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36-402: Safety Last! is a 1923 American silent romantic-comedy film starring Harold Lloyd . It includes one of the most famous images from the silent-film era: Lloyd clutching the hands of a large clock as he dangles from the outside of a skyscraper above moving traffic. The film was highly successful and critically hailed, and it cemented Lloyd's status as a major figure in early motion pictures. It

72-480: A "happily ever after". The conclusion of a romantic comedy is meant to affirm the primary importance of the love relationship in the protagonists' lives, even if they physically separate in the end (e.g., Shakespeare in Love , Roman Holiday ). Most of the time the ending gives the audience a sense that if it is true love, it will always prevail, no matter what the two characters have to overcome. Comedies, rooted in

108-426: A building was seen as an iconic image for him, though it was achieved through a certain degree of improvisation. Lloyd performed most of his own stuntwork, but a circus performer was used when The Boy hangs by a rope, and a stunt double – sometimes Bill Strother, who played "Limpy" Bill and was a steeplejack who inspired the sequence when Lloyd saw him climbing – was used in long shots. The giant clock scene

144-450: A good love match. The characters often split or seek time apart in order to sort out their emotions or deal with external obstacles to being together, which they eventually overcome. While the two protagonists are separated, one or both of them usually realizes that they love the other person. Then, one character makes some extravagant effort (sometimes called a grand gesture ) to find the other character and declare their love. However, this

180-508: A marvel of visual effects and slapstick comedy." The film was released in multiple versions on home video, both on VHS and DVD. It was released via the Criterion Collection on DVD and Blu-ray on June 18, 2013. Romantic-comedy The basic plot of a romantic comedy is that two characters meet , part ways due to an argument or other obstacle, then ultimately, realize their love for one another and reunite. Sometimes

216-809: A sense of awkwardness between the two potential partners by depicting an initial clash of personalities or beliefs, an embarrassing situation, or by introducing a comical misunderstanding or mistaken identity situation. Sometimes, the term is used without a hyphen (a "meet cute"), or as a verb ("to meet cute"). Roger Ebert describes the "concept of a Meet Cute" as "when boy meets girl in a cute way." As an example, he cites "The Meet Cute in Lost and Found [which] has Jackson and Segal running their cars into each other in Switzerland. Once recovered, they Meet Cute again when they run into each other while on skis. Eventually, they fall in love." In many romantic comedies,

252-412: A somber official and priest show up. The three of them walk toward what looks like a noose . It then becomes obvious they are at a train station and the "noose" is actually a trackside pickup hoop used by train crews to receive orders without stopping, and the bars are merely the ticket barrier. He promises to send for his girlfriend so they can get married once he has "made good" in the big city. Then he

288-428: A stationary position), but abseiling (UK) or rappelling (US) equipment is replacing the bosun's chair on many operations because of its lighter weight. Once this has been done it is possible to use this access to begin building scaffolding to carry out any repairs which may be required. This is done by fixing anchors into the wall (whether concrete, stone, or brick) and "kicking" the scaffolding off from there. It

324-473: Is not always the case; sometimes, there is a coincidental encounter where the two characters meet again. Alternatively, one character plans a romantic gesture to show that they still care. Then, with some comic friction, they declare their love for each other, and the film ends on a happy note . Even though it is implied that they live happily ever after, it does not always state what that happy ending will be. The couple does not necessarily get married for it to be

360-556: Is off. He gets a job as a salesclerk at the De Vore Department Store, where he has to pull various stunts to get out of trouble with the picky and arrogantly self-important head floorwalker , Mr. Stubbs. He shares a rented room with his pal "Limpy" Bill, a construction worker. When Harold finishes his shift, he sees an old friend from his hometown who is now a policeman walking the beat. After he leaves, Bill shows up. Bragging to Bill about his supposed influence with

396-424: Is still popular at revivals, and it is viewed today as one of the great film comedies. The film's title is a play on the common expression "safety first", which describes the adoption of safety measures as a means to avoid accidents, especially in workplaces. Lloyd performed some of the climbing stunts himself, despite having lost a thumb and forefinger four years earlier in a film accident . In 1994, Safety Last!

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432-413: Is successful enough to support a family and, with his mother's encouragement, takes a train to join him. In his embarrassment, he has to pretend to be the general manager, even succeeding in impersonating him to get back at Stubbs. While going to retrieve her purse (which Mildred left in the manager's office), he overhears the real general manager say he would give $ 1,000 to anyone who could attract people to

468-490: The UK, steeplejacks now use a belay rope fall-arrest system (similar to the method used by rock climbers) attached to the ladders as they are erected to eliminate solo climbing and greatly reduce the risk of falls from height. Once ladders have been erected, the next stage is usually to suspend a bosun's chair (a strong wooden plank on which the steeplejack can sit, pull themselves upwards or lower themselves downwards, or sit in

504-471: The Year , starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy ) post-WWII, and the sex comedy made popular by Rock Hudson and Doris Day in the 1950s–1960s. Over the years, romantic comedies have slowly been becoming more popular to both men and women. They have begun to spread out of their conventional and traditional structure into other territory, and to explore more complex topics. These films still follow

540-566: The body, and the thrill of the chase," and other genres of expression such as songs and folk tales. In the 20th century, as Hollywood grew, the romantic comedy in America mirrored other aspects of society in its rapid changes, developing many sub-genres through the decades. We can see this through the screwball comedy in response to the censorship of the Hays Code in the 1920s–1930s, the career woman comedy (such as George Stevens' Woman of

576-493: The climber. He waits at the starting point despite Harold's frantic efforts to get him to leave. Finally, unable to wait any longer, Bill suggests Harold climb the first story himself and then switch his hat and coat with Bill, who will continue on from there. After Harold starts up, the policeman spots Bill and chases him into the building. Every time Harold tries to switch places with Bill, the policeman appears and chases Bill away. Each time, Bill tells his friend he will meet him on

612-459: The complex social rules of high society, particularly related to navigating the marriage-market, an inherent feature of the plot in many of these plays, such as William Wycherley 's The Country Wife . While the melodramas of the Romantic period had little to do with comedy, they were hybrids incorporating elements of domestic and sentimental tragedies, pantomime "with an emphasis on gesture, on

648-468: The fact that these films are still romantic comedies. One of the conventions of romantic comedy films is the entertainment factor in a contrived encounter of two potential romantic partners in unusual or comic circumstances, which film critics such as Roger Ebert or the Associated Press's Christy Lemire have called a " meet-cute " situation. During a "meet-cute", scriptwriters often create

684-450: The fertility rites and satyr plays of ancient Greece , have often incorporated sexual or social elements. The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms defines romantic comedy as "a general term for comedies that deal mainly with the follies and misunderstandings of young lovers, in a light‐hearted and happily concluded manner which usually avoids serious satire". This reference states that the "best‐known examples are Shakespeare's comedies of

720-400: The film for both their 1998 and 2007 lists of AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies . It was also nominated for AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs . It placed #97 on AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills . Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a rating of 97% from 70 reviews, with the consensus: "Persuasive enough to give audiences acrophobia when they aren't laughing at Harold Lloyd's antics, Safety Last! is

756-465: The film's future: "This new Harold Lloyd farce will become a classic of its kind, or we will miss our guess. For it is the bespectacled comedian's best effort to date." "This is easily one of the big comedies of the year. It is seven-reels in length—but it speeds by with the rapidity of a corking two-reeler," the reviewer concluded. The Library of Congress added Safety Last! to its National Film Registry in 1994. The American Film Institute nominated

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792-735: The gender role that society has imposed upon them, as seen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall , in which the male protagonist is especially in touch with his emotions. It can also be seen in Made of Honor , in which the female bridesmaids are shown in a negative and somewhat masculine light in order to advance the likability of the male lead. Other remakes of romantic comedies involve similar elements, but they explore more adult themes such as marriage, responsibility, or even disability. Two films by Judd Apatow , This Is 40 and Knocked Up , deal with these issues. This Is 40 chronicles

828-623: The heroic adventures of medieval Romance . Those adventures traditionally focused on a knight's feats on behalf of a lady, so the modern themes of love were quickly woven into them, as in Chrétien de Troyes 's Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart . The contemporary romantic comedy genre was shaped by 18th-century Restoration comedy and 19th-century romantic melodrama . Restoration comedies were typically comedies of manners that relied on knowledge of

864-476: The late 1590s, A Midsummer Night's Dream , Twelfth Night , and As You Like It being the most purely romantic, while Much Ado About Nothing approaches the comedy of manners and The Merchant of Venice is closer to tragicomedy ." It was not until the development of the literary tradition of romantic love in the western European medieval period, though, that "romance" came to refer to "romantic love" situations. They were previously referred to as

900-429: The mid-life crisis of a couple entering their 40s, and Knocked Up addresses unintended pregnancy and the ensuing assuming of responsibility. Silver Linings Playbook deals with mental illness and the courage to start a new relationship. All of these go against the stereotype of what romantic comedy has become as a genre. Yet, the genre of romantic comedy is simply a structure, and all of these elements do not negate

936-400: The next floor up. Eventually, Harold reaches the top, despite his troubles with some hungry pigeons, a net, several cheering girls, an old lady, a construction duo, a clock, a rope, a dog, a mouse, a gun man, a wind gauge, and finally kisses his girl. While they walk away, Harold accidentally steps in a tar pit and loses his boots and socks. Lloyd hanging from a giant clock on the corner of

972-528: The other zombies and even starts to cure them. With the zombie cure, the two main characters can now be together since they do not have a barrier between them anymore. Another strange set of circumstances is in Zack and Miri Make a Porno where the two protagonists are building a relationship while trying to make a pornographic film together. Both these films take the typical story arc and then add strange circumstances to add originality. Other romantic comedies flip

1008-563: The police department, he persuades Bill to knock the policeman backwards over him while the man is using a callbox . When Bill does so, he knocks over the wrong policeman. To escape, he climbs up the façade of a building. The policeman tries to follow, but cannot get past the first floor; in frustration he shouts at Bill, "You'll do time for this! The first time I lay eyes on you again, I'll pinch you!" Meanwhile, Harold has been hiding his lack of success by sending his girlfriend expensive presents he cannot really afford. She mistakenly thinks he

1044-607: The potential couple comprises polar opposites, two people of different temperaments, situations, social statuses, or all three ( It Happened One Night ), who would not meet or talk under normal circumstances, and the meet cute's contrived situation provides the opportunity for these two people to meet. Steeplejack A steeplejack is a craftsman who scales buildings, chimneys, and church steeples to carry out repairs or maintenance. Steeplejacks erect ladders on church spires , industrial chimneys , cooling towers , bell towers, clock towers , or any other high structure. In

1080-469: The standard conventions of the romantic comedy genre. In films like 500 Days of Summer , the two main interests do not end up together, leaving the protagonist somewhat distraught. Other films, like Adam, have the two main interests end up separated but still content and pursuing other goals and love interests. Some romantic comedies use reversal of gender roles to add comedic effect. These films contain characters who possess qualities that diverge from

1116-409: The store. He remembers Bill's talent and pitches the idea of having a man climb the " 12-story Bolton building ", which De Vore's occupies. He gets Bill to agree to do it by offering him $ 500. The stunt is highly publicized and a large crowd gathers the next day. When a drunkard shows "The Law" (the policeman who was pushed over) a newspaper story about the event, the lawman suspects Bill is going to be

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1152-489: The streetscapes seen beyond the sets are noticeably different at different stages of the climb). Stuntman Harvey Parry also appeared in the climactic sequence, a fact he revealed only after Lloyd's death. In the 1980 Thames Television series Hollywood , he discussed at length how the stunts were achieved. The New York Times gave Safety Last! a very positive review. A contemporary review in Photoplay predicted

1188-426: The two leads meet and become involved initially, then must confront challenges to their union. Sometimes they are hesitant to become romantically involved because they believe they do not like each other. This could be because one of the characters already has a partner or because of social pressures. However, the screenwriters leave clues that suggest that the characters are attracted to each other and that they would be

1224-468: The typical plot of "a light and humorous movie, play, etc., whose central plot is a happy love story" but with more complexity. Some romantic comedies have adopted special circumstances for the main characters, as in Warm Bodies where the protagonist is a zombie who falls in love with a human girl after eating her boyfriend. The effect of their love towards each other is that it starts spreading to

1260-497: Was filmed on the roof of Western Costume Company. A number of buildings from 1st Street to 9th Street in downtown Los Angeles , all of different heights, were used, with sets built on their roofs to match the facade of the main building, the International Bank Building at Temple and Spring Streets. In this way, the illusion of Lloyd climbing higher and higher up the side of one building was created (although

1296-637: Was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". It is one of many works from 1923 that notably entered the public domain in the United States in 2019, the first time any works had done so in 20 years. In 1922, Harold Lloyd is behind bars. His mother and his girlfriend, Mildred, are consoling him as

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