Safety Last!
August 12, 2023
A store clerk (Harold Lloyd) organizes a contest to climb the outside of a 12-story building, and ends up dangling from a skyscraper in this 1923 silent romantic comedy classic. 100th anniversary screening. All ages welcome!
The comic genius of silent star Harold Lloyd is eternal. Chaplin was the sweet innocent, Keaton the stoic outsider, but Lloyd—the modern guy striving for success—is the every man. And with its torrent of perfectly executed gags and astonishing stunts, Safety Last! is the perfect introduction to his work—laugh-out-loud funny and featuring jaw-dropping spectacle in equal measure. In one of his best roles, Lloyd plays a small-town bumpkin trying to make it in the big city, where he hopes to “make good” so he can finally marry his sweetheart Mildred. Once there, he finds employment as a lowly department store clerk. In order to convince Mildred of his success, he sends her expensive gifts, which he cannot really afford, prompting Mildred, with encouragement from his mother, to join him in the city. Desperate to hide the truth from her when she shows up, he comes up with a wild publicity stunt to draw customers into the store, resulting in an incredible feat of derring-do that gives him a head start on the climb to success. Newly restored from the original nitrate elements, Safety Last! is an unforgettable movie experience, featuring Lloyd’s most iconic set-piece.
- Director: Fred Newmeyer, Sam Taylor
- Principal Cast: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother, Noah Young, Westcott Clarke
- Country: USA
- Year: 1924
- Running Time: 74 min.
- Producer: Hal Roach
- Screenplay: Hal Roach, Sam Taylor, Tim Whelan
- Cinematographers: Walter Lundin
- Editors: T. J. Crizer
- Music: Carl Davis
- Awards: National Film Preservation Board (Selected to the National Film Registry)
- Filmography: Fred Newmeyer: The Little Rascals (TV Series) (1955) General Spanky (1936) A Scream in the Night (1935) The Fighting Gentleman (1932) The Night Rider (1932) They Never Come Back (1932) Discarded Lovers (1932) Sam Taylor: Nothing But Trouble (1944) Vagabond Lady (1935) Coquette (1929) Exit Smiling (1926) For Heaven’s Sake (1926) The Freshman (1925) Girl Shy (1924)
- Language: English
- US Distributor: Janus Films