Review of Safety Last! (1923) by John M — 22 Mar 2017
My first Harold Lloyd. So this is about a boy (Lloyd), who is anxious to impress his girl (Mildred Davis), so much so that he may inadvertently become involved in a highly dangerous publicity stunt for cash.
Outside of Buster Keaton, I have very limited exposure to the silent classics. Harold Lloyd's face works for this medium, and he has sort of a Rick Moranis thing going on. Watching this film, I did see that he did have a lot of physicality to his performance, but I felt that he didn't take as many risks as Keaton.
.. that is, until I got to the big centerpiece of the film. Let me tell you, I was on pins and needles for the last fifteen minutes, and it is a jaw dropping finale. It's a dizzying accomplishment, and I don't know how they could have shot this without putting Lloyd at huge, personal risk.
It's impossible not to watch with baited breath, and it is really what you walk away talking about. The rest of the film has tons of laugh out loud funny visual gags. There's a lot to recommend about this, and it is quite charming through and through.
This review of Safety Last! (1923) was written by John M on 22 Mar 2017.
Safety Last! has generally received very positive reviews.
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