Safety Last (1923)

Published: March 14, 2016, 5:45 a.m.

This is Harold Lloyd’s comic masterpiece, and is the film that gave us the most iconic image of the silent era: Harold dangling from a clock on a skyscraper. Even today, SAFETY LAST(1923) is considered one of the greatest film comedies ever made, and Harold one of the few TRUE masters of cinematic sight gags and humor. He plays a character called “The Boy” who moves to the big city, Los Angeles, to make his fortune so he can marry his small-town sweetheart. And hilarity ensues! Actress and radio host Michelle Briddell is our Audience of One as we talk about how Harold wore glasses because without them he was considered too good-looking, the difficulty of making physical comedy look easy, and how they did that iconic scene with the clock. SAFETY LAST is a delightful film, and a great one to see for someone who has never experienced a silent film before.