The Sin of Harold Diddlebock

The Sin of Harold Diddlebock is a 1947 comedy film written and directed by Preston Sturges, starring the silent film comic icon Harold Lloyd, and featuring an incredible supporting cast including Jimmy Conlin, Raymond Walburn, Rudy Vallee, Arline Judge, Edgar Kennedy, Franklin Pangborn, J. Farrell MacDonald, Robert Dudley, Robert Greig, Lionel Stander and especially, Jackie the Lion. The film's story is a continuation of The Freshman, one of Lloyd's most successful movies.

The Sin of Harold Diddlebock was Sturges' first project after leaving Paramount Pictures, where he had made his best and most popular films, but the film was not successful in its initial release. It was quickly pulled from distribution by producer Howard Hughes who took almost four years to re-shoot some scenes and re-edit the film, finally re-releasing it in 1950 as Mad Wednesday – but the reception by the general public was no better the second time around. A few critics consider this film a masterpiece of comedy.

Maria Ragland Davis

Maria Ragland Davis (June 1, 1959 – February 12, 2010) was an American biologist and educator. She was associate professor of Biology at the University of Alabama in Huntsville where she studied molecular biology and plant genetics.

Life and career

A native of Detroit, she received her undergraduate degree in chemical engineering from the University of Michigan and a masters degree in the same discipline from North Carolina State University. Following the receipt of her masters degree, Davis completed her doctorate in biochemistry and plant biology. Davis studied strawberries, looking at the genetic makeup of strains that were drought-resistant and those that were not.

Death

She was one of three faculty members to lose their lives in the UAH shootings on February 12, 2010. She was 50 years old.

Selected works