10 Movie Scenes That Will Give You Vertigo
8. Safety Last (1923) – Hanging Off The Clock
Everyone has seen the iconic image of Harold Lloyd hanging from the clock tower in Safety Last! but few people have actually seen the whole film. This movie is a light-hearted tale of Lloyd heading to the big city to make something of himself before proposing to his girlfriend.
The scene in question revolves around Lloyd accidentally knocking over a policeman and climbing the façade of a nearby building in order to escape him. He then gets the idea to climb a 12-storey department store in order to win a prize offered by the manager to anyone who can attract people to the shop.
Lloyd famously did almost all his own stunts, with a stunt double only used when he is hanging from the falling rope and in some of the long shots. He can be seen perilously hanging off the side of the building over the crowded streets below and even when he reaches the roof gets hit in the head by a weathervane, causing him to stagger around dangerously close to the edge.
The combination of his incredibly skilful comic presentation of a man constantly almost about to fall and the camera shots from above looking straight down below make this scene especially convincing and hard to watch if heights make you uncomfortable.