Harold Lloyd is considered one of the greatest comedians of silent Hollywood. His reputation, however, isn't as lofty as those of his contemporaries Charles Chaplin and Buster Keaton, who were accomplished and innovative filmmakers, while Lloyd's talents were limited mostly to acting and spectacular stunts. The latter was, however, enough to earn Lloyd a spot in film histories, and the best example can be found in Safety Last!, a 1923 comedy directed by Fred C. Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, a film known for one of the most iconic images of the silent era Hollywood.
In the film, Lloyd plays his fictional alter ego "Harold Lloyd", named as "The Boy" in the credits and better known by the nickname "Glass". The plot begins when he leaves his small hometown of Great Bend to start a new life in the big city. To his girlfriend Mildred (named as "The Girl" and played by Lloyd's real-life girlfriend and future wife Mildred Davis), he sends numerous letters describing a successful and lucrative career. In reality, he is just a minor clerk in De Vore Department Store, having to deal with tyrannical bosses, fighting very hard to keep his job, and having an extremely small salary that is hardly enough to make ends meet. Mildred is so impressed with his letters that she comes to visit, and Harold now must convince her that he is a highly positioned and well-paid executive of the company. While trying to maintain such an illusion, he overhears his bosses offering $1,000 to any employee who can bring a large number of customers to the store. Harold gets an idea and proposes a publicity stunt during which a "mystery man" would climb to the top of the 12-storey Bolton Building, where the store is located. That "mystery man" is going to be Harold's friend and roommate "Limpy" Bill (played by Bob Strother), a construction worker who is quite capable of such a feat. Unfortunately, Limpy runs afoul of local policeman "The Law" (played by Noah Young), so Harold is forced to climb by himself, having to deal with his lack of proper climbing skills, fear of heights, pigeons, and all kinds of complications that could make his stunt even more dangerous.
Safety Last! was produced by Hal Roach, a prolific and very successful producer of short films, best known for pairing famous comedians Laurel and Hardy. This film was one of his rare features and one of the last collaborations with Lloyd, who was, by that time, already established as a star of Hollywood silent comedy. Lloyd's "Glass" character, named after the spectacles he always wore, became quite popular in 1920s America because his ingenuity and enthusiasm in pursuing the American Dream, together with youthful looks and moderate disregard for authority, corresponded with the generally optimistic zeitgeist of the Jazz Age. Safety Last! is the film in which "Glass" perfectly embodies those qualities and easily wins the audience's sympathies despite some of his actions not being too responsible or morally acceptable, like deceiving his employers and girlfriend. Lloyd, however, displays enough charm to make all but the most cynical viewers root for him.
The humour in the film is simple but effective, ranging from slapstick (especially effective in scenes when Harold desperately tries to arrive at his workplace on time in order not to get fired) to some mild social satire on corporate hierarchy. Many of those scenes are as funny today as they were a century ago. But the final scene, during which Lloyd climbs the facade of the building, is also breathtaking while being funny. The International Bank Building, together with a few more buildings in downtown Los Angeles, was used with clever editing, some simple optical effects, Lloyd's own stunts, as well as Harvey Parry, legendary stuntman who would take credit for the stunts only after Lloyd's death and later described the production in detail while being interviewed in 1980 for the British documentary TV series Hollywood. The result of this effort can be seen in Lloyd hanging from the clock – an iconic shot that often symbolises silent Hollywood comedy and silent Hollywood in general. Although Lloyd continued his career long into the sound era, he was always associated with Safety Last!, and the film itself was relatively quickly recognised as a classic. As such, it can be enjoyed even today and can be recommended to modern audiences as an introduction to the wonderful world of silent cinema.
RATING: 8/10 (+++)
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