Why Worry? (1923)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Directors:

Fred C. Newmeyer
Sam Taylor

Writers:

Sam Taylor (story)
H.M. Walker (titles)

Release Date:

9 September 1923 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Family | Romance

Plot:

Harold Van Pelham (Lloyd) is a hypochondriac, rich businessman who sails to the tropics for his 'health.'...

Plot Keywords:

Revolution | Giant | Hypochondriac | Male Female Relationship | Nurse

Cast

Harold Lloyd	...	Harold Van Pelham
Jobyna Ralston	...	The Nurse
John Aasen	...	Colosso (as Johan Aasen)
Wallace Howe	...	The Valet
Jim Mason	...	Jim Blake (as James Mason)
Leo White	...	Herculeo
Gaylord Lloyd	...	Man
Mark Jones	...	Mounted Captain

Runtime:

60 min | USA:63 min (Turner library print)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (tinted and toned) | Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Silent

Filming Locations:

Hal Roach Studios - 8822 Washington Blvd., Culver City, California, USA

Company:

Hal Roach Studios

Trivia:

Harold Lloyd's first film with leading lady Jobyna Ralston. She was picked primarily because Lloyd wanted somebody who was exactly the opposite of his previous leading lady, Mildred Davis, who had by then retired from films to become Mrs. Harold Lloyd.

Goofs:

Continuity: The chalk marking Harold makes for the spare in bowling changes.

Quotes:

Harold Van Pelham: Why didn't you tell me I love you?

Movie Connections:

Featured in Funny Side of Life (1963)

A Harold Lloyd Comedy!

Why Worry? remains one of Harold Lloyd's most delightful comedies. It was also the last film that Lloyd made with Hal Roach as producer and was the first to star his new leading lady Jobyna Ralston. Harold by this time had married his previous leading lady Mildred Davis and Davis retired from the screen.

The plot involves Lloyd playing a millionaire, Harold van Pelham, who eventually becomes a hypochondriac and travels with a nurse (Jobyna Ralston) to the fake island of Paradiso to live and get cured in a calm climate. However, he is eventually in the middle of a big revolution which Harold thinks it is all for entertainment. Soon after Harold is put in prison next to a giant by the name of Colosso (Johan Aasen) who is suffering a toothache. Harold and Colosso eventually escape but Colosso still complains to Harold about his toothache. They try all sorts of methods until the funniest of them all. Harold has tied a rope to Colosso's tooth and throws the rope up around a branch on a high part of a tree. Harold then ties the rope to himself, climbs the edge of a building, which is right next to the tree and throws himself off but so far, nothing has happened. Harold then climbs up again, and as he is struggling to go up further, the string is preventing him from going up any further. He pulls the string aggressively and the tooth finally comes out. Without Harold knowing what has happened he tells Colosso that he needs more ballast and picks up a huge plant pot and jumps off the balcony and lands straight on his backside with a devastatingly embarrassing look on his face. At the end of the picture, Harold teams up with his nurse who he eventually falls in love with and together with the assistance of Colosso; they defeat the revolutionaries and spark a happy ending.

Why Worry? was Lloyd's last film for his friend and producer Hal Roach. They decided to go their separate ways because Roach was tied up with other comedians by directing and producing their pictures and Roach would release Lloyd's company of cast and crew to work with Lloyd who included Lloyd's directors Sam Taylor and Fred Newmeyer, cinematographer Walter Lundin, writer Tim Whelan and Ted Wilde, editor and later gagman Thomas J. Crizer and leading lady Jobyna Ralston along with Charles A. Stevenson, Gus Leonard and Wallace Howe for cameo parts. So Roach and Lloyd made Why Worry? have a very lavish look and put big finances towards the making of the film. Why Worry? is a very zany film and has the type of comedy that later on, people like the Marx Brothers would dominate. Lloyd's character and acting is brilliant and it's even better with Lloyd's new leading lady, Jobyna Ralston who had an extraordinary talent in acting with Lloyd and they had developed a great chemistry and their 6 comedies that they made together in the 1920s.