Topic: Lost and Found: The Harry Langdon Collection

[BeAStooge]

The end of 2007, Facets Video released a DVD collection of the silent era great Harry Langdon. It's received rave reviews for quality and content.

Paul Kreft presented these Stooge-related comments on the Fan Club's yahoo newsgroup...

I have been slowly going through the set and have found some great Stooge related links.

In the documentary "Lost and Found" they talk about the Columbia Shorts Department and how the great comedians were there at one time: Andy Clyde (who worked with Harry and is shown in some of the films in the set), Buster Keaton, The Three Stooges, etc.

What was really fun was to see a still I have NEVER seen of Moe, Larry, Curly and Langdon together! The Stooges are wearing street clothes but have bamboo pointed Chinese peasant hats on, while Harry is in the center looking at them and smiling. I think it may have been a publicity shot sort of "Welcoming" Harry to the stable of Columbia's comic stars. Who better to do that than the Stooges; the last hold out on the old silent film comedy style.

Another interesting thing is there is a clip of Langdon that has an optional commentary track. The track is narrated by none other than a former Langdon director, Jules White!

If that were not enough, our past guest Ethelreda Leopold makes a cameo apearance in a Harry Langdon Soundie from 1943!

Harry was never out of the public eye during his career, he was constantly working; it is just that he was a bright comet in the comedy heavans that burned out with the public too quickly. He went on to star in more shorts for Christy and Educational as well as direct and work with some of Laurel and Hardy's final feature films. It is no surprise to learn that Langdon and Laurel were good and close friends. Harry could always be counted on for comic relief in a feature for Warners or another big studio, and his work in sound is quite good. He was fortunate to have a voice to match his character and learned quickly not to speak as much as he had in the early sound films. This made his character believable in sound films as well.

When folks ask me to describe the great silent comedians I general say this:

Chaplin was the sentimental one. Keaton was the resourceful one. Lloyd was the plucky one. And, Langdon was the quiet one.

[metaldams]

I picked this set up a few months back, and if you're into silent comedy and Langdon, I highly suggest it.  The majority of his short silent films and a few talkies are all represented and do a good job at showing the evolution of Langdon's screen character.

One thing Mr. Kreft failed to mention is that a good amount of these films have a co-star by the name of Vernon Dent.