Safety Last! (1923)

Directors:

Fred C. Newmeyer
Sam Taylor

Writers:

Hal Roach (story) &
Sam Taylor (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

1 April 1923 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Family | Romance | Thriller

Plot:

When a store clerk organizes a contest to climb the outside of a tall building, circumstances force him to make the perilous climb himself.

Plot Keywords:

Human Fly | Department Store | Stunt | Clock | Publicity Stunt

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Harold Lloyd	...	The Boy
Mildred Davis	...	The Girl
Bill Strother	...	The Pal
Noah Young	...	The Law
Westcott Clarke	...	The Floorwalker (as Westcott B. Clarke)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Roy Brooks	...	Man Laughing from Window (uncredited)
Mickey Daniels	...	Newsboy with Freckles (uncredited)
Richard Daniels	...	Worker with Acetylene Torch (uncredited)
Ray Erlenborn	...	Newsboy with Cap (uncredited)
William Gillespie	...	Ambulance Driver (uncredited)
Helen Gilmore	...	Department Store Customer (uncredited)
Wallace Howe	...	Man with Flowers / Studio Photographer (uncredited)
James T. Kelley	...	Old Driver of Delivery Truck (uncredited)
Gus Leonard	...	Office Worker (uncredited)
Sam Lufkin	...	Pawnshop Owner (uncredited)
Earl Mohan	...	Drunk Exiting Acme Drug Co. (uncredited)
Marie Mosquini	...	Salesgirl (uncredited)
Fred C. Newmeyer	...	Car Driver Who Gets Parking Ticket (uncredited)
Charles Stevenson	...	Ambulance Attendant (uncredited)
Anna Townsend	...	The Grandma Punched During the Sale (uncredited)

Directed by
Fred C. Newmeyer		(as Fred Neymeyer)
Sam Taylor

Writing credits
Hal Roach		(story) &
Sam Taylor		(story) and
Tim Whelan		(story)
H.M. Walker		(titles)
Jean C. Havez		uncredited
Harold Lloyd		uncredited

Produced by
Kevin Brownlow	....	producer (1990 alternate version)
David Gill	....	producer (1990 alternate version)
Suzanne Lloyd Hayes	....	executive producer (video release) (as Suzanne Lloyd)
Suzanne Lloyd Hayes	....	executive producer: The Harold Lloyd Trust (1990 alternate version) (as Suzanne Lloyd)
Jeffrey Vance	....	producer (video release)
Hal Roach	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Carl Davis		(music composed by) (1990 alternate version)
Don Hulette		(1974)

Cinematography by
Walter Lundin		(photographed by)

Film Editing by
Thomas J. Crizer		(as T.J. Crizer)

Makeup Department
Wallace Howe	....	makeup artist (uncredited)

Production Management
Liz Sutherland	....	production manager (1990 alternate version)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Robert A. Golden	....	assistant director

Stunts
Harvey Parry	....	stunt double: Harold Lloyd (uncredited)
Bill Strother	....	stunts (uncredited)

Editorial Department
Dick Bradford	....	telecine engineer (1990 alternate version)
Bruno Mansi	....	editor: video tape (1990 alternate version)

Music Department
Richard Bradford	....	music recorded by (1990 alternate version)
Carl Davis	....	music conductor: The Live Cinema Orchestra (1990 alternate version)
Mike Fairbairn	....	music dubbing (1990 alternate version)
Erich Gruenberg	....	orchestra leader: The Live Cinema Orchestra (1990 alternate version)
Don Hulette	....	conductor (1974 version)
Don Hulette	....	orchestrator (1974 version)
Nic Raine	....	orchestrator (1990 alternate version)
Paul Wing	....	orchestra manager: The Live Cinema Orchestra (1990 alternate version)

Other crew
Carole Anne Brown	....	production assistant (1990 alternate version)
C.E. Christensen	....	technical staff
Fred Guiol	....	technical staff (as Fred L. Guiol)
John L. Murphy	....	technical staff (as J.L. Murphy)
Hal Roach	....	presents
Roy Brooks	....	secretary to the director (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Hal Roach Studios

Distributors

• Pathé Exchange (1923) (USA) (theatrical)
• Divisa Home Video (2003) (Spain) (DVD)
• New Line Home Video (2005) (USA) (DVD)
• Continental Home Vídeo (????) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Harold Lloyd Estate, The (1990) (worldwide) (all media) (in association with) (presents) (1990 alternate version) (as Trustees of the Harold Lloyd Estate for Channel Four)
• Harold Lloyd Trust, The (1990) (worldwide) (all media) (presents) (1990 alternate version)
• Photoplay Productions (1990) (worldwide) (all media) (presents) (1990 alternate version)
• Thames Television International (1990) (worldwide) (all media) (in association with) (presents) (1990 alternate version)

Other Companies

• The Live Cinema Orchestra  music performed by (1990 alternate version)

Runtime:

70 min (24 fps)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Certification:

Australia:G | Sweden:Btl

Filming Locations:

Atlantic Hotel, Broadway, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Trivia:

Premiere ranked this movie as number one on its "The 50 Greatest Comedies Of All Time" list in 2006. (It should be noted that this list was ranked chronologically, so this movie's number one ranking only reflects that it is the oldest movie on the list.)

Goofs:

Continuity: "Kick me" disappears from the back of Harold's jacket

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Shanghai Knights (2003)

Hanging Around With Harold Lloyd

The "human fly" antics which ends this movie is undoubtly the most famous sequence in all of silent cinema. It is also the most hilarious. Breathtaking, heart-stopping & very funny, it is the element that you remember the longest. While THE KID BROTHER was Harold Lloyd's masterpiece, SAFETY LAST was & is his most famous movie.

But don't overlook the rest of the film in which he plays a lowly store clerk (dealing with frantic female shoppers and an imperious floorwalker) who tries to convince his rather gullible girlfriend - played by real-life wife Mildred Davis - that he's actually the store manager.

Throughout, Harold Lloyd is beyond praise. His comic genius makes it all look so easy. And his athletic daredeviltry is even more amazing when you realize that 2 of the fingers on his right hand are fake - he lost the real digits in a freak studio accident.