Play Safe

The title of the film may be Play Safe, but the poster does not. It features a train and car hurtling toward the viewer with two men in precarious situations, one jumping between the car and train and one balancing on the car. It is this obvious contrast between title and image that immediately tells us that the film is a comedy.

The additional text, ‘The Fastest Funniest COMEDY you have ever seen’, is superfluous but does serve to emphasise the excitement and humour that audiences can expect. If nothing else, the poster compels you to find out how the filmmakers were able to stage the high-risk action sequence depicted in the poster.

This poster focuses on the film’s ‘Speed! [and] Thrills!’, and is for one of many runaway train movies of the silent era.