DVD Review: Safety Last! (1923) with Harold Lloyd

Safety Last! (1923)

(DVD Safety)

 

I first saw this DVD in the libraries’ collection shortly after having the opportunity to tour Harold Lloyd’s boyhood home, outside of Beatrice in Gage County, Nebraska in 2019. Lloyd is one of Nebraska’s cinematic treasures, having grown up in Gage County, before eventually making his way to Hollywood, and film fame.

 

Safety Last! is one of Lloyd’s masterworks, originally released in 1923. Lloyd is generally considered to be one of the silent film era’s three single-star auteurs — Charlie Chaplin was the “sweet innocent”, as personified by his Little Tramp character; Buster Keaton was the stoic, emotion-less outsider; and Lloyd was the “every man” that audiences could identify with. Safety Last! is 73 minutes of humor, adventure and spectacular stunt work, most notably the classic scene in which Harold hangs from a skyscraper’s clock face by the clock’s hands.

 

In addition to the beautifully restored film itself, this DVD set from Criterion also features two marvelous documentaries, including “Harold Lloyd: The Third Genius” (108 minutes), all about Lloyd’s life and film work.

[Be aware that the Gage County Classic Film Institute here in Nebraska has, for years, held an annual film festival in Beatrice, celebrating the lives and careers of Gage County natives who’ve gone on to fame in the film and TV industry. You can follow them on Facebook to see what native film star is featured next, and/or you can visit Lloyd’s boyhood home in Burchard, NE, now a small-town museum.]

[ Internet Movie Database entry for this film ] | [ Wikipedia page for Safety Last! ]

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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