Beat It

1918 · Directed by Gilbert Pratt · silent film

Harold Lloyd starred in the successful Lonesome Luke series. However, he soon grew tired of the obvious Charlie Chaplin imitation. In an attempt to reinvent himself, Lloyd donned a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, and thus, a new comedy legend was born. Setting himself against Chaplin, Lloyd's "glasses character" was an everyman, a resourceful go-getter who embodied the ambitious, success-seeking attitude of 1920s America.