Lost and Found: The Harry Langdon Collection (1924)

Discovered in 1923 by slapstick pioneer Mack Sennett Harry Langdon quickly came to rival silent comedians like Chaplin Lloyd and Keaton in popularity. Langdon's comic persona of the wide-eyed innocent bewildered by the world around him was developed in such classic shorts as Picking Peaches and His New Mamma which have been restored to their full glory and included in this four-disc set. It also contains most of Langdon's seminal work for Sennett's studio and new restorations of several previously lost films including Smile Please The First 100 Years The Luck o' the Foolish The Hansom Cabman All Night Long Feet of Mud The Sea Squawk Boobs in the Wood His Marriage Wow Plain Clothes Remember When Lucky Stars Saturday Afternoon Fiddlesticks Soldier Man His First Flame Knight Duty Hooks and Jabs and Love Honor and Obey (the Law). Silent with original music score.System Requirements:TRT: 600 mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY/SILENT UPC: 736899113629 Manufacturer No: DV95365 Product Description

Give Harry another try here

Like many other silent comedy-fans, I was introduced to Harry Langdon through the compilations of Robert Youngson. Of the numerous gifted clowns presented there, Harry was the one that captivated me the most (yes, more than Buster Keaton, and I knew Chaplin from before). I adored his character for all its odd traits.

Although my admiration for Keaton grew fast and I quickly regarded him as Chaplin's one true rival, I did not forget Harry and the passion he had evoked in me. However, when I finally got to see his features, I had to pardon myself for being slightly disappointed. The gags felt far and between and were, I thought, usually performed without the sparkle of other talents. Rather, the insecurity which I had sensed in Harry's character and loved him for, I did now suspect to be largely the result of a lasting insecurity in Langdon the performer. While I still enjoyed him in excerpts, he became hard to watch for longer periods.

Do you recognize yourself a bit here? If yes, I guess you belong to the category of people who have more or less given Harry up by now and consider him to be completely overrated. Then, my friend, I am afraid that you have, as I did, missed the whole point. Not unlike when I watched W.C. Fields for the first time, what Harry did not give me was, in fact, what I failed to recognize. Fields was ahead of his time; Langdon did not even belong to any, and is timeless because of it.

IMPORTANT: watch each film in this set chronologically (excluding the extras). I guarantee you; you'll quickly realize that the insecurity of Harry has its outspring from an overwhelming personal SECURITY in Langdon. Take his first film, PICKING PEACHES (1924): here, he appears like any other clown, milking gags in traditional manner. A few films later, however, he has developed his character, with all its strange, childlike habits, such as walking one way just to change direction, and then change direction AGAIN. Only a really secure performer could ever achieve such insecurity so spontainely. Oh yes, he could do otherwise, as early appearances confirm, but this is how he chose to do it. His character is not so often funny for what he does as for the very fact that it is HE who does it; a gag which would seem incredibly weak and stupid in the hands of Chaplin gets hysterical with Harry.

Because I was fortunate enough to realize all this quickly, not ONCE throughout the viewing did I get back the uneasy feeling of the old days. My top favorites in the set got to be THE FIRST 100 YEARS, THE HANSOM CABMAN, ALL NIGHT LONG, [...] IN THE WOOD, SATURDAY AFTERNOON, SOLDIER MAN and the feature HIS FIRST FLAME (which I previously didn't like), but all are enjoyable and the documentary is a treat. Harry Langdon was, plain and simple, a unique comic genius in his very unique way. Long live his work. July 7, 2008

Content details for Langdon Lost & Found

The most likely explanation for the meteoric rise and fall of Harry Langdon's film career are his late start in movies (age 40) and portrayal of a child/man innocent-- a character that didn't translate well in the early talkie era-- Langdon's attempts at falsetto would occasionally lapse into his natural baritone.

LOST AND FOUND: THE HARRY LANGDON COLLECTION consists primarily of shorts made during the height of Langdon's popularity. Bonus features on these four DVDs include alternate versions, never before seen clips, audio commentaries and interviews, Harry's home movies, a 1942 music video and a Langdon documentary. Video quality throughout is remarkably good.


Also recommended for silent comedy fans is SMILES & SPECTACLES - The Harold Lloyd Treasury.


CONTENTS (includes 1 to 10 viewer poll ratings found at a film resource website):
DISC ONE--
(6.9) Picking Peaches (silent-1924) - HL/Alberta Vaughn/Ethel Teare/Vernon Dent/Andy Clyde
(5.6) Smile, Please (silent-1924) - HL/Alberta Vaughn/Jack Cooper/Madeline Hurlock/Tiny Ward/Andy Clyde
(???) His New Mamma (silent-1924) - HL/Andy Clyde/Madeline Hurlock/Tiny Ward/Alice Day/Jack Cooper
(6.5) The First 100 Years (silent-1924) - HL/Alice Day/Frank J. Coleman/Louise Carver/Madeline Hurlock
(6.8) The Luck o' the Foolish (silent-1924) - HL/Marceline Day/Frank J. Coleman/Madeline Hurlock/Kalla Pasha
(7.6) The Hansom Cabman (silent-1924) - HL/Marceline Day/Charlotte Mineau/Andy Clyde/Madeline Hurlock
BONUS:
Horace Greeley, Jr.
Funny Manns #4
Funny Manns #68
Catalina, Here I Come

DISC TWO--
(6.4) All Night Long (silent-1924) - HL/Natalie Kingston/Fanny Kelly/Vernon Dent (uncredited: Andy Clyde/Billy Gilbert)
(7.0) Feet Of Mud (silent-1924) - HL/Natalie Kingston/Yorke Sherwood/Florence Lee/Vernon Dent
(???) The Sea Squawk (silent-1925) - HL/Eugenia Gilbert/Charlotte Mineau/Leo Sulky/Alice Day/Vernon Dent
(6.5) Boobs In the Wood (silent-1925) - HL/Marie Astaire/Vernon Dent/Natalie Kingston/Leo Willis
(7.2) His Marriage Wow (silent-1925) - HL/Natalie Kingston/William McCall/Vernon Dent
(6.1) Plain Clothes (silent-1925) - HL/Clair Cushman/Jean Hathaway/Vernon Dent/William McCall
(7.1) Remember When? (silent-1925) - HL/Natalie Kingston/Vernon Dent/Austin Jewell/Sam Lufkin
BONUS:
Comedy Capers
Photo Gallery

DISC THREE--
(6.8) Lucky Stars (silent-1925) - HL/Vernon Dent/Natalie Kingston/Andy Clyde/Tiny Ward/Ruth Taylor
(6.8) Saturday Afternoon (silent-1926) - HL/Alice Ward/Vernon Dent/Ruth Hiatt/Peggy Montgomery
(6.1) Fiddlesticks (silent-1927) - HL/Vernon Dent (uncredited: Anna Dodge/Leo Sulky)
(7.6) Soldier Man (silent-1926) - HL/Natalie Kingston/Vernon Dent/Andy Clyde/Frank Whitson
(6.2) His First Flame (silent-1927) - HL/Natalie Kingston/Ruth Hiatt/Vernon Dent/Bud Jamison/Dot Farley
BONUS:
Short Afternoon
Heart Trouble Presskit

DISC FOUR--
(5.1) Knight Duty (1933) - HL/Vernon Dent/Nell O'Day/Matthew Betz/Lita Chevret/Eddie Baker
(???) Hooks and Jabs (1933) - HL/Vernon Dent/Frank Moran/Nell O'Day/William Irving
Love, Honor and Obey (The Law) (1935) - HL/Monte Collins (A promo for BF Goodrich)
BONUS:
Lost and Found (documentary)
Hal Roach Announcement
Voice of Hollywood
Hollywood on Parade
Beautiful Clothes
Home Movie May 20, 2008

It's Obvious

It plainly obvious that everyone here that has reviewed this set is a fan of Langdon's, look at all those stars! I too am going to add 5 stars to the rest. This set is worth every cent. My introduction to Harry was through Buster Keaton, I wanted to know who else was out there at the time of Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd and saw Harry's face staring at me through time, and I just had to know more. I purchased The Forgotton Clown and after having watched them time after time I had to know more. I was so excited to see this set. 6 hours of stuff to watch. There is a brilliant documentary that discusses his rise and fall and the many reasons for it. You get to see Harry's Roach talkies which help demostrate why Harry didnt succeed and so many extras. The home movies are both profound and funny. I would not be without this now, I cant wait for the Threes and Crowd and The Chaser set coming out later this year. Yeah Harry is not for all, but if he's for you then so is this set. May 16, 2008

Great Collection!

I have not reviewed on Amazon before, but when I got an email from Amazon suggesting I review this purchase, I could not resist. This is the perfect example of what a collection of silent comedies should be: the best prints that can be found of often rare material, pieced together from various sources; effective musical tracks, that help the movie, not call attention to themselves; commentary tracks on every single film, which give you great historical background on the movies, and even a informative if low-budget documentary. Now as to whether you will like Harry Langdon himself, he is an acquired taste, but anyone who really appreciates silent comedy for the art form it is should enjoy his films. Also anyone who likes Stan Laurel should appreciate Langdon, who was a big influence on Laurel's comedy style. January 21, 2008

Applause!

This is an excellent collection of an unjustly overlooked comedian. For the most part, the prints are superb - among the best I have seen - and although the commentaries tend to duplicate themselves occasionally (perhaps understandable due to the sheer number of them), they provide an excellent education about the comedian for the uninitiated.

Langdon is definitely not your father's Oldsmobile. He is a hard sell to an audience that does not have the patience or attention span to wait for the small flits, misdirections, and half smiles that constitute a fair amount of his comic repetoire. I was struck by the comment (on the documentary) that Walter Kerr used to show a couple of "typical" silent comedies prior to showing a Langdon to a crowd to get them warmed up to his function in the silent comedy world. It actually seems like it might be a good idea!

I did mention the print quality. Apart from the slightly irritating habit of placing a number of title styles within a single film (as many as four or five in some instances), I thought they did an excellent job. The soundtracks ranged from outstanding to curious, but never seriously detracted from my enjoyment of the films, and often enhanced it. I did notice that the print of "Lucky Stars" excised a cheap racial joke (Langdon re-reads his fortune about "falling in love with a dark woman", and sees a black woman in the crowd, which both puzzles and worries him), but as much as I pine for complete prints, I don't feel much harm was done!

This set is a bargain, and it is essential for any student of silent comedy. I cannot recommend it highly enough. If the restored prints of "Fiddlesticks" (an AMAZING comedy), "Saturday Afternoon", "Remember When", and "His MArriage Wow" were all we got, it would still be worth the price. January 16, 2008

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