Harold Lloyd was trying to find his footing in talkies after he had achieved enormous popularity in silent movies. His first official "talkie" was November 1930's "Feet First." His previous movie, 1929's "Welcome Danger," could be catalogued as a talkie, but some of the scenes were filmed as a silent, with the remainder reshot with talking dialogue.
Lloyd returned to his silent movie roots by reworking his most famous stunt, climbing the front of a tall building in his 1923 classic, "Safety Last." As the title, "Feet First" implies, Lloyd is a shoe salesman who brags to Barbara (Barbara Kent) he's an owner of a leather company. Although she's only a secretary to the owner of the shoe manufacturer he works for, he thinks Barbara is his daughter. Later, he finds himself on an ocean liner with the two of them. The CEO has to get a letter delivered on deadline, and Harold steps forward to promise delivery, only to find himself on dry land on a painter's scaffolding hoisted halfway up a tall building. The hair-raising antics of "Safety First" are then repeated. His film crew staged the scene using the same camera tricks he used seven years earlier, this time constructing a skyscraper's facade on the roof of the Southern California Gas Company building on South Broadway in Los Angeles.
"Feet First" received mixed reviews. The New York Times described Lloyd's first bonafide talkie contained his usual style of gag writing. "No matter how foolish this farce becomes, it virtually defies any spectator to sit through it without laughing." Theater-goers did enjoy Lloyd's hijinks, making it the sixth highest box-office take for 1930. But the movie was also the comedian's least financially successful feature film dating back to 1921, snaring less than one million dollars. For Lloyd, this was a bit concerting. He found himself without a female opposite again since Barbara Kent received other offers after appearing twice with the comic. As for the previously prolific Harold, his movie output slowed down considerably after talkies arrived, releasing only one movie every year or two.
Lloyd returned to his silent movie roots by reworking his most famous stunt, climbing the front of a tall building in his 1923 classic, "Safety Last." As the title, "Feet First" implies, Lloyd is a shoe salesman who brags to Barbara (Barbara Kent) he's an owner of a leather company. Although she's only a secretary to the owner of the shoe manufacturer he works for, he thinks Barbara is his daughter. Later, he finds himself on an ocean liner with the two of them. The CEO has to get a letter delivered on deadline, and Harold steps forward to promise delivery, only to find himself on dry land on a painter's scaffolding hoisted halfway up a tall building. The hair-raising antics of "Safety First" are then repeated. His film crew staged the scene using the same camera tricks he used seven years earlier, this time constructing a skyscraper's facade on the roof of the Southern California Gas Company building on South Broadway in Los Angeles.
"Feet First" received mixed reviews. The New York Times described Lloyd's first bonafide talkie contained his usual style of gag writing. "No matter how foolish this farce becomes, it virtually defies any spectator to sit through it without laughing." Theater-goers did enjoy Lloyd's hijinks, making it the sixth highest box-office take for 1930. But the movie was also the comedian's least financially successful feature film dating back to 1921, snaring less than one million dollars. For Lloyd, this was a bit concerting. He found himself without a female opposite again since Barbara Kent received other offers after appearing twice with the comic. As for the previously prolific Harold, his movie output slowed down considerably after talkies arrived, releasing only one movie every year or two.