro, starring Douglas Fairbanks opens.-Top grossing films :-Films released in 1920:U.S.A. unless stated*The $1,000,000 Reward...

 silent

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

 comedy film

Comedy film

Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...

 starring Harold Lloyd

Harold Lloyd

Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....

 and Mildred Davis

Mildred Davis

Mildred Hillary Davis was an American actress who appeared in many of Harold Lloyd's classic silent comedies and eventually became his wife.-Early life and career:...

.

Plot

The action in Haunted Spooks is sparked by Harold's romantic problems. The opening sequence has him disappointed in love and trying, with notable lack of success, to commit suicide

Suicide

Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...

. Eventually he marries a pretty girl (Mildred Davis, who would marry Lloyd in real life three years later and remain his wife until her death in 1969). The couple moves into a mansion that is spooked by a wicked uncle who wants to scare the young people away so he can have the place to himself.

Cast

• Harold Lloyd
  Harold Lloyd
  Harold Clayton Lloyd, Sr. was an American film actor and producer, most famous for his silent comedies....
  
   - The Boy
• Mildred Davis
  Mildred Davis
  Mildred Hillary Davis was an American actress who appeared in many of Harold Lloyd's classic silent comedies and eventually became his wife.-Early life and career:...
  
   - The Girl
• Wallace Howe - The Uncle
• Sammy Brooks
  Sammy Brooks
  Sammy Brooks was an American film actor. He appeared in 218 films between 1916 and 1938. He was born in New York and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Berth Marks * Bromo and Juliet...
  
   - Short Butler (uncredited)
• William Gillespie - The Lawyer (uncredited)
• Mark Jones - (uncredited)
• Gaylord Lloyd - (uncredited)
• Sam Lufkin
  Sam Lufkin
  Samuel "Sam" William Lufkin was an American actor who usually appeared in small or bit roles in short comedy films.-Career:Born in Utah, Lufkin spent most of his career at the Hal Roach Studios where he made over 60 films...
  
   - Man arguing in car (uncredited)
• Ernest Morrison - Little Boy (uncredited)
• Dee Lampton
  Dee Lampton
  Dee Lampton was an American film actor of the silent era. He appeared in 52 films between 1915 and 1920. He was one of the regulars in the Hal Roach crew of actors and was the heavy set character....
  
   - Tall Butler (uncredited)
• Charles Stevenson - Winning Suitor (uncredited)
• Blue Washington - Butler (uncredited)
• Noah Young
  Noah Young
  Noah Young Jr. was a former champion weightlifter who joined the Hal Roach studios as an actor, mainly playing comic villains. He appeared in several Laurel and Hardy comedies but was more notable as a foil for Harold Lloyd, whom he supported in over 50 films...
  
   - Chef (uncredited)

Background

The movie began filming on August 9, 1919 and halted on the 23rd of that month due to an accident. Lloyd was posing for publicity photos, and a prop bomb exploded in his hand. He lost two fingers, his face was badly burned and he was temporarily blinded. In subsequent films, he is usually seen wearing gloves. After four months of recovering the film resumed on January 5, 1920 through the 25th. There was very little public knowledge about Lloyd's fingers, but people knew of the accident. Lloyd wanted it that way because he did not want people to watch his films for sympathy or curiosity, but to watch his films "because they were good, laughable, and delightful comedies".

Lloyd's salary doubled after his return to this film. After this movie, he moved away from slapstick

Slapstick

Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...

 and went towards more intellectual comedies.

Filmed on location at Hancock Park

Hancock Park, Los Angeles, California

Hancock Park is a historic and affluent urban neighborhood in Los Angeles, California roughly bounded by Van Ness Avenue to the East, Melrose Avenue to the North, La Brea Avenue to the West, and Wilshire Boulevard to the South.-History:...

 and what is now MacArthur Park

MacArthur Park

MacArthur Park is a park in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, named after General Douglas MacArthur and designated city of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument #100.- Geography :...

. The scenes at the haunted mansion

Mansion

A mansion is a very large dwelling house. U.S. real estate brokers define a mansion as a dwelling of over . A traditional European mansion was defined as a house which contained a ballroom and tens of bedrooms...

 were filmed at Hal Roach Studios, in Culver City, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

.