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OPEN CLASSIC CINEMA · 1626

Isn't Life Terrible?

192520 minUnited States

Synopsis

A family man wins a sea voyage by selling fountain pens, hoping to provide a holiday he cannot afford. The prize delivers a decrepit ship, unsafe equipment and a troublesome brother-in-law, turning the promised escape into a string of disasters.

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Video edition: Wikimedia Commons
Original language: No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified.
This copy runs: 24:58
Subtitles: No subtitle track in this language

No spoken dialogue. Intertitles: not identified. No subtitle track in this language.

Languages and subtitles

No subtitle track in this language

Wikimedia Commons · Leo McCarey · Public domain

Cast

Charley Chase

Oliver Hardy

DirectorsLeo McCarey

Inspirations

The title spoofs D. W. Griffith's Isn't Life Wonderful. Charley Chase and Oliver Hardy shift the idea of hardship into a farce about a disastrous family vacation.

Sources and availability

General references identify the work and its copy. A reference beside an editorial section is linked to the claims checked in that section.

Wikipedia — film reference Wikidata — film identity and credits Additional film reference

Work catalogued as public domain in the United States.

The public-domain references concern the original films in the United States. Rights can differ for other countries, editions, restorations, music or translations. Sources are listed on each film page.

Availability checked on September 22, 2026.

Photograph credit

Photographs cropped, resized and optimized as WebP, displayed in monochrome.

Charley Chase — Hal Roach; Hal Roach Studios · Public domain
Oliver Hardy — Harry Warnecke, 1900 - 1984 · CC0

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