Themes: Journey of Self-Discovery, Unlikely Friendships, Nightmare Vacations
Main Cast: Harold Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston, Leo White
Release Year: 1923
Country: US
Run Time: 6rl minutes
Plot
Harold Lloyd plays a millionaire who suffers from imaginary illness in this memorable comedy. With the help of a beautiful nurse (Jobyna Ralston) and valet Mr. Phipps (Wallace Howe), he travels to South America to regain his health. Harold arrives during a political uprising and believes the rival factions are putting on a show for his benefit. He soon lands in jail with the giant Colosso (John Aasen), who is suffering from a toothache. Harold helps the behemoth remove the afflicted molar and the two become fast friends. Colosso and Harold escape confinement and manage to defeat both revolutionary groups in hilarious slapstick fashion. A search for the nurse reveals she has been kidnapped by the villainous Jim Blake (James Mason). Harold overcomes his hypochondria when he saves the nurse from her captor. The giant, the millionaire, and the nurse return to Los Angeles where Harold gets his large friend a job as a traffic cop and marries the girl. The comic contrast between Lloyd and Aasen is striking in this Hal Roach production, the last in which the talented comic would appear. He would soon form his own production company and continue to provide millions with his memorable comedy films. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
Review
In spite of thin characterizations and a slip of a plot, Harold Lloyd's last film for Hal Roach is one of his funniest features. Its gags are especially inspired, and while Lloyd's character, the wealthy hypochondriac Harold Van Pelham, is pretty much one-dimensional, it's still a fine satirical commentary on American attitudes and ideals. Lloyd's "glasses" character, which he played in every film he made after 1917, is the quintessential 1920s American -- earnest, often a brash go-getter and able to overcome any obstacle with energy and ingenuity. But there's also a dark side underneath these attributes, which includes selfishness, self-centeredness and a sense of entitlement. In Why Worry? Lloyd turns these disagreeable traits into a source of amusement -- when informed that the country he is visiting is in the midst of a revolution, Van Pelham waves it off with, "Tell them to stop it. I came down here for a rest." Van Pelham, however, is quite likable in spite of his pompous behavior; at heart he's a well-meaning soul. While he thoughtlessly takes his pretty nurse (Jobyna Ralston) for granted, he's also obviously -- and unabashedly -- in love with her, and she with him. Many of the best comic moments involve the relationship between the millionaire and the giant Colosso (John Aasen, a 503-pound, eight foot, nine inch gent who was found in Minneapolis after a nationwide hunt). The giant becomesVan Pelham's willing slave and helps quell the annoying revolution by throwing soldiers around like dolls -- Van Pelham, meanwhile, is rooting around amongst the unconscious, unsuccessfully searching for a pair of shoes that fit his tender feet. In spite of the cultural and technological advances over the decades, Americans don't see themselves much differently than they did in the roaring 20s. Maybe this explains why Lloyd's comedies have weathered the years so well -- Why Worry? in particular because it even inspires Americans to laugh at their own foibles. ~ Janiss Garza, All Movie Guide
Wally Howe - The Valet; John Aasen - Colosso; William Gillespie - Officer; Sam Lufkin - Soldier; Lee Phelps - Guest; Charles E. Stevenson - Revolutionary with mustache; Jim Mason - Jim Blake; Mark Jones
Credit
Robert A. Golden - First Assistant Director, Fred Newmeyer - Director, Sam Taylor - Director, Walter Lundin - Cinematographer, Hal Roach - Producer, Sam Taylor - Screenwriter
Why Worry? is a 1923 comedy silent film starring Harold Lloyd. It was made shortly after and within the same year as Lloyd's most well-known film today, Safety Last!.
Lloyd and the giant (John Aasen) fight revolutionaries in Why Worry?
Harold Van Pelham (Lloyd) is a rich businessman who fancies himself deathly sick when in fact he is perfectly fine. He decides to sail to a small nearly-unknown island some distance West of South America for his health.
Instead of the peace and seclusion he is seeking, he finds himself in the midst of a revolution, although for a long time he does not realize this (resulting in several hilarious scenes). Finally, he is thrown into prison where he meets the friendly giant, Colosso (Aasen). Together, they engineer an escape. After Harold helps Colosso pull out a bad tooth, Colosso is eternally grateful and vows to do Harold's will. Harold decides that the revolution is bad for his health and must be stopped. Harold, Colosso, and Harold's nurse (Ralston) manage to single-handedly quell the revolution. Finally, Harold realizes that he is not as sick as he thought he was.
Background
This was the last film made in Lloyd's partnership with Hal Roach. The village set for the film was used in Roach's Our Gang short film "Dogs of War", filmed at the same time and featuring guest appearances by Lloyd and Jobyna Ralston. Lloyd and Roach parted on good terms, as each simply wanted to go in different directions and Harold Lloyd now had enough money to independently finance his films. It was also Lloyd's first film to have Jobyna Ralston as leading lady. She would go on to star in his next five films.
The main character was originally to go to Mexico, but after some accused the film of unfair stereotyping Harold Lloyd decided to change the location to a remote island in the Pacific.[citation needed]
George Auger (who used the stage name "Cardiff Giant"), a Ringling Brothers circus giant who was originally supposed to play to play the role of Colosso, died shortly after filming began. After a nationwide publicity campaign to find a replacement, Norwegian John Aasen from Minnesota was cast to play the part. He was discovered as a result of a newspaper article about his shoe size.[citation needed]
In 1962, the scenes of Lloyd being thrown into prison with the friendly giant, escaping, and helping him pull out his "bad tooth" were included in a compilation film produced by Harold Lloyd himself entitled Harold Lloyd's World of Comedy.[1] The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and created a renewal of interest in the comedian by introducing him to a whole new generation.
