Why Worry?

Why Worry?

Theatrical release poster
Directed by Fred Newmeyer
Sam Taylor
Produced by Hal Roach
Written by Sam Taylor (story)
H.M. Walker (titles)
Starring Harold Lloyd
Jobyna Ralston
John Aasen (Colosso)
Jim Mason
Cinematography Walter Lundin
Edited by Thomas J. Crizer
Distributed by Pathe Exchange
Release date
  • September 2, 1923 (1923-09-02)
Running time
 60/63 minutes
Country United States
Language Silent film
English intertitles
Budget $220,626[1]

Why Worry? is a 1923 American comedy silent film starring Harold Lloyd.

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 a 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.

Cast

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 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.

References

  1. ↑ Vance, Jeffrey and Suzanne Lloyd. "Harold Lloyd: Master Comedian" New York: Harry N Abrams. p 103
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