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Safety Last! (1923)

Not Rated | | Action, Comedy, Thriller | 1 April 1923 (USA)
A boy leaves his small country town and heads to the big city to get a job. As soon as he makes it big his sweetheart will join him and marry him. His enthusiasm to get ahead leads to some interesting adventures.

Directors:

Fred C. Newmeyer (as Fred Neymeyer), Sam Taylor

Writers:

Hal Roach (story), Sam Taylor (story) | 2 more credits »
Reviews
1 win & 1 nomination. See more awards »

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Cast

Complete credited cast:
Harold Lloyd ... Harold - The Boy
Mildred Davis ... Mildred, The Girl
Bill Strother Bill Strother ... Bill, The Pal
Noah Young ... The Law
Westcott Clarke Westcott Clarke ... The Floorwalker (as Westcott B. Clarke)
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Storyline

In 1922, the country boy Harold says goodbye to his mother and his girlfriend Mildred in the train station and leaves Great Bend expecting to be successful in the big city. Harold promises to Mildred to get married with her as soon as he "make good". Harold shares a room with his friend "Limpy" Bill and he finally gets a job as salesman in the De Vore Department Store. However, he pawns Bill's phonograph, buys a lavaliere and writes to Mildred telling that he is a manager of De Vore. One day, Harold sees an old friend from Great Bend that is a policeman and when he meets his friend Bill, he asks Bill to push the policeman over him and make him fall down. However Bill pushes the wrong policeman that chases him, but he escapes climbing up a building. Out of the blue, Mildred is convinced by her mother to visit Harold without previous notice and he pretends to be the manager of De Vore. When Harold overhears the general manager telling that he would give one thousand dollars to to anyone... Written by Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Plot Summary | Plot Synopsis

Taglines:

See him climb a twelve story building. You'll get a spine thrill and a big howl each step of the way. Manager's Note: Specially re-enforced seats with straps for hysterical patrons. Doctor in attendance at all shows. (Print Ad- Victoria Advocate, ((Victoria, Tex.)) 5 December 1923) See more »


Certificate:

Not Rated | See all certifications »

Parents Guide:

View content advisory »
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Did You Know?

Trivia

Harold Lloyd climbs the clock at 2:45. At that time, the hands of the clock are parallel to the ground, facilitating the stunt. See more »

Goofs

The "Kick Me" chalk dusting disappears from the jackets of the Boy and the Cop quickly and very cleanly. See more »

Quotes

Title Card: Mr. Stubbs _ Head Floorwalker. Muscle-bound _ From patting himself on the back _
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Alternate Versions

In 1990, The Harold Lloyd Trust and Photoplay Productions presented a 73-minute version of this film in association with Thames Television International, with a musical score written by Carl Davis. The addition of modern credits stretched the time to 74 minutes. See more »

User Reviews

 
Without a Net
25 June 2002 | by rmax304823See all my reviews

One of the best contructed full-length comedies of the twenties. Harold Lloyd was not as outrageously inventive as Chaplin, nor as sentimental. His style was a kind of minimalist one, taking a simple idea -- say, being a hasseled salesman in a clothing store and needing desperately to become a success -- and building on that small situation until, by the hilarious climax, he finds himself swinging from the bent minute hand of an oversized clock on the side of a building many stories above the street. (Human flies were popular around this time, as were flagpole sitters and goldfish eaters.) When a mouse crawls up the leg of his trousers, not only does Loyd go through a sort of break dance trying to get rid of it but when he finally does shake it out, the mouse falls down the wall of the building and in the process removes a toupee from a spectator peering out of a lower window. All of this without matte work. Not to say that the earlier scenes in the store aren't extremely amusing, because they are. Loyd had a very mobile face and like most silent comedians a deft physical manner. He makes a splendidly fawning salesman. A very funny movie indeed, and thrilling as well. Any five minutes of the climax, taken at random, makes one dizzier than whole sections of Clint Eastwood or Sylvester Stallone hanging around the Eiger or elsewhere in the Alps. Somehow, Loyd managed to make a self-deprecatory joke out of his athletic skill, while nowadays stars use what amount of it they have as an opportunity to show off their bravery and, when possible, their bulging muscles. Let's hear it for the silents.


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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

None | English

Release Date:

1 April 1923 (USA) See more »

Also Known As:

Safety Last! See more »

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Box Office

Budget:

$121,000 (estimated)
See more on IMDbPro »

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios See more »
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Technical Specs

Runtime:

| (Blu-ray)

Sound Mix:

Silent

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1
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