Quartile rating: 8/10 · 1 rating
When a store clerk organizes a contest to climb the outside of a tall building, circumstances force him to make the perilous climb himself.
Safety Last! is immortalized by its breathtaking clock-hanging sequence, which remains one of cinema's most iconic images. Harold Lloyd's use of genuine height and practical stunt work created vertigo-inducing thrills that were revolutionary for 1923 and still hold up today — cinematography and staging earn a well-deserved 4. The film's blend of comedy and genuine physical danger was singular and ahead of its time, earning high Novelty. The plot is a serviceable but thin romantic-comedy framework, and Lloyd's physical performance is charming though not as deeply expressive as Chaplin or Keaton at their peaks. The ending resolves satisfactorily but without particular distinction beyond the climax already having delivered its payoff.