Safety Last! (Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor, 1923) ****

Dir. Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor

Starring Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother

Harold Lloyd is often forgotten when it comes to the great comedy stars of the silent film era. It usually boils down to a (sometimes pretty heated) debate between Buster Keaton fans and Charlie Chaplin fans, and Lloyd gets lost in the mix. Part of the reason is that he held on to the rights to his films, not rereleasing them as frequently as the best of Chaplin or Keaton, and many people just haven’t heard of most of his work. That’s a real shame, because Harold Lloyd was an incredibly gifted comedian and Safety Last is a splendid comedy that stands tall with the best work of Chaplin or Keaton.

As was often the case with silent comedies, the names aren’t important. Harold is billed here as “The Boy”, his girlfriend (Mildred Taylor) is billed as “The Girl”, and his roommate is billed as “The Pal” (Bill Strother). The story involves Harold moving from his small town to the big city, promising to bring his girlfriend along when he has become successful out there. Of course, things haven’t worked out as Harold planned. He’s stuck in what appears to be a dead end job at a department store, making a meager living and spending a great deal of energy avoiding the tyrannical floorwalker (Westcott Clarke). However, Harold write home to his girl that he’s a big success and sends her jewelry to prove it. When she decides to come to the city to visit, he must act quick to turn into the success that he’s been pretending to be all along.

This is a classic American story of an average guy trying to make it in the big city. With his big glasses, he looks like Clark Kent (and it’s been rumored that Kent’s look was based on Lloyd). Whereas Charlie Chaplin played a poor guy that inadvertently caused trouble and Buster Keaton played a range of characters with his stonefaced expression, Harold Lloyd represented the hardworking middle class. The villains are the oppressive managers that are trying to keep hard working people down, and the rich demanding customers who won’t give Harold a break. Most audiences will be able to identify with Harold’s plight. One of my favorite gags early on in the movie is when Harold and his friend are able to hide themselves inside two hanging coats when the landlord comes by looking for the rent.

Of course, Safety Last! is mostly memorable for the comedy sequence that dominates the last half of the picture. In his effort to make some money and prove his success to his girlfriend, Harold arranges for his friend (who had previously demonstrated climbing prowess) to climb the side of the high rise department store. If enough people come by to watch, Harold’s boss will give him $1000. Things don’t go as planned, because Harold’s friend is in trouble with a police officer, who has decided to show up and witness the climb. This means Harold must make the climb himself, dodging numerous obstacles along the way.

This sequence is mostly famous for the iconic image of Harold Lloyd hanging on to the hands of a clock high above the street. It’s a memorable shot, but what makes this scene so great is the real sense of danger involved. Modern audiences are so used to the cartoonish CGI effects and the work of expert stuntmen that most of the death defying action scenes we see today amount to nothing more than an impressive pyrotechnics show. There’s not necessarily anything wrong with that, but watching Harold hang high above the building is far more exciting because the shots clearly aren’t done with a fake backdrop or by superimposing Harold Lloyd against a blue screen. I won’t spoil it by telling you how it was done, except to note that it is still an extremely dangerous stunt.

I may have made this sound like nothing more than a long thrill sequence, but that is far from the case. This is one of the funniest extended gags in any film I’ve seen. Harold has to dodge tons of obstacles during his climb, all while his friend is trying to dodge the cop. Each gag builds on the next in hilarious fashion. It’s really amazing how many ideas Lloyd and his filmmakers came up with here. Just when you think they’ve run out, they come up with another one to throw at you.

The film doesn’t ride completely on this sequence alone. There are numerous gags in the first half of the picture, including a clever trick with the opening shot and Harold’s attempts at pretending to be the store manager to impress his girlfriend. Harold is a very ingratiating performer and he is ably assisted by Bill Strother, who does a terrific job in the only film he would ever make. And behind it all we have a simple, but timeless story of a hardworking man (literally) climbing to the top.