Editing Safety Last!

{{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>

==Plot==
In 1922, Harold Lloyd is behind bars. His mother and his girlfriend, Mildred, are consoling him as a somber official and priest show up. The three of them walk toward what looks like a [[noose]]. It then becomes obvious they are at a train station and the "noose" is actually a [[Mail hook|trackside pickup hoop]] used by train crews to receive orders without stopping, and the bars are merely the ticket barrier. He promises to send for his girlfriend so they can get married once he has "made good" in the big city. Then he is off.

He gets a job as a salesclerk at the De Vore Department Store, where he has to pull various stunts to get out of trouble with the picky and arrogantly self-important head [[floorwalker]], Mr. Stubbs. He shares a rented room with his pal "Limpy" Bill, a construction worker.

When Harold finishes his shift, he sees an old friend from his hometown who is now a policeman walking the beat. After he leaves, Bill shows up. Bragging to Bill about his supposed influence with the police department, he persuades Bill to knock the policeman backwards over him while the man is using a [[callbox]], thinking that the cop is just his same buddy, and thus he will just take it in good humor. When Bill does so, he knocks over the wrong policeman. To escape, he climbs up the [[façade]] of a building. The policeman tries to follow, but cannot get past the first floor; in frustration he shouts at Bill, "You'll do time for this! The first time I lay eyes on you again, I'll [[Arrest|pinch]] you!"

Meanwhile, Harold has been hiding his lack of success by sending his girlfriend expensive presents he cannot really afford. She mistakenly thinks he is successful enough to support a family and, with his mother's encouragement, takes a train to join him. In his embarrassment, he has to pretend to be the general manager, even succeeding in impersonating him to get back at Stubbs. While going to retrieve her purse (which Mildred left in the manager's office), he overhears the real general manager say he would give $1,000 to anyone who could attract people to the store. He remembers Bill's talent and pitches the idea of having a man climb the "[[International Savings & Exchange Bank Building|12-story Bolton building]]", which De Vore's occupies. He gets Bill to agree to do it by offering him $500. The stunt is highly publicized and a large crowd gathers the next day.

When a drunkard shows "The Law" (the policeman who was pushed over) a newspaper story about the event, the lawman suspects Bill is going to be the climber. He waits at the starting point despite Harold's frantic efforts to get him to leave. Finally, unable to wait any longer, Bill suggests Harold climb the first story himself and then switch his hat and coat with Bill, who will continue on from there. After Harold starts up, the policeman spots Bill and chases him into the building. Every time Harold tries to switch places with Bill, the policeman appears and chases Bill away. Each time, Bill tells his friend he will meet him on the next floor up.

Eventually, Harold reaches the top, despite his troubles with some hungry pigeons, a net, several cheering girls, an old lady, a construction duo, a clock, a rope, a dog, a mouse, a gun man, and a wind gauge, he finally kisses his girl. While they walk away, Harold accidentally steps in a [[tar pit]] and loses his boots and socks.

==Cast==
* [[Harold Lloyd]] as Harold Lloyd
* [[Mildred Davis]] as The Girl
* Bill Strother as Bill "Limpy Bill", The Pal
* [[Noah Young]] as The Law
* [[Westcott Clarke]] as Mr. Stubbs, The Floorwalker 
* [[Earl Mohan]] as The Drunk 
* [[Mickey Daniels]] as The Newsboy 
* [[Anna Townsend]] as The Grandma

==Production==
[[File:Safetylast-1.jpg|thumb|200px|right|The iconic shot of Lloyd hanging from the clock]]
Lloyd hanging from a giant clock on the corner of a building was seen as an iconic image for him, though it was achieved through a certain degree of improvisation.<ref name="westerncostumeresearch">{{cite web |title=Filming Safety Last (1923) |url=http://www.westerncostumeresearch.com/western-costume-research-blog/filming-safety-last-1923/ |website=Western Costume Research Library |access-date=12 January 2022 |date=21 August 2015 |quote=One of the most iconic scenes in silent cinema was filmed on the roof of Western Costume Company.}}</ref><ref name="silentlocations-safety-last">{{cite web |last=Bengtson |first=John |title=How Harold Lloyd Filmed Safety Last! |url=https://silentlocations.com/2012/02/29/how-harold-lloyd-filmed-safety-last/ |website=silent locations |access-date=12 January 2022 |date=29 February 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The thrilling Harold Lloyd |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-thrilling-harold-lloyd/ |website=cbsnews.com |access-date=12 January 2022 |date=March 8, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Harold Lloyd Safety Last! |url=https://www.gettyimages.com/photos/harold-lloyd-safety-last |website=Getty Images |access-date=12 January 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Harold Lloyd Safety Last! |url=https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo/harold-lloyd-safety-last!.html |website=Alamy |access-date=12 January 2022}}</ref> Lloyd performed most of his own stuntwork, but a circus performer was used when The Boy hangs by a rope, and a stunt double &ndash; sometimes Bill Strother, who played "Limpy" Bill<ref name="iu.edu-Allison-Safety">{{cite web |last1=Allison |first1=Caleb |title=Safety Last! and the Spectacle of the Human Fly |url=https://blogs.iu.edu/aplaceforfilm/2019/02/25/safety-last-and-the-spectacle-of-the-human-fly/ |website=[[Indiana University]] Cinema |date=25 February 2019}}</ref> and was a [[steeplejack]] who inspired the sequence when Lloyd saw him climbing &ndash; was used in long shots. The giant clock scene was filmed on the roof of [[Broadway Leasehold Building]], as was the final shot of the film.<ref>{{cite web|title=How Harold Lloyd Filmed Safety Last! |first=John |last=Bengtson|website=silentlocations.com |url=https://silentlocations.com/2012/02/29/how-harold-lloyd-filmed-safety-last/|date=February 29, 2012 }}</ref>

A number of buildings from 1st Street to 9th Street in downtown [[Los Angeles]], all of different heights, were used, with sets built on their roofs to match the facade of the main building, the [[International Savings & Exchange Bank Building|International Bank Building]] at Temple and Spring Streets.<ref name=tcmnotes/> In this way, the illusion of Lloyd climbing higher and higher up the side of one building was created (although the streetscapes seen beyond the sets are noticeably different at different stages of the climb).<ref name=tcmnotes>{{cite web |title=Safety Last! (1923) – Notes |url=https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/5762/safety-last#notes |website=Turner Classic Movies |access-date=June 2, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812085019/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/5762/Safety-Last-/notes.html |archive-date=August 12, 2014}}</ref>

Stuntman [[Harvey Parry]] also appeared in the climactic sequence, a fact he revealed only after Lloyd's death. In the 1980 [[Thames Television]] series ''[[Hollywood (1980 TV series)|Hollywood]]'', he discussed at length how the stunts were achieved.<ref>{{cite web |title=6 Dangerous Stunts of the Silent Movie Era |url=http://mentalfloss.com/article/28422/6-dangerous-stunts-silent-movie-era |website=Mentalfloss.com |date=August 4, 2011 |access-date=June 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130607070801/https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/28422/6-dangerous-stunts-silent-movie-era |archive-date=June 7, 2013}}</ref>

==Reception==
{{expand section|date=November 2016}}
''[[The New York Times]]'' gave ''Safety Last!'' a very positive review.<ref>[https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9C05E4D71630E333A25751C0A9629C946295D6CF "The Screen"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 2, 1923</ref> A contemporary review in ''[[Photoplay]]'' predicted the film's future: "This new Harold Lloyd farce will become a classic of its kind, or we will miss our guess. For it is the bespectacled comedian's best effort to date." "This is easily one of the big comedies of the year. It is seven-reels in length—but it speeds by with the rapidity of a corking two-reeler," the reviewer concluded.<ref>{{cite journal |author=<!--Staff writers, no by-line.--> |title=The National Guide to Motion Pictures Saves Your Picture Time and Money |url=https://archive.org/stream/photoplayjanjune00chic_1#page/64/mode/2up |journal=[[Photoplay]] |location=New York |publisher=Photoplay Publishing Company |date=June 1923 |access-date=August 21, 2015}}</ref>

The [[Library of Congress]] added ''Safety Last!'' to its [[National Film Registry]] in 1994.<ref>{{cite web|title=Complete National Film Registry Listing |url=https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/|website=Library of Congress|access-date=May 8, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=November 15, 1994|title=25 Films Added to National Registry|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/15/movies/25-films-added-to-national-registry.html|access-date=August 11, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The [[American Film Institute]] nominated the film for both their [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies|1998]] and [[AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)|2007]] lists of ''AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AFI's Greatest American Films - Nominees |url=https://www.filmsite.org/afi400films.html |access-date=2024-01-27 |website=[[Filmsite]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=100 Greatest American Films 10th Anniversary - Nominees AFI |url=https://www.filmsite.org/afi400films_2007.html |access-date=2024-01-27 |website=Filmsite}}</ref> It was also nominated for ''[[AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs]]''.<ref name="AFI-500">{{Cite web |date=2006-09-26 |title=List of 500 Movies Nominated for the Top 100 Funniest American Movies |url=https://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs500.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190711172435/http://www.afi.com/Docs/100Years/laughs500.pdf |archive-date=July 11, 2019 |access-date=2019-12-28 |website=[[American Film Institute]] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=AFI's 100 Greatest American Comedies |url=https://www.filmsite.org/afi500laughs.html |access-date=2024-01-27 |website=Filmsite}}</ref> It placed #97 on ''[[AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AFI's 100 YEARS…100 THRILLS |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-thrills/ |access-date=2024-01-27 |website=American Film Institute |language=en}}</ref>

[[Rotten Tomatoes]] gives the film a rating of 97% from 70 reviews, with the consensus: "Persuasive enough to give audiences acrophobia when they aren't laughing at Harold Lloyd's antics, ''Safety Last!'' is a marvel of visual effects and slapstick comedy."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/safety_last |title=Safety Last - Rotten Tomatoes |website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]}}</ref> 
<!--
==In popular culture==
{{In popular culture|section|date=April 2017}}
{{more citations needed section|date=April 2017}}
The image of a man dangling from a clock face is so indelibly linked with ''Safety Last!'' that even the most oblique references inevitably recall the film simply by association. Examples (explicitly or implicitly acknowledged) include:
*In 1962, the "dangling from the skyscraper" scene was included in ''[[Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy]]'',<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0194553/|title=World of Comedy|date=May 12, 1962|access-date=June 2, 2018|website=IMDb.com}}</ref> a [[compilation movie]] produced by Harold Lloyd himself. The film premiered at the [[Cannes Film Festival]] and created a renewal of interest in the comedian by introducing him to a new generation.
*The 1972 ''[[Dad's Army]]'' episode "[[Time on My Hands (Dad's Army)|Time on My Hands]]" features men hanging precariously from the hands of a clock tower.
*The 1978 film version of the [[John Buchan]] story ''[[The Thirty Nine Steps (1978 film)|The Thirty Nine Steps]]'' features [[Richard Hannay]] ([[Robert Powell]]) hanging from the minute hand on the clock face of [[Big Ben]].
*The 1985 film ''[[Back to the Future]]'' pays [[Homage (arts)|homage]] to [[Harold Lloyd]] "dangling from the skyscraper" by having one of the film's stars [[Christopher Lloyd]] (no relation to Harold) hang from a clock tower as part of the plot.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://blogs.amctv.com/movie-blog/2007/03/back-to-the-fut.php |title=Back to the Future |access-date=December 30, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304080508/http://blogs.amctv.com/movie-blog/2007/03/back-to-the-fut.php |archive-date=March 4, 2012 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>  In addition, a [[meta-reference]] appears in the opening scene of ''Back to the Future,'' in the form of a physical table clock which depicts the ''Safety Last!'' scene.
*The 1991 comedy film ''[[Oscar (1991 film)|Oscar]]'' paid a direct homage to the scene, recreating it on its poster, where the main character (played by [[Sylvester Stallone]]) hangs from a clock.
*The 1999 Christmas TV episode of ''[[Futurama]],'' ''[[Xmas_Story]],'' depicts ''[[Philip J. Fry]]'' dangling from a huge digital clock face, atop a tall skyscraper.
*In [[Martin Scorsese]]'s 2011 film ''[[Hugo (film)|Hugo]],'' a portion of the scene with Lloyd hanging from the clock is shown when the main characters sneak into a movie theater. Later, the title character Hugo similarly hangs from the hands of a large clock on a clock tower to escape a pursuer.
*[[Honda]] paid tribute to the movie in a commercial for its [[Acura TLX]] luxury vehicle under the [[Acura]] brand in the [[United States]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzq2gbPFLlc| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201019220350/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pzq2gbPFLlc&gl=US&hl=en| archive-date=2020-10-19 | url-status=dead|title=Break the Silence|date=September 30, 2020|access-date=October 15, 2020|website=youtube.com}}</ref>
-->

==Home video==
The film was released in multiple versions on home video, both on VHS and DVD. It was released via the [[Criterion Collection]] on DVD and Blu-ray on June 18, 2013.<ref>[http://www.criterion.com/films/28446-safety-last= "Safety Last"], ''[[Criterion Collection]]'', June 18, 2013.</ref>

==See also==
* [[Harold Lloyd filmography]]

==Further reading==
* [[Ed Park]] [https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/2804-safety-last-high-flying-harold ''Safety Last!: High-Flying Harold''], an essay at the [[Criterion Collection]]
* [[Daniel Eagan]]. ''Safety Last'', in [https://books.google.com/books?id=deq3xI8OmCkC America's Film Legacy: The Authoritative Guide to the Landmark Movies in the National Film Registry], A&C Black, 2010 {{ISBN|0826429777}}, pages 86–88
* {{cite web |last=Bann |first=Richard W. |author-link=Richard W. Bann |title=Safety Last: film essay |url=https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/safety_last.pdf |website=[[National Film Preservation Board]] |publisher=[[Library of Congress]] |access-date=12 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190324215012/https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-film-preservation-board/documents/safety_last.pdf |archive-date=March 24, 2019}}<!-- https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/713969%7C0/Richard-W-Bann/ https://leonardmaltin.com/tag/richard-w-bann/  -->
* [[Roger Ebert]] [https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-safety-last-1923 review] rogerebert.com
* [http://www.filmsite.org/safe.html ''Safety Last!'' review] filmsite.org

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikisource}}
* {{Official website|http://www.haroldlloyd.com}}

'''Metadata'''
* {{AFI film|11841}}
* {{TCMDb title|5762}}
* {{IMDb title|0014429}}

'''Media'''
*{{YouTube|MTREjMRWbbc|Safety Last!}} (''Sara Digital Hollywood'')
<!-- *{{YouTube|V-XZWZVVhvQ|Safety Last!}}  This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by CARLOTTA FILMS https://web.archive.org/web/20241225184617/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-XZWZVVhvQ -->
* [https://archive.org/search?query=Safety%20Last&and%5B%5D=mediatype%3A%22movies%22&and%5B%5D=year%3A%5B1923%20TO%201924%5D Safety Last! (1923)] via [[Internet Archive]]
* [[:File:Safety Last! (1923) by Fred C. Newmeyer.webm|''Safety Last!'' (1923).webm]]

{{Fred C. Newmeyer}}
{{Sam Taylor}}

[[Category:1923 romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:1923 films]]
[[Category:1920s thriller films]]
[[Category:American silent feature films]]
[[Category:American romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:American black-and-white films]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]
[[Category:Films set in department stores]]
[[Category:Hal Roach Studios]]
[[Category:Films directed by Fred C. Newmeyer]]
[[Category:Films directed by Sam Taylor]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Sam Taylor (director)]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by H. M. Walker]]
[[Category:Films with screenplays by Jean Havez]]
[[Category:United States National Film Registry films]]
[[Category:Surviving American silent films]]
[[Category:1920s American films]]
[[Category:Silent American thriller films]]
[[Category:Silent American romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:1920s English-language films]]
[[Category:English-language romantic comedy films]]
[[Category:English-language thriller films]]