Safety Last!

Starring: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother, Noah Young, Westcott Clarke
Directed by: Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
Rating: Not rated
Genre: Action, Comedy, Thriller
1923

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A boy (Harry Lloyd) works tirelessly to make it big so he can marry his sweetheart (Mildred Davis). He stumbles across a chance to make $1000, but it involves a death-defying stunt.

Review:

Tim: Can one sequence in a film propel a movie to greatness? In the case of Harry Lloyd's Safety Last!, the answer is yes. This is a tremendous film that delivered one of the most iconic images of the silent film era during a dizzying stunt that has held up for nearly 100 years. This is a thoroughly entertaining, exciting film.

For the bulk of the movie, it plays like a typical movie from the silent film era. There's a boy, played by Harry Lloyd and a girl, played by Mildred Davis. The boy is trying to make enough money to marry her. We get a series of visual gags and other hijinks. Some of these are fairly decent. The trolley scene is a standout, especially the attempt to transfer to a car mid-journey. There's a ton of scenes in the department store. These aren't always great, but they typically worthwhile. There's a number of visually humorous moments as Lloyd gets into and out of trouble by the skin of his teeth. These sequences are perhaps slightly above average when compared to other films of the day. They're entertaining, though.

The film opens with a great sight gag that makes you think Lloyd is about to be hanged, but quickly shifts perspective. It's a worthwhile introduction to a film that will defy some of our expectations. The policeman gag is pretty funny, and it perfectly sets up the big stunt to come. There's some decent back-and-forth sequences with the policeman. These are all fine scenes.

Harold Lloyd was enjoyable in the lead role. He definitely feels like a relatable everyman in his scenes. He's goofy but caring and you identify with him. He might not be on the level of a Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton, but he's close to that level. I didn't love Mildred Davis, but that might have more to do with her character than her performance. I don't have a lot of complaints about the job she did, but she did feel like a bit of an afterthought. Bill Strother does some excellent stunt work- his building climbing skills were remarkable. I enjoyed him in the supporting role.

Now, all of this just sets the stage for one of the greatest sequences ever filmed. I know that Lloyd used some unique angles to make these "trick" shots and I know he used a stunt double more than he admitted. None of that matters to me. What matters is that within the context of this film, the building climbing sequence is a standout. Indeed, it's one of the best sequences of the silent film era and I believe, still today one of the great scenes in movie history. The hapless Harold is forced to climb up the outside of a building, always just one floor away from tapping out and reaching salvation. He is confronted with myriad obstacles- pigeons, ropes, mice, and more. The look and feel of this scene is amazing. You blood is pumping, your heart is racing. This culminates with Lloyd hanging from the hands of the giant clock, not only the most iconic image of this film, but perhaps of the entire silent film era. It has remained an indelible, influential visual that still resonates today, nearly 100 years later. It's easily one of the coolest, most memorable movie moments in history. I can't explain how much I loved this sequence (my five year-old son loved it too). It takes what had been a good movie up to this point and launches it to greatness. I'd watch this sequence a hundred times and not get sick of it- that's how amazing Lloyd's creation was.

I would put the building climbing scene up there with the very best of the 1920s. The rest of the movie doesn't quite live up to the heights (ha) of that scene, which is why I enjoyed a movie like The General more. However, that takes nothing away from Safety Last!, a truly great movie.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 8



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
The General, Why Worry?, The Freshman