Review - Safety Last! (1923)

Wow. I had never heard of Safety Last! before, but it is one of the best comedies I have ever seen! It feels great to have a much-heralded film meet your every expectation (The Birth of a Nation most recently for me), but to go into a film with no expectations and be totally floored is... orgasmic. A 70 minute orgasm, in this case.

Safety Last! is simultaneously a harrowing cliffhanger and riotous comedy. The physical gags, dialogue, and situational comedy provide a new laugh every 5 seconds. The comedy never lets up.

What's more impressive is that the drama is a perfect construction of rising action and endless complication for hour hero. In Safety Last!, the filmmakers have boiled down perfect dramatic structure into a simple tale of a man climbing a building.

Safety Last! is a gem of American cinema. Relentless, gut-busting comedy. Perfect rising drama. Great photography and stunts. A simple idea taken to its fullest extent. Safety Last! is the little film that can stand tall with big boys like Sherlock, Jr. Bringing Up Baby, and Some Like It Hot.

Alas, this amazing film is not available on DVD! But you may be able to find a VHS somewhere, or catch it on cable/satellite TV as I did. I could not recommend this flick more highly.