Safety Last! (1923)

When a store clerk organizes a publicity stunt, in which a friend climbs the outside of a tall building, circumstances force him to make the perilous climb himself.

Directors:

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

Writers:

Hal Roach (story), Sam Taylor (story)

Stars:

Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

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

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...

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Plot Keywords:

man with glasses | national film registry | department store | publicity stunt | stunt | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

1 April 1923 (USA)

Also Known As:

El hombre mosca

Filming Locations:

Atlantic Hotel, Broadway, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Gross USA:

$623,809, 31 December 1923

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hal Roach Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

70 min

Sound Mix:

Silent

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Harold Lloyd first tested the safety precautions for the clock stunt by dropping a dummy onto the mattress below. The dummy bounced off and plummeted to the street below.

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Goofs

When "the boy" receives his paycheck from the store employee, he opens it to see his pay stub, and on it is the name "Harold Lloyd" which is the name of the actor, but is not supposed to be the name of the character. The character, as in most of his films, is only supposed to be known as "the boy". It is the only incident in Harold Lloyd's entire film career in which he plays a character using his true name. The scene was edited in without Lloyds knowledge, and didn't become aware of it until the movie was complete.

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Quotes

Harold - The Boy: [Pretending to be the General Manager] STUBBS. - - I don't wish to be annoyed by any more of your petty complaints about personal appearance - - You know, you're no collar ad, yourself.

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Connections

Spoofed in Look Who's Talking (1989)

User Reviews

One of the Funniest Comedies Ever

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 that could promote De Vore attracting people to the department store, he offers five hundred dollars to Bill to climb up the Bolton Building. However things go wrong when the angry policeman decides to check whether the mystery man that will climb up the building is the one who pushed him over on the floor.

"Safety Last!" is one of the funniest comedies ever and the joke begins with the title that plays with the expression Safety First! Another day I saw "Hugo" and Martin Scorcese pays a tribute to "Safety Last!" showing the scene of Harold Lloyd hanging from the Bolton Building clock and I have decided to see this film again.

If Harold Lloyd himself or a stuntman climbed the building, it does not matter. The breathless scene is among the most known in the cinema history and "Safety Last!" is a must-see film for any generation. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "O Homem Mosca" ("The Fly Man")