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Safety Last! Overview:

Safety Last! (1923) was a Comedy - Romance Film directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor and produced by Hal Roach.

SYNOPSIS

Lloyd's brightest moment in this film that features one of the most famous images from the silent era - Lloyd dangling from a clock over downtown Los Angeles. Lloyd moves to the big city to make enough money to marry his beloved (Davis), but only lands a salesclerk position. When Lloyd pretends to be a big shot, Davis's mother sends her after her beau. Lloyd needs cash to keep up appearances, so he hatches a publicity stunt that involves his acrobat friend climbing the outside of the store. When his friend gets collared for an earlier stunt, Lloyd performs the daring climb himself.

(Source: available at Amazon AMC Classic Movie Companion).

Safety Last! was inducted into the National Film Registry in 1994.

Safety Last! BlogHub Articles:

Fridays With…Harold Lloyd: Safety Last! (1923)

on Jan 15, 2016 From Journeys in Classic Film

Fridays with Harold Lloyd continues and this week we look at one of Lloyd’s most iconic works; one that has become a visual legend throughout cinema history. An unnamed Boy (Lloyd) wants to impress his girl (Mildred Davis) by becoming a man of distinction. Unfortunately, despite telling his g... Read full article

Fridays With…Harold Lloyd: Safety Last! (1923)

on Jan 15, 2016 From Journeys in Classic Film

Fridays with Harold Lloyd continues and this week we look at one of Lloyd’s most iconic works; one that has become a visual legend throughout cinema history. An unnamed Boy (Lloyd) wants to impress his girl (Mildred Davis) by becoming a man of distinction. Unfortunately, despite telling his g... Read full article

High Hopes: Safety Last!

By Vanessa Buttino on Sep 25, 2013 From Stardust

High Hopes: Safety Last! Harold Lloyd hangs on for dear life in Safety Last! (1923). Well, if I wasn't afraid of heights before, I am now! What should have been a glorious first ever viewing of Safety Last! (1923) turned into a sweaty, paranoid, stomach-churning afternoon in front of the t... Read full article

Classics Revisited: Safety Last!

By Barry P. on Sep 3, 2013 From Cinematic Catharsis

(1923) Directed by: Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor; Written by Hal Roach, Sam Taylor and Tim Whelan: Starring: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother and Noah Young Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: ***** “…we actually did this, in those days. I was up j... Read full article

Classics Revisited: Safety Last!

By Barry P. on Sep 3, 2013 From Cinematic Catharsis

(1923) Directed by: Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor; Written by Hal Roach, Sam Taylor and Tim Whelan: Starring: Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother and Noah Young Available on Blu-ray and DVD Rating: ***** “…we actually did this, in those days. I was up j... Read full article

See More Safety Last! Articles

Safety Last! Quotes:

No Quote for this film.
Safety Last! Facts
The famous 'Harold Lloyd hanging from a clock' scene from "Safety Last" (1923), was filmed at the Brockman Building, located in downtown Los Angeles (530 W. 7th Street between Grand Avenue and Olive Street) a block south of the Biltmore Hotel.
A stuntman revealed for the first time in the television documentary, Hollywood, that Harold Lloyd actually climbed a fake building facade that was constructed over another building's rooftop, positioned so the camera angle could capture the street scene below. The stuntman also revealed that he doubled for Lloyd in the long shots of him climbing the building in the distance. Up until then, even the Time-Life version of Safety Last! that was aired on PBS contained an opening title declaring that Harold Lloyd climbed the building himself and without the use of a stuntman or trick photography.

The stuntman stated that he chose to suppress this information until Lloyd's death, and yet, he did not want to detract from the danger of Lloyd's actual stunt work. Lloyd performed the majority of the stunts himself on the rigged facade over a small platform, which was built near the rooftop's edge and still had to be raised a great height to get the proper street perspective for the camera. The size of the platform did not offer much of a safety net, and had Lloyd fallen, there was the risk he could have tumbled off the platform.
During the famous clock tower stunt, Harold Lloyd is not as far from the ground as he appears. The building on which he climbs was actually a fake wall constructed on the roof of an actual skyscraper and skillfully photographed to maintain the illusion.
Though Harold Lloyd's character is credited as "The Boy", when he gets his paycheck it clearly says, "Name: Harold Lloyd".
In 1919 Harold Lloyd was handed what he thought was a prop bomb, which he lit with his cigarette. It turned out to be real and exploded, blowing off Lloyd's right thumb and index finger, and putting him in the hospital for months. When he recovered, he went back to making movies, wearing a white glove while on screen to hide his damaged right hand. He did his stunts in this film and Feet First, dangling from ledges, clocks and windows, using only eight fingers.
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