"A hy-po-chon-dri-ac is a man who knows he was born to die — and spends all his life making good at it."
Welcome to "Oh, Doctor!" from 1925 with Reginald Denny (who danced so superbly in "Skinner's Dress Suit") and Mary Astor.
Here's the plot (with spoilers again this time).
Little Rufus Billop didn't have an easy arrival in this world and was not expected to live. He did, however, but with a thermometer in his mouth and shielded from everything dangerous.
As a consequence, he became a hypochondriac. A doctor suggests a sanitarium stay, but Rufus doesn't have the money - yet. The doctor suggests borrowing on the $750.000 he will inherit in three years, but Rufus is convinced no one will be crazy enough to take the risk as the money will go to charity if he dies earlier.
The doctor finds three businessmen who propose to give Rufus $100,000 now and they will get the full inheritance in three years. What a bargain!
Of course, they have Rufus checked through by several physicians beforehand, and when they find out that "Death Watch Mary" is the "patient's" first nurse, they take measures right away and hire a lovely nurse - Dolores Hicks - instead to liven him up.
For Rufus, it's love at first sight, and when he asks the maid what women like and she lets him know they like a man who's "not afraid of nothin'", he decides to become one of those.
He participates in a car race and gets out alive but not unscathed, he has a motorcycle accident and has planned much more from flying to deep sea diving.
You can imagine what his stunts do to the three loan sharks!
They are not the only ones worried, though. Miss Hicks is developing more than nursing feelings for Rufus, and not only does she want him to stop his daring ventures, but also to prevent Cinch, McIntosh, and Peck taking all his money.
So when Rufus tells her he doesn't want to be afraid more, she promises to support him, even in his plan to paint a flagpole on top of a building.
Her plan is to shock the three money lenders who see their investment in danger so much that they will sign the document a lawyer has set up for Dolores which will make the inheritance go back to Rufus.
The plan works, but only when Dolores threatens not to marry Rufus if he doesn't come down immediately.
The movie is based on the book "Oh, Doctor!" from 1923 by Harry Leon Wilson.
What makes it such a charming comedy for me is that it's funny, but not too over the top.
Reginald Denny portrays Rufus as bashful and childlike but not annoyingly whiny, and although I'm not into daredevils, it was enjoyable watching him break free from his fears.
Thanks to the glasses and the flagpole stunt, you are getting clear Harold Lloyd vibes, but it never felt like an imitation.
Mary Astor (who was only 18 at the time, would you have thought?) makes Dolores a very relatable character. Dr. Seaver tells her Rufus is a hypochondriac, so she's amused when she first meets him - I could almost hear her go tsk at him - but then finds there's more and finally falls in love with him.
I like to think that she would guide Rufus through life in the same smart and calm way she does set things straight in the film.
I also love the smile on her face when she tells him to come down off the pole. (Also - don't you love her finger waves and that cloche hat? I do and I would have looked so silly with it, sigh.)
Of course we also have the supporting cast. I don't know them (yet), but it seems all of them were known character actors.
Cinch, McIntosh, and Peck were a brilliant trio. They made me think of Ebenezer Scrooge, just funnier, for example with their individual nervous tics.
I liked Aunt Beulah as well, and the scene in which she brings in a masseuse after Rufus asks for a doctor is hilarious.
The dancing maid was a real hoot.
There's just one problem which we can't seem to avoid with films from those days, we have a - luckily short - scene with an Asian servant and embarrassing title cards. I don't know if he's in the book as well, but we wouldn't have needed him in the film.
And still, definitely a recommendation from me!
As many of the other silent movies I have watched so far I found this one on Fritzi Kramer's blog, thank you!
Fritzi Kramer: Oh, Doctor! (1925) - A Silent Film Review. On: Movies Silently, May 7, 2013

































