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| Why Worry? | |
|---|---|
 Poster for Why Worry? |
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| Directed by | Fred Newmeyer Sam Taylor |
| Produced by | Hal Roach |
| Written by | Sam Taylor (story) H.M. Walker (titles) |
| Starring | Harold Lloyd (Harold Van Pelham) Jobyna Ralston (Nurse) John Aasen (Colosso) Jim Mason (Jim Blake) |
| Cinematography | Walter Lundin |
| Editing by | Thomas J. Crizer |
| Distributed by | Pathe Exchange |
| Release date(s) | September 2, 1923  |
| Running time | 60/63 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | Silent film English intertitles |
Why Worry? is a 1923 American 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! (1923).
Contents |
[edit] Plot
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 named "El Paradiso" 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.
[edit] 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. This 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 fictional island in the Pacific.
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]
[edit] Cast
- Harold Lloyd as Harold Van Pelham
- Jobyna Ralston as Nurse
- John Aasen as Colosso
- Jim Mason as Jim Blake
[edit] Renewed interest in Harold Lloyd
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.
[edit] References
- ^ World of Comedy, imdb.com
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Why Worry? at the Internet Movie Database
- Why Worry? at AllRovi
- Why Worry? at the TCM Movie Database
- The Harold Lloyd Trust (only the forum currently works)
