Why Worry?

Why Worry? ~ The other Harold Lloyd film (other than The Kid Brother) I got to see while on the 2016 TCM Classic Cruise was Why Worry?, the 1923 follow-up to the classic, and perhaps his best known, Safety Last!.  For this, Lloyd wanted to do something different, so no climbing on buildings or crazy stunts. 

Still as his 'glasses character,' Harold Lloyd plays a hypochondriac who needs to get away to some peace and quiet, and visits the fictional South American country of Paradiso. He's accompanied by his nurse, played by Lloyd's third leading lady, Jobyna Ralston.  Paradiso however is on the brink of revolution and may not be very peaceful or quiet for long.

As the battle goes on around him, at first unknowingly and then as he tries to quell the revolution, we see various fun gags.  The best revolves around John Aasen (one of the tallest actors ever) and his toothache, which Lloyd cures, earning his loyalty.  Aasen, who was so much taller than Lloyd, and twice as tall as Jobyna, steals the movie. 

This is a fun silent romp, with new score by Robert Israel, which like The Kid Brother, shows a very different side of Harold Lloyd.  Recommended.

The Kid Brother

The Kid Brother ~ I hadn't planned on seeing this one on the TCM Classic Cruise. First, much to my shame, I had never heard of this Harold Lloyd silent classic. However, after seeing his granddaughter, film historian and preservist Suzanne Lloyd wonderfully interviewed earlier in the day by Bruce Goldstein, I was primed and ready to see it that night. Unlike Lloyd favorites of mine like Speedy and Safety Last!, this was in a rural setting, rather than urban.

Harold Lloyd plays the puny kid brother in a family of tough cowboys - a sheriff father and two rough and tumble older sons - similar to the Cinderella scenario, and owing much to an earlier Hal Roach production, The White Sheep. When a medicine show comes to town, Harold falls for the daughter of the show, Jobyna Ralston (her last as Lloyd's leading lady), while the other two showmen plot to steal money from Harold's family for the county dam. Hilarity ensues.

The Kid Brother has a solid coherent plot, and the gags keep you watching. There are no popcorn or bathroom breaks here, do it beforehand. While there are no high heights in these gags and stunts, there are still right up there with the Lloyd standard. This rarely seen and recently restored film, with newer score by Carl Davis, was Lloyd's favorite of his work, and as I recommend you seeking it out and seeing it, it will be a favorite of yours as well.