Delayed Reaction: Safety Last!

[Note: This is part of a project I'm calling "A Century in a Month". The idea is that I'm going to start with a movie from about 100 years ago and pick a series of connected films until I get to the present. The rules I set this time are release years, per IMDB, can't be more than 5 years apart. I can't repeat the same connection although I can reuse the same type of connection. That means if I use "movies directed by Scorsese" to connect two, I can't use Scorsese as a connection again but I can use a director as a linking element again. I'm not really sure why I'm doing this, but it seems like a fun game.]

Premise: A man gets a job in the city to make enough settle down with his girl then goes to extreme measure to keep up the appearance that he's more successful than he is.

 

OK. I think I'm a Harold Lloyd guy. It's my "hipster pick" of the silent era. Most discussion I've ever heard is Charlie Chaplin vs. Buster Keaton. Chaplin makes the better "capital F films". Keaton has the more breathtaking stunts. I think I prefer the sense of humor in these Lloyd films though.

 

This movie is packed with bits. The very first shot is a prison hanging fakeout, which is a terrifically morbid joke. Same with Lloyd faking an accident in order to get a ride in an ambulance. In talkies, I get annoyed by farce comedies, but with the limited dialogue in the silent era, I don't mind it as much. When I know the words are limited, I'm less bothered that no one stops to be honest for a minute.

While this does have the iconic shot of Lloyd hanging from the clock, the stunts in this aren't the selling point. The film is more about being slick than risky. Even that clock shot isn't about how unbelievable the stunt is. I suspect he's not as high as the film makes us believe, because they mostly avoid long shots. It's much more about the bits (the net, the photographer, etc.) than the danger.

 

I opted to start my "Century in a Month" project with this mainly because I wanted an excuse to watch more Harold Lloyd. I'm very pleased with this decision. And you can guess where I'll be going with the next film.

 

Side Note: In 1923 they had no idea how impossible cursive writing would be to read. How many more years before they have to add subtitles to the scenes with the handwritten letters?

 

Verdict: Strongly Recommend