Judith Rosenberg on Piano

Safety Last contains one of silent comedy's most iconic images: Harold Lloyd hanging precariously from the arms of a clock ten stories off the ground. Shot without trick photography (though there was a safety platform out of camera range), this sequence established Lloyd as the comedian who would go to any lengths—or heights—to get a laugh. As The Young Man Out to Make His Name in the World, Harold lands a job as a department-store clerk. His letters to The Girl Back Home lead her to believe he's a smashing success; when she unexpectedly arrives in the city, Harold enters into an elaborate ruse that climaxes in the now-famous stunt.

• Written by Hal Roach, Sam Taylor, Tim Whelan. Photographed by Walter Lundin. With Harold Lloyd, Mildred Davis, Bill Strother, Noah Young. (75 mins, Silent, B&W, 35mm, From Sony Pictures Releasing)