Safety Last review
Safety Last is a silent romantic American comedy released in 1923. It is a timeless scene, and some movies have gained inspiration from it and recreated some of the scenes. The essay will cover some reports that were written shortly after the film was aired. These reports include advertisements, articles, and an illustration.
On June 21st 1924, Exhibitor’s Herald Co. published an article that spoke of the response from the people after the movie was released. Before the movie’s release, business had been low, but after that, club owners profited more than before. People went back to watch the movie and talked about it for days. A Moving Picture article, in June 1923, labeled the film a ‘funny bone finder.’ A patron from the Dallas screening was interviewed and asked what they thought about the movie. They replied, “Fine. I found out I had a funny bone.” The Film Daily issue of January 1923 published an article that compared the protagonist’s previous movies to Safety Last. The more movies he did, the better his performances became. Safety Last was exceedingly higher than the rest of the films and achieved impossible accolades. In June 1924, the American Cinematographer published an article that critiqued the movie for bringing an element of danger to its cast and videographer when filming the action scenes. However, there were paramedics on set in case of injury. The Moving Picture World magazine on April 28th 1923, released an article that was titled, “Safety Last highly praised by reviewers.” The article praised the movie since some newspapers had published articles about it. The writers were pleased since the protagonist, Lloyd, had the audience’s approval. April 4th, 1923 saw the Film Daily issue publish several positive comments in the newspaper’s opinion section. The movie is seen to be a favorite one among the young and old because the comedy style is universal.
Motion Picture Magazine, in February 1923, interviewed Lloyd, and they found that he was interested in stories with more drama. He was praised for his previous works, and people were pleased with the release of Safety Last. In January 1923, the Film Daily issue published that the movie’s screening broke house records at Million Dollar Grand seating. Fans interviewed after the opening said the movie was the funniest they had ever watched, and they loved the comedy in the climbing scene. The producer’s article in the March 1923 issue of Moving Picture World shows that at the prelease showing of the picture, the manager says Safety Last is one of the best comedy films ever made. An advertisement for the movie was released in Film Daily in their January 1923 issue. The poster was titled “Lloyd in Safety Last,” and there is a drawing of two happy individuals drumming in the bottom left corner. There is a quote next to it stating, “There is no need for an orchestra with Safety Last. The music won’t be heard.” Another advertisement was in the January Film Daily issue, where there is an image of Lloyd smiling. A quote reads, “Safety Last is a once in a lifetime picture that makes you sore because your house is not three times as big.” An illustration of the film was found in an Exhibitor’s Herald magazine in July 1924. The artwork is titled, “Illustrating Albert R. Neis’ letter on the exploration of Safety Last, Pathe in this issue.”