In his time, Harold Lloyd was as popular as Chaplin, and far more popular than Buster Keaton. With his round glasses and sweet face, he was considered the boy next door of comedy. Critical reappraisal over the years has rightly elevated Keaton above Lloyd, and "Safety Last" is a prime example of the reason why.
Lloyd had an understanding of gags, and the physical prowess to pull them off, but his character, despite his innocent look, was opportunistic and lacking the moral weight of Chaplin or Keaton.
In "Safety Last," Lloyd plays a young man who is leaving for the big city to make it big; his girlfriend, played by his wife Mildred Davis, has told him that she expects him to become successful. Upon arrival, he writes daily letters home telling her of his big business deals. In the meantime, he is ducking the landlady (the scene where he and his roommate hide from her was great) and slaving as a lowly department store clerk. The gags in the store, where he hides his late arrival from his boss and deals with a mob of ladies attempting to buy fabric, are actually the funniest part of the film.
Eventually his girlfriend shows up in town unnannounced, and he is forced to play the part of the big shot while hiding his lowly position from her. In an attempt to get the money he needs to buy a house, he ends up climbing a 12 story building, dealing with pigeons, police and gunfire along the way.
There are some very funny moments in the film, but Lloyd's lack of a moral center keep it from achieving true greatness. In one scene, he slips a dollar into a trash can as a bribe to an office boy to play along with his big-shot deception; a second later, he steals it back. It's a funny gag, but compare it to Keaton's "Sherlock Jr.," where he not only returns a lost dollar but ends up giving away his own money to a second woman looking for a lost bill. Keaton manages to be funny and create sympathy for his character simultaneously.
This lack of sympathy works against Lloyd in the film's climax, when he makes his climb up the building. What should be breathtakingly suspenseful, with the gags serving as a tension-breaker, comes off as merely mechanical. Because there has been no connection with the audience, the possibility of him falling almost seems like a just reward for his lying and opportunism. When Keaton finds himself in danger, as in the spectacular waterfall scene in "Our Hospitality," his basic decency adds moral weight to the suspense that's totally lacking from Lloyd's work.
In all, while Lloyd manages to be funny and entertaining, it's impossible to love him. He has a real understanding of pulling off a gag, but almost none of making a movie work.
Lloyd had an understanding of gags, and the physical prowess to pull them off, but his character, despite his innocent look, was opportunistic and lacking the moral weight of Chaplin or Keaton.
In "Safety Last," Lloyd plays a young man who is leaving for the big city to make it big; his girlfriend, played by his wife Mildred Davis, has told him that she expects him to become successful. Upon arrival, he writes daily letters home telling her of his big business deals. In the meantime, he is ducking the landlady (the scene where he and his roommate hide from her was great) and slaving as a lowly department store clerk. The gags in the store, where he hides his late arrival from his boss and deals with a mob of ladies attempting to buy fabric, are actually the funniest part of the film.
Eventually his girlfriend shows up in town unnannounced, and he is forced to play the part of the big shot while hiding his lowly position from her. In an attempt to get the money he needs to buy a house, he ends up climbing a 12 story building, dealing with pigeons, police and gunfire along the way.
There are some very funny moments in the film, but Lloyd's lack of a moral center keep it from achieving true greatness. In one scene, he slips a dollar into a trash can as a bribe to an office boy to play along with his big-shot deception; a second later, he steals it back. It's a funny gag, but compare it to Keaton's "Sherlock Jr.," where he not only returns a lost dollar but ends up giving away his own money to a second woman looking for a lost bill. Keaton manages to be funny and create sympathy for his character simultaneously.
This lack of sympathy works against Lloyd in the film's climax, when he makes his climb up the building. What should be breathtakingly suspenseful, with the gags serving as a tension-breaker, comes off as merely mechanical. Because there has been no connection with the audience, the possibility of him falling almost seems like a just reward for his lying and opportunism. When Keaton finds himself in danger, as in the spectacular waterfall scene in "Our Hospitality," his basic decency adds moral weight to the suspense that's totally lacking from Lloyd's work.
In all, while Lloyd manages to be funny and entertaining, it's impossible to love him. He has a real understanding of pulling off a gag, but almost none of making a movie work.