The Sin of Harold Diddlebock

1947
Approved
1h 29m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Arline Judge, Harold Lloyd, Franklin Pangborn, Frances Ramsden, Rudy Vallee, and Jackie the Lion in The Sin of Harold Diddlebock (1947)

Twenty years after his triumphs as a freshman on the football field, Harold is a mild-mannered clerk who dreams about marrying the girl at the desk down the aisle. But losing his job destroy... Read allTwenty years after his triumphs as a freshman on the football field, Harold is a mild-mannered clerk who dreams about marrying the girl at the desk down the aisle. But losing his job destroys that dream, and when he finds a particularly potent drink at his local bar, he goes on a... Read allTwenty years after his triumphs as a freshman on the football field, Harold is a mild-mannered clerk who dreams about marrying the girl at the desk down the aisle. But losing his job destroys that dream, and when he finds a particularly potent drink at his local bar, he goes on a very strange and funny rampage (with a lion in tow).

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.3/10

1.8K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 2 nominations

Photos46

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Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
During the scene where Harold Lloyd's character meets Jackie the lion, on the first take when Lloyd pets Jackie, the lion actually bit him on his right hand. However, he was not injured because the lion's teeth scraped against his two prosthetic fingers (Lloyd had lost most of his right hand in an on-set accident in 1919). After that, he refused to pet the lion ever again on- or off-screen, and in the second take, which was used for the film, his terrified squirming over the lion standing next to him is genuine.

Goofs
When Diddlebock is reaching for Jackie's lead on the ledge, the overhead shot from behind shows Jackie's legs close to the wall. The closer shot (from the front) shows Diddlebock reaching between Jackie's legs, with Jackie's feet now on the edge.

Quotes
Jake: [when asked to prepare Harold's very first alcoholic beverage] You arouse the artist in me.

Crazy credits
"... and for the first time a young girl called Frances Ramsden playing the youngest Miss Otis"

Alternate versions
Originally released at 90 minutes; was then re-edited and re-released in a shorter 79-minutes version under the title "Mad Wednesday" in 1950.

Connections
Edited from The Freshman (1925)

Soundtracks
America, the Beautiful
(uncredited)
Music by Samuel A. Ward
Played during the presidential calendar montage

User reviews37

Review

Featured review

Zany

A strange film. Written and directed by the brilliant filmmaker Preston Sturges, and starring silent film comedian Harold Lloyd (about 20 years after his prime), this movie tells the story of a college football hero who settles into a rut as he reaches middle age. Suddenly fired from his dead-end job, the milquetoasty Mr. Diddlebock uses his severance money to break out of his rut, embark on a series of adventures over a wild two or three days alongside a chance acquaintance, the aptly named Wormy (played by Sturges regular Jimmy Conlin), and pursue the woman of his dreams.

Even though this film lacks some of the subtlety, sophistication and polish of some of Preston Sturges' earlier work, it nevertheless (in true Sturges fashion) hides away some pretty heady ideas about growing old, taking chances, and living life to the fullest. this film, a minor entry in the Sturges catalog, would have been the crowning achievement in the career of anyone else. Watch this one, if only to find out what Harold really did on Wednesday!