On Saturday, August 21 at 7:00 PM, the Dixie Theatre will take patrons back in time to a Golden Age of film comedy.

Harold Lloyd’s masterwork “Safety Last” will screen for one night only with live piano accompaniment. Alongside Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, Lloyd is considered one of the greatest comedians of the silent era.

Produced in 1923, “Safety Last” made Lloyd the king of Thrill Comedy. Its climax on a high-rise department store includes the iconic scene of him dangling from a clock. That image has been referenced in movies such as “Back to the Future”, “Shanghai Knights”, “Hugo”, and more.

Lloyd did most of the stunts in the film himself, despite injuries from a terrible accident: he was posing for a publicity photo with what everyone thought was a prop bomb, when the device exploded. His right hand was badly mangled, his thumb and forefinger blown off. For the rest of his career, Lloyd wore a specially-made prosthetic glove to disguise the loss. But if you look closely, the glove is visible in many scenes.

Five years after “Safety Last”, movies learned to talk: “The Jazz Singer” was the first successful “talkie.” With sound came the end of an art form.

The biggest of the silent clowns – Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd – continued making films in the sound era, but rarely matched the greatness of their early work. Only a few – like Laurel and Hardy – had an easy transition to talkies.

But silent films were not meant to be seen in silence. Many theatres had organs, and large venues sometimes employed entire orchestras. Even the small neighborhood movie house usually had a piano playing along.

For this screening, accompaniment will be provided by Joyce Herring, a pianist, teacher, writer and singer who has an eclectic background in music and drama. As a child she received piano instruction from Willa Wade Newman, composer of one of the Tennessee state songs. She was a student of Roland Schneller at Blair Academy of Music and Dr. Lucian Stark at George Peabody College. While pursuing a career in special education, Joyce remained active in a variety of venues from classical accompanist to rock keyboardist. Now retired with her husband Tom, Joyce enjoys hanging out with their five granddaughters, attending Lewisburg First Methodist Church, and taking on occasional musical projects.

With its skillful blend of comedy and thrills, “Safety Last” is suitable for the whole family (despite a few scenes with unfortunate stereotypes.) For free general admission tickets, visit mcct.ticketleap.com. The theatre is located at 110 West Church Street in Lewisburg.