Editing Safety Last! (section)

{{short description|1923 American silent romantic comedy film}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}}
{{Infobox film
| name           = Safety Last!
| image          = Safety last poster.jpg
| caption        = Theatrical release poster
| director       = {{plainlist|
* [[Fred C. Newmeyer]]
* [[Sam Taylor (director)|Sam Taylor]]
}}
| writer         = {{plainlist|
* [[H. M. Walker]] ''(titles)''
* [[Jean Havez]] ''(uncredited)''
* [[Harold Lloyd]] ''(uncredited)''
}}
| story          = {{plainlist|
* [[Hal Roach]]
* Sam Taylor
* [[Tim Whelan]]
}}
| producer       = Hal Roach
| starring       = Harold Lloyd<ref name=afi>{{AFI film|11841}}</ref>
| cinematography = [[Walter Lundin]]
| editing        = T. J. Crizer
| studio         = [[Hal Roach Studios]]
| distributor    = [[Pathé Exchange]]
| released       = {{film date|1923|04|01|US}}
| runtime        = 73 minutes
| country        = United States
| language       = Silent film (English intertitles)
| budget         = $121,000<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/safety-last-review|title=Safety Last!|work=Empire|author=David Parkinson|date=June 26, 2006 |access-date=September 29, 2023}}</ref>
| gross = $1.5 million<ref>rentals in US and Canada - see ''Variety'' list of box office champions for 1923</ref><ref name="quig">[https://archive.org/stream/international193738quig#page/942/mode/2up/search/%22box+office%22 Quigley Publishing Company "The All Time Best Sellers", ''International Motion Picture Almanac 1937-38 (1938)'', p. 942], accessed April 19, 2014</ref>
}}
[[File:Safety Last! (1923) by Fred C. Newmeyer.webm | thumb|upright=1.5 | thumbtime=1:04:15|''Safety Last!'']]

'''''Safety Last!''''' is a 1923 American silent [[romantic-comedy]] film starring [[Harold Lloyd]]. It includes one of the most famous images from the [[silent-film]] era: Lloyd clutching the hands of a large clock as he dangles from the outside of a skyscraper above moving traffic. The film was highly successful and critically hailed, and it cemented Lloyd's status as a major figure in early motion pictures. It is still popular at revivals, and it is viewed today as one of the great film comedies.<ref>Ebert, Roger. [http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-safety-last-1923 ''Safety Last''.] ''[[RogerEbert.com]]''. July 3, 2005. June 21, 2013.</ref>

The film's title is a play on the common expression "safety first", which describes the adoption of safety measures as a means to avoid accidents, especially in workplaces. Lloyd performed some of the climbing stunts himself, despite having lost a thumb and forefinger four years earlier in a [[Film accident#1920s|film accident]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/safety_last.pdf|title=Safety Last|last=Bann|first=Richard W.|website=Library Of Congress}}</ref>

In 1994, ''Safety Last!'' was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It is one of many works from 1923 that notably entered the [[public domain in the United States]] in 2019, the first time any works had done so in 20 years.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://lifehacker.com/these-1923-copyrighted-works-enter-the-public-domain-in-1825241296 |title=These 1923 Copyrighted Works Enter the Public Domain in 2019 |author=Douglas, Nick |website=Life Hacker |date=April 13, 2018 |access-date=September 5, 2018}}</ref>