Why Worry? (1923) User Reviews

Last Hal Roach For Lloyd A Comedy Gem

[DKosty123 · 8/10 · 5 September 2006]

Take a hypochondriac & place him in the middle of a Latin American country with a revolution going on & what do you get? In this movie, you get great comedy. There are some sequences in this film that almost reach the classics of Safety Last or Girl Shy for Lloyd. Granted, there are a few spots early which are slow, but the uniqueness of how Lloyd plays off in the revolution & with the Giant are so classic that you almost forget the slow start the film has.

Actually, considering the film Lloyd did after this was Girl Shy, the split with Roach really did not slow him down, he sped up even faster. Still, this was the finish for the producer who discovered Harold & had taken him this far. It is so sad that thanks to the split, Harold owned all his films & a wholegeneration of American movie goers forgot he existed. I am so glad in recent years that we have been allowed to rediscover this talent. When you watch his films, you realize how much others who came much later actually were copying pieces of Harolds work in their own films. Remember The Bank Dick chase sequence? Harold did it first in Girl Shy. Remember the race to the church at the end of The Graduate? Lloyd did it first in Girl Shy & then consulted with Mike Nichols to do it again in the successful 1960's film. Forgotten genius describes Lloyd aptly & even though this is a notch below Safety Last & Girl Shy, it is well worth viewing.

Okay, But Harold''s Had Funnier Films

[ccthemovieman-1 · 6/10 · 8 April 2006]

This is a so-so silent film comedy starring Harold Lloyd. It was okay but not as good as I had expected it after reading several national critics rave about it. I've also seen other Lloyd films and this doesn't match up. It doesn't mean it doesn't have its funny moments: it does, but not enough of them to highly recommend.

The highlight, as is the case with so many silent film comedies, is the last 10-15 minutes in which the action is almost non-stop.

Most the slapstick action involves Harold and a giant....and I mean giant! This guy has to be one of the biggest people I've ever seen, on or off screen.

Harold plays a rich insomniac who heads to a remote South American country for a little R&R. Unfortunately, he runs smack into a revolution and is considered a threat. So, not only is the little town in chaos but Harold's life is particularly in danger. However, our hero has the giant on his side after helping the big boy get rid of his horrible toothache. Together, the two of them wipe out an entire army! Ludicrous, of course....but that's a Lloyd film and it supposed be ridiculously funny.

And, as usual in these films, Harold falls in love with Jobyna Ralston, a pretty woman who was in a number of his films, starting with this one. He quells the riot, gets the girl and loses his hypochondria....all in one hour!

WHY WORRY? (Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor, 1923) ***

[Bunuel1976 · 7/10 · 18 December 2006]

I had watched this in Hollywood as well but, given its late-night broadcast (being the last of 7 Lloyd films shown in a row), I was quite tired when its turn came and therefore not in the best position to appreciate it!

Lloyd is a spoilt millionaire and a hypochondriac to boot - not his typical struggling character therefore, but just as resourceful in dealing with situations beyond his control; he goes to a supposedly peaceful South American republic for health reasons and finds it torn by revolution! This film, then, would seem to be the precursor of all the south-of-the-border comedies which came much later - for instance Woody Allen's BANANAS (1971).

Still, while the comic action scenes at the climax certainly deliver the goods - Lloyd is assisted by a giant he met while in prison (and whom he had rid of a crippling toothache) - I think that the film is at its best during the earlier stages (especially the hilarious scene in which, taking a stroll around the village streets, he admires the leisurely lifestyle of the simple-folk there - with everyone he meets apparently sound asleep, unaware that their predicament is actually the result of a fresh beating by the oppressive militia!). Incidentally, this was Jobyna Ralston's first film with Lloyd (playing his loving nurse who, at one point, is disguised as a Mexican serving-boy in order to escape the lecherous attentions of the chief villain!).

Zany

[Murph-17 · 23 April 2003]

The zaniest, most cartoonlike of all Harold Lloyd features recaptures the energetic anarchy of his wilder short subjects while at the same time drawing from the sort of satirical innocent-ugly-American-abroad adventures that Douglas Fairbanks and Anita Loos had popularized in the teens.

Lloyd plays an obtuse millionaire hypochondriac who "has taken so many pills he rattles when he walks." He blunders into a banana republic's revolution and must defeat a dictatorial regime backed by an unscrupulous Yankee. Along the way, he faces up to his imaginary ills and falls for his spunky, long-suffering nurse -- ably played by the quietly sexy Jobyna Ralston in her first feature as Lloyd's love interest. But the real star is John Aase n -- all eight feet, nine and a half inches of him -- who makes an excellent 503 pound mad hermit, buddying up with Lloyd for some of the most improbable and unrelenting sight gag sequences ever put on film -- among them, an extended effort to pull the giant's aching tooth.

The setting is obviously Latin America (and, in fact, the whole film functions nicely as propaganda, artfully fudging the United States' imperial subjugation of the region by focusing on a single American villain) but when real-life Mexicans earnestly protested the film's stereotypes, Lloyd responded by changing the intertitles to suggest that the whole thing takes place on a mythical island. I can't imagine anyone was fooled by this since the Latino stereotypes still dominate the film: lazy peasants, greasy strongmen, etc.

Why Worry? grossed slightly less at the box office than Lloyd's previous film, Safety Last (almost $1.5 million vs. almost $1.6 million), and cost about a hundred thousand dollars more to make (almost $221,000 vs. almost $121,000). It was his last film for producer Hal Roach. Lloyd went on to make his next ten films independently for release through distributors like Pathe, Paramount and Fox -- but despite a few wild sequences in films like Hot Water and For Heaven's Sake, he never again made a picture quite as snappy and offbeat as Why Worry?

If the film looks back to Fairbanks, it looks ahead to the hypochondriac heroes of Broadway's The Nervous Wreck and its film versions, including Eddie Cantor's Whoopee! and Danny Kaye's Up in Arms, not to mention the mythical political intrigue of W. C. Fields' Million Dollar Legs, the Marx Brothers' Duck Soup, Woody Allen's Bananas, and much else in the realm of American low comedy.

good physical comedy

[SnoopyStyle · 7/10 · 11 June 2018]

Heavily medicated millionaire hypochondriac Harold Van Pelham (Harold Lloyd) is sent to Paradiso, a tropical island nation off South America, for his health. He brings along his adoring nurse and his valet Mr. Pipps. American Jim Blake leads a band of renegades against the sleepy government. Upon arrival, Harold is mistaken for an expected government representative. He escapes the firing squad with the help of wild giant fellow prisoner Colosso.

It's a cute little comedy. The first laugh comes as Harold tries to pull Colosso's tooth. It's extended slapstick fun for a simple premise. The giant is great visual contrast and a fun comedy partner. I don't know if he ever worked with Harold after this. They're certainly good together here although Harold is a little mean sometimes. There's a difference between cluelessness and callousness. As a rich self-obsessed character, he often drifts into the later. There is plenty of great physical comedy although it's missing a final one big stunt.

Putting Down Insurrection With Mr. Lloyd

[Ron Oliver · 10/10 · 8 November 2003]

A rich, young hypochondriac figures WHY WORRY? As long as he's got his nurse & valet to look after him absolutely nothing could happen, right?

Harold Lloyd, one of America's preeminent comedians of the Silent Era, uses his remarkable comic skills and tremendous athletic abilities to score another solid hit in this tale full of adventurous hilarity. With remarkable nonchalance, he calmly proceeds to thwart a Latin American revolution which threatens to shatter the tranquility of his restful vacation. But once his temper is aroused--at the sight of a distraught female--he really becomes a two-fisted hero eager to take on any number of bad guys.

Special mention should be made of Minnesota-born Norwegian-American John Aasen (1887-1938), who in his film debut plays Harold's gigantic companion. Nearly nine feet tall & rather fearsome, he nonetheless almost immediately grabs the viewer's complete sympathy while suffering mightily from a raging toothache. Gentle with Harold, he becomes an unstoppable one-man army in dealing with their enemies.

This film marked a milestone of sorts for Harold. It was his last produced in collaboration with Hal Roach; their friendly parting allowed Harold to gain virtually complete control over his films. WHY WORRY? was also his first movie to feature his new costar, beautiful Jobyna Ralston, who delivers a feisty, compelling performance as Harold's nurse; his previous leading lady, Mildred Davis, was now very busy in her new life as Mrs. Harold Lloyd.

Robert Israel has composed an excellent film score which perfectly complements Harold's antics on the screen.

Why Worry will make you feel sorry for not watching it. Another superb action-comedy blockbuster which was overshadowed between Lloyd's two great classics.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 7/10 · 28 July 2021]

Why Worry? (1923) : Brief Review -

Why Worry will make you feel sorry for not watching it. Another superb action-comedy blockbuster which was overshadowed between Lloyd's two great classics. Why Worry released exactly between, 'Safety Last' (1923) and 'Girl Shy' (1924), two of the finest Lloyd classics and also my top favourites. So, it is not on the level of both these classics and maybe that's why it was overshadowed or shall i say remained underrated but when you look at it after keeping the comparisons aside, it has everything any great comedy could offer. A hypochondriac vacations in the tropics for the fresh air - and finds himself in the middle of a revolution instead. This one has more action and very unimaginable too. Unlike Safety Last which had breathtaking stunts, but some terrific action sequences performed by Harold Lloyd and tallest actor ever John Aasen. They make you believe on those wonderful action scenes which were never seen before by the audience then. Besides, Why Worry has no worries as far as the typical Harold Lloyd-Newmeyer comedy is concerned. Watching Lloyd playing a millionaire is a very pleasant thing for me. I always found his face very charming but he played millionaire quite few times only and this was one among them. He is fantastic in his role, actually influential. That's one of the best thing about this film that it gave so many formulatic situations to cinema world. A Millionaire who is over possessive about his health and his Love Interest, his nurse is not as Rich as him all this is used in many films that came later. Also that Jail break scene or him getting mistaken military service, or pills stuff or him being normal by the end etc. So many formulatic creations in comedy genre. Overall, an amazing entertainer. May be slightly less than a Classic but definitely recommendable.

RATING - 7.5/10*

By - #samthebestest.

a change of pace for Harold

[mjneu59 · 9/10 · 15 January 2011]

The most lively of Harold Lloyd's classic comedies is arguably his most accessible when seen today, and can now be enjoyed without the indiscriminate editing and idiot soundtrack added by Time-Life Films in the early 1960s. Of all his silent features it's the least rooted in the ideals of its age, employing an element of fantasy quite out of character from his usually plausible boy-next-door scenarios. Adopting one of his popular idle, young millionaire roles, Lloyd stars as a wealthy hypochondriac on vacation in South America, thwarting a military coup with the help of his loyal nurse and a gentle (but formidable) giant. It's a measure of Lloyd's appeal that he could be so inventive without seeming at all out of the ordinary in the manner of Keaton or Chaplin. His innocence and vigor allowed him to milk an amazing amount of humor from any one gag (curing the giant's toothache, for example), building each laugh with an escalating but practical absurdity rarely possible outside of silent film comedy.

Try It, You'll Like It.

[rmax304823 · 6/10 · 7 September 2016]

If you are resolute enough to get past the subtitles, you'll enjoy this divertimento from Harold Lloyd. He's a hypochondriacal millionaire who travels to a small town in Mexico for his health. (In 1923 it was enough to be a simple millionaire.) The somnolent village awakens only when a revolution occurs and gun shots are heard, which is often. Lloyd is captured by the militia and thrown in jail with the rebel Colosso. Where they found the guy who plays Colosso I can't imagine. He must be a bulky seven feet tall -- and a convincing actor, or over-actor.

All of what follows, which I won't describe here, is pretty funny. Even the aching tooth that Lloyd finally manages to extract from Colosso is the size of a woolly mammoth's.

Boyish Fantasy

[npetrikov · 10/10 · 14 January 2006]

This movie is all of one's boyhood daydreams rolled into one: Harold conquers a menacing giant by sheer force of personality; improvises a battery of cannon; puts down a revolution (with a little help from his friends); and wins the girl without even trying. Some of the gags have never (in my limited experience, I admit) been done so well, and, perhaps, never even attempted again: for instance, the peculiar manner in which Harold defends the Nurse from the nefarious Jim Blake, the surreal balcony scene, and that passionate kiss at the (almost) end. "Why Worry?" is thoroughly charming from soup to nuts.

What a shame that the talkies came along.

Lloyd's Last Film with Producer Hal Roach

[springfieldrental · 6/10 · 16 December 2021]

For Lloyd's long-standing female sidekick Mildred Davis, "Safety Last" was the final of 15 films with the comedian. The two married on February 10, 1923, both making the decision for her to step aside to raise their future two children. Actress Jobyna Ralston, plucked from the stage by actor Max Linder and appeared in a number of his movies, took Davis' place in September 1923's "Why Worry?," as his nurse. The two, alongside a valet, journey to an island off Chile so Lloyd, playing a hypochondriac rich businessman, can rest in its tropical climate. Trouble is they stumble upon a revolution which embroils them in some incredible hijinks.

"Why Worry?" also was the final film of Lloyd's association with producer Hal Roach, dating back to 1913. The comedian became his own independent producer, forming the Harold Lloyd Film Corporation. Before the two split, to make their last picture together they had to find a last-minute replacement for Lloyd's cellmate named Colosso, a gigantic wild hermit with an aching toothache. Their original choice, Ringling Brothers Circus' Cardiff Giant (real name George Auger), died a day before leaving his Florida home for California. When Roach's publicity department made a nationwide call for a large man, a newspaper article was discovered detailing a man from Minnesota who possessed a gargantuan shoe size. John Aasen was awarded the part, which called for him lugging around and firing a canon on his back at the rebels.

"Why Worry?" was a tough act to follow after the critically-acclaimed "Safety Last." But the film was greeted by capacity theater crowds, ensuring Lloyd's transition to independent productions would be highly successful.

No Need to Worry About This Harold Lloyd Comedy

[evanston_dad · 9/10 · 4 September 2007]

In "Why Worry?" Harold Lloyd plays Harold von Pelham, a pampered and spoiled millionaire who has all the time in the world to worry about medical conditions that don't exist, and treat his smitten nurse and trusted valet as mere lackeys. He goes to a South American retreat for some much-needed rest and relaxation, but instead finds himself in the middle of a revolution. Along the way he picks up a devoted friend, a giant man named aptly Colossus, who becomes as loyal as a dog to Harold because he helps to pull an aching tooth. By the film's end, Harold has plumbed reserves of hidden strength, realizes he no longer needs his pills and medications, and discovers his love for his nurse.

The funniest thing about "Why Worry?" is that this little band of lovable characters never has a clue what's actually going on around them. They don't know one side of the warring parties from the other; they just know when they're in trouble, and they go from scene to scene doing whatever is necessary to get themselves out of scrapes without realizing how they're affecting the bigger picture. This film is wonderfully written and performed, with hilarious bits. Watching Harold's transition from pampered wimp to scrappy freedom fighter is delightful, and he has wonderful chemistry with Jobyna Ralston, who plays his nurse, and John Aasen, the impossibly enormous actor who plays Colossus.

This film is a treat.

Grade: A

"Put the dog in jail, and keep him there!"

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 17 May 2014]

As late as a couple evenings ago, Ben Mankiewicz on the Turner Classics Movie channel was describing huge John Aasen as 8 feet, 9 and a half inches tall. I was sizing him up visually against Harold Lloyd's 5 foot 10 inch frame and it didn't compute; Aasen's Colosso would have had to be almost a full yard taller than Lloyd. I see that his stats have been corrected in the trivia section of Aasen's bio here on the IMDb, and he was a mere 7 feet 2 inches tall, about the same size as Andre the Giant. No slouch no matter how you cut it.

Well with that aside, "Why Worry?" reminds me of Mad Magazine with it's What, Me Worry? tag line. This was my first look at Harold Lloyd in a full length feature film and I thought it was generally entertaining, although I prefer a bit less slapstick. The film had a lot of Keystone Kop-ish type mania to it, especially in the latter half when Lloyd's hypochondriac millionaire character Harold Van Pelham battles the soldiers of Paradiso with his gigantic sidekick. There were some well placed funny gimmicks along the way as well, like the tooth pull and the cannon ball bowling stunts. Colosso gets in on the act too by uprooting a tree to whale away on the federales, and that looked pretty clever.

The thing that impressed me about Lloyd, and I don't know anything about him, but if he was doing his own stunts and pratfalls, then one has to give him a lot of credit. He was absolutely ballistic in the fisticuffs with villain Blake (Jim Mason), right after his pretty nurse (Jobyna Ralston) reads him the riot act for not taking his medicine. You can't get that physical without at least some athletic ability.

So anyway, I'm glad I tuned in to this effective silent film on TCM. I've read a few of the other reviews here on the IMDb and I didn't see anyone else mention it, so I'll do so. With the airing the other night, there was a neat transition scene to Lloyd on board ship sailing to Paradiso, and it was done in a bluish tint. I doubt if that was in the original film, and though I don't go for tampering with a director's original work, this seemed to add some appropriate atmosphere to the story. At least it made me sit up and take notice.

Very Entertaining, With Lots of Good Absurdist-Style Humor

[Snow Leopard · 28 November 2005]

This is one of Harold Lloyd's most entertaining comedies, with Lloyd, Jobyna Ralston and John Aasen making good use of a variety of material, especially a lot of Absurdist-style gags and routines. It starts just a little slowly in setting things up, but once it gets going, there are a lot of good laughs without a slow stretch.

Lloyd plays a good-natured but completely oblivious upper-class hypochondriac who travels to the tropics for a rest, and finds himself in the middle of a chaotic revolution. His naive initial reactions to the situation are quite amusing, and few screen comics could have pulled them off as well as Lloyd does.

As things get hotter for Lloyd and Ralston, the hilarious giant Colosso (Aasen's character) joins the madness, and that leads to some even more humorous gags. The lengthy sequence resulting from the first meeting between Harold and Colosso is very cleverly done, squeezing more than you would ever have guessed possible out of a simple situation. Afterward, Colosso's size and strength are used in many imaginative ways, with a lot of rather elaborate sight gags that are set up nicely.

The whole thing works very well. Once everything is set up, it flies by so quickly that it seems only to have taken a fraction of its running time.

Bananas

[sol- · 6/10 · 2 September 2017]

Travelling to South America to convalesce, a wealthy hypochondriac inadvertently thwarts a military coup after the locals mistake him for an intervening US banker (and as he mistakes them for hotel employees) in this chaotic Harold Lloyd comedy. The film has some very funny moments due to language barrier issues with Lloyd hilariously signing his name on a list of prisoners to be shot at sunrise at one point, however, mistaken identity comedy is hardly Lloyd's forte. As such, the film is full of gags that do not exactly give Lloyd the chance to show off what he does best. There is also a painfully long sequence that seems to go on forever as Lloyd tries to extract a sore tooth from giant he befriended in jail. As the giant in question though, John Aasen turns in a remarkably good performance for a first time actor. Quality supporting turns also come from Jim Mason as the revolutionary leader and Jobyna Ralston as Lloyd's long-suffering nurse. Given the title and the protagonist's hypochondria, it would have been nice for the film to offer some food for thought in terms of worrying about problems that are not as big as they seem, but everything here is about the laughs. It is amusing too, but Lloyd is not always in his element.

dopey but fun!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 28 April 2006]

This isn't Harold Lloyd's best film but it certainly is one of his better films and is guaranteed to please. Perhaps the reason it isn't quite up to his best films' standards is because the movie is just so silly--but who cares when it's STILL a wonderful film.

Harold plays a slightly different character than usual. He's a very neurotic guy who is deathly afraid of illness--even though he's perfectly healthy. BUT, at the same time, he's a lot more macho than the usual Harold "when the chips are down".

Our hero and his nurse arrive on a fictitious island off the coast of South America that looks exactly like Mexico. He's come for his health and to relax--but considering how healthy he really is, this is ridiculous. Interestingly enough, his arrival coincides with a violent revolution! Harold is oblivious for the longest time and only realizes something is amiss when he is locked in a prison cell with a giant of a man.

He and the giant escape, but the giant is in pain due to a toothache. So, right in the middle of all the chaos, Harold takes time to help the giant but pulling this painful tooth. Once they succeed, the giant LOVES Harold and will do ANYTHING to help him. Well, Harold wants to stop the revolution and so he and this guy together stop it! Most of this is due to the fact that the giant is nearly indestructible but, surprisingly, the two bad guys leading the revolution are actually beaten up very savagely by Harold!! He is quite the Rambo and ready for action! Well, along the way, Harold realizes he isn't sick and is a man of action. Part of his new resolve includes recognizing how wonderful his nurse is and marrying her. All-in-all, a VERY sweet movie with enough laughs to satisfy even curmudgeons!

PS--After reviewing this movie, I saw another Lloyd film, A SAILOR-MADE MAN. In so many ways it was a precursor to this film--in both he's a rich gadabout who makes good by rescuing a lady in distress in a foreign land. This is the better of the two movies, but loses a point for not being very original.

UPDATE: I was able to see this on the big screen recently and with an orchestra--what a treat. And the Carl Davis musical score was terrific as well.

Fun little diversion

[revere-7 · 6/10 · 4 September 2009]

Another fun silent era Lloyd film. This one casts Lloyd as a hypochondriac millionaire who takes a vacation to a South American island, but is mistaken for an American Company Man sent to interfere with the revolutionaries who are trying to overthrow the government of the banana republic. Jobyna Ralston is utterly charming as Lloyd's nurse, and pituitary giant John Aasen is highly entertaining as Lloyd's sidekick.

Jackie Chan fans will notice a number of gags Chan borrowed from this film and recycled for his own fight scenes.

Light hearted entertainment for the whole family.

Lloyd At His Best

[dsikula · 10/10 · 14 July 2000]

The funniest of all his pictures, and that's saying something. 60 minutes of perfect gags with no letup. John Aasen as Colosso the giant is wonderful, and any picture with the wonderful Jobyna Ralston is always welcome.

Harold Lloyd on overthrowing a revolution

[ackstasis · 7/10 · 13 May 2007]

Harold Lloyd was the third star of silent comedy, and 'Why Worry?' is an excellent vehicle to display his clever comedic timing and imaginative set pieces. In an odd turn for the silent comedies of the era, Lloyd does not play the poor but kind-hearted everyman, but a selfish hypochondriac millionaire, whose only consideration is to give himself a relaxing vacation. Harold Van Pelham (Lloyd) decides that a holiday to the sleepy tropical island is just what he needs to relax and recover from his imaginary medical problems. Towing along with him an unappreciated nurse (Jobyna Ralston) and an unlucky valet (Wallace Howe), Harold arrive at the island in the midst of a revolution by the malevolent Jim Blake (Jim Mason), who has convinced himself that Harold has been sent to thwart him.

'Why Worry?,' Harold Lloyd's last film produced in collaboration with Hal Roach, takes a completely ridiculous scenario and makes it absurdly funny. In one hilarious sequence, an oblivious Harold wanders through the seemingly sleepy town, not realising that the apparently sluggish and laid-back townsmen only appear as such because they have just been brutally beaten by the Revolutionists. Unknowingly sentenced to jail time by evil Jim Blake, Harold cheerfully signs up to be executed at sunrise, believing the large leatherbound volume to be the hotel's guestbook.

Whilst in jail, Harold befriends Colosso (John Aasen), a gargantuan hermit with the power to overthrow the entire revolution, if only he wasn't restricted by a nasty toothache. Ringling Brothers circus giant George Auger (a.k.a. "Cardiff Giant) was originally chosen to play the role of Colosso, but, following his death shortly after filming began, a nationwide campaign uncovered John Aasen from Minnesota. Whilst some sources list him as being as tall as 2.73 m (effectively making his the tallest men on record), according to the 1978 edition of Guinness Book of Records he was only 7 ft (213cm). Whether there were any camera tricks involved or not, in this film he does look considerably taller than the latter measurement.

Lloyd originally intended to have his character visit Mexico, but, after being accused of racial stereotyping, he changed the location to a remote Pacific island. Despite this, it is not difficult to spot the Mexican influences on this remote town – for one, many of the locals wear sombreros. Prior to this film, Lloyd's main leading lady had been Mildred Davis, though she effectively retired from acting to become Mrs. Harold Lloyd. Wanting somebody who was "exactly the opposite" of Davis, Lloyd happened upon the beautiful Jobyna Ralston, who would go on to star opposite Lloyd in his next five films.

The Monroe Doctrine with the Olney, Roosevelt and Lloyd Corollaries

[boblipton · 9/10 · 8 August 2018]

There's no point in my synopsizing the plot of Harold Lloyd's last movie for Hal Roach. All of his silent features are lots of fun, so Why Worry over those details? It's my favorite of all his features, not because it's clearly better or others are worse, but probably because Harold is so American in this one. Really, it's how we see ourselves when we're honest: rich and self-obsessed and blowing every little problem out of size and ignoring the real issues, but basically kind to giants with toothaches, and when something threatens our real self-interest -- say, by having Jim Mason put his dirty hands on Jobyna Ralston -- then truly terrible in our wrath. Actually, I don't see any world power behaving any different, and the only reason the little guys resent it is because they can't do it themselves.

But enough of politics, modern and ancient and all times in between. I also think that this movie marks a high water for Lloyd. His next movie would be released by Paramount, but it was all his own money and profit, and he would retreat a bit, with GIRL SHY, relying on the big chase sequence, and HOT WATER seeming more like three shorts stitched together.

In some ways, like the other greatest stars of the era (Pickford, Chaplin, Fairbanks) Lloyd was the victim of his own success. He was giving the audience what they wanted because he was a star. A star was not just the player; he was the sort of character he always played in the sort of movie he starred in, and so long as he remained a star, he was stuck doing that, until his public grew tired. That wouldn't happen until the 1930s rolled around, so Lloyd didn't worry.

A laugh amongst war

[thinbeach · 7/10 · 19 December 2015]

What is it with the clowns and revolutions? Keaton's masterpiece 'The General' occurred amongst civil war, Chaplin got plenty of laughs behind enemy lines in 'Shoulder Arms', while Lloyd has done the same here in 'Why Worry?'

Traveling to a remote tropical island in order to recover from health difficulties, in a formerly sleepy town, Lloyd finds himself in the middle of a revolution. Taken for an enemy he is imprisoned, where he befriends a giant, escapes, and together they quell the revolution. The genius here is less to do with how they win the revolution and more to do with how blasé they are about it all. Instead of being fearful about prison, Lloyd is happy to be led their by soldiers, believing, due to language difficulties, that he is being lead to a hotel. Upon escaping, being naive to the revolution brewing, his immediate concern, is how to cure the giants toothache. The giant rolls cannon balls at soldiers and knocks them down like ten pins while Lloyd marks strike on the wall, and amongst the mass of injured bodies, his only concern is whether any of their boots will fit him, after his became wet.

After a neat set up, this sequence of events comprising the second act is very funny, while he gets continues a neat running gag of a friend constantly being maimed while he remains untouched. All the fighting does become a little monotonous by the end, and despite retaining his naive charm, Lloyds does not play a typically likable character - being self involved, disrespectful and a thief. We readily accept this however as we understand it as a parody - of spoilt wealthy brats and of hypochondria - and an excellent one at that.

John Aasen to the rescue!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 4 January 2018]

Why Worry? (somewhat reluctantly included in my list of Lloyd favorites) is the movie in which Lloyd is brilliantly up-staged by John Aasen, here making his movie debut as the giant.

Contrary to popular belief that this was his only film appearance, Aasen actually played in ten more movies - mostly in small roles or bits - before he died in 1938. Lloyd's co-star in this one, the lovely Jobyna Ralston, is pushed right into the background as soon as the giant appears on the screen. In fact, James Mason had a far more important role. Indeed, this is one of the few movies in which the U.S.A. actor had more to do than play the second henchman from the left. Here, he's the chief villain, would you believe? And he's good too!

Directed by Newmeyer in collusion with scriptwriter Sam Taylor, this was also the movie that immediately followed Lloyd's most famous film, Safety Last (1923).

It's certainly a change of pace for both Lloyd and his audience - and a mighty entertaining movie it is, provided you don't find the overwhelmingly consistent racial slurs directed at South of the Border Americans offensive.

I would normally give this one a ten, but I'm the sort of person who finds racial slurs that are way, way over the top, really offensive!

Harold Lloyd predicts a few things

[lee_eisenberg · 7/10 · 1 July 2021]

The goal of Fred Newmeyer's "Why Worry?" is to be funny, and it is. Numerous scenes of Harold Lloyd doing his usual wacky stuff.

However, the movie looks more serious nowadays. The plot somewhat mirrors Woody Allen's "Bananas" (a US tourist going to a Latin American country amid political turmoil), and the part about the renegade soldier plotting a coup mirrors the story of William Walker (who tried to turn Nicaragua into his personal fiefdom in the 1850s). On top of that, Lloyd's character is overmedicated, predicting the opioid epidemic that's currently devastating entire regions of the US (notice how, when it affects white people, it gets called an "epidemic" and people talk about it like they need treatment, while the crack epidemic that devastated black communities in the '80s got black folks labeled "addicts" and society treated them like criminals).

Oh well, that's all tangential. It's an enjoyable movie.

David Jeffers for SIFFblog.com

[rdjeffers · 5 May 2007]

His Best Girl

Monday May 7, 7:00pm The Paramount Theater, Seattle

"Say! Why didn't you tell me I love you?"

Well-known hypochondriac and boy millionaire Harold Van Pelham (Harold Lloyd) travels to a sleepy banana republic to cure his ills. Upon his arrival, it's clear to everyone but Harold that all is not so sleepy. Why Worry (1923), Lloyd's fourth of eleven silent features, was his last with Hal Roach. It also marked the introduction of Jobyna Ralston, the dark-haired beauty who replaced Mildred Davis as Lloyd's leading lady. Playing Van Pelham's nurse, Ralston was joined by Wallace Howe as "Mr. Pipps" the valet and James Mason as Jim Blake, "An American renegade, who, to further his own financial interests, has lashed the riffraff of the Republic into an outlaw force – restless and eager to overthrow the government." Rounding out the cast were Leo White as Herculeo, Blake's pompous "first lieutenant," and Johan Aasen as Colosso, "...that wild hermit from the mountains who almost wrecked our army." Harold's nurse feeds him a steady supply of pills. "She is putting her heart and soul into her work – especially her heart." A longing look and a sigh leave little doubt she wishes she were more than just his nurse. Harold, preoccupied with self-diagnosis and his physician's desk reference, is oblivious. They arrive in "Paradiso – a drowsy city in a dreamy land," and are instantly confronted with peril. Harold remains clueless until his hotel "escort" throws him in a jail cell with Colosso.

Why Worry was easily Lloyd's most hectic feature, jumping from one gag to the next throughout the film. Ralston displayed a range of expressions, from dread to elation, doleful distraction, squinty-eyed fury, adoring sweetness and sly deception, all in the space of six reels.

Bebe Daniels worked with Lloyd through roughly the first half of his career. Her abilities would far exceed those required for simple one and two reel comedies. Daniels jumped at the chance for a dramatic career the instant C. B. DeMille beckoned, and later on, it became clear that her talent was constrained by the subject and format of Lloyd's films.

Mildred Davis was certainly adorable; cupie doll cute with blond curls, in a broadly drawn little-girl package, but with clear limitations. When they married in 1923, Lloyd's old-fashioned mid-west sensibilities demanded that Davis give up her career for motherhood. Ralston came along at an optimal time, as feature films reached their most satisfying, descriptive and complex point. Lloyd's ability to present a succession of gags in the context of a well-developed story had reached a certain maturity, and Ralston was a perfect addition to the pleasant complexity. She became a vital presence in Lloyd's best work, and his perfect counterpoint. Throughout Why Worry, they react with blinking, astonished disbelief to each other's unexpected behavior, while sharing bewildered delight in each others company. Harold whines, "I'm amazed at you! Playing around this way in boy's cloths when you should be looking after my health." Her angry, finger pointing tirade leaves Harold, cow-eyed and in love. In the end, she cures his hypochondria and they fight off an entire army with the help of Colosso, a cigar, a length of drainpipe, a bass drum and a basket of coconuts (try and figure that one out), in one of the funniest scenes ever filmed.

Why Worry opened in Seattle at Jensen and von Herberg's Liberty Theater ("Where the Public Knows It Sees Good Shows") on Saturday, November 10, 1923. Post Intelligencer advertisements announced "6 acts of furious fun, so hysterical that you'll need a straight-jacket to control yourself," with Harold Lloyd "as the boy who gets tangled up in a terrific South American revolution." "He touched your heart in 'Grandma's Boy'! He cured your ills in 'Dr. Jack'! You shrieked at 'Safety Last'! Now he'll tickle you pink with red-hot romance. It's something different again; a roar, a riot – the boy's a wonder!" The program included Will Rogers in Jus' Passin' Thru, and Liberty News with featured stories: "Traffic increases on Seattle's busy streets, Boys of Washington schools do cement work, Making Mapleine, a Northwest product and National leader of B.F.O.E. J. G. McFarlane visits Seattle, with Wallace at the Wurlitzer.

Harold the Hypochondriac

[gbill-74877 · 6/10 · 27 July 2023]

Solid enough at the beginning, which has a rich hypochondriac (Harold Lloyd) going down to a fictional island off of South America for some relaxation with his nurse (Jobyna Ralston), who secretly harbors feelings for him. The man takes so many pills he "rattles when he walks," and seems the unlikeliest of heroes, so naturally he ends up inadvertently getting sucked into battling revolutionary forces. He does so with the help of Colosso, a very large man played by John Aasen, a 7'1" Norwegian American man regrettably in brownface, as some of the revolutionaries are. The scenes with Lloyd and Aasen playing off their size disparity are fun in the beginning, and include Lloyd trying all sorts of ways to pull a tooth for the giant.

Unfortunately, the film devolves into madcap fight scenes that, while energetic, aren't all that funny or impressive from a stunt perspective, so it lagged for me down the stretch. The film is not helped by its stereotypical depictions of the Latin Americans, including general laziness/lethargy and the banana republic type antics of the soldiers, all with their nerves on edge and who easily go off. On the other hand, one can see a mild criticism of American imperialism out of the corrupt and immoral businessman (James Mason). Regardless of all that, there are just not enough strong gags here for a full hour. Meanwhile, Jobyna Ralston is very cute in her giant sombrero and "boy's clothes," but there's not enough of her. Overall, it's amusing, but pretty average fare.