Topic: I Don't Remember (1935) - Harry Langdon

[Paul Pain]

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0026506/

This week we return to the normal sequence with I DON'T REMEMBER, considered one of Langdon's best at Columbia.

This is a cutesy short with a humorous plotline featuring Harry as a lunkhead with the memory of a sardine.  He manages to get himself into a variety of troubles, and all relying on this simple plot device.  Sure, there are pratfalls along the way, and there's even an illegal gambling scene, but it all serves to provide laughs or establish the plot.

Vernon Dent was an exceptionally good choice as Harry's gambling-addicted friend, Oscar, and this may even be Vernon's first Columbia appearance.  It's unsurprising knowing the long working relationship the two had... Vernon had lots of very deep friendships with Columbia actors, especially Shemp Howard as most of all us know.

The other characters are all top-notch and deliver fine performances.  My only complaint is the last two minutes when Harry loses the ticket.  Except for the ending of Harry swimming up to the beach, it was an extremely dissatisfying way to end the short.

9/10

[HomokHarcos]

This comedy is excellent! From the roaring lions,  to him not remembering anything so he has to be bashed on the head. I love the part where he paints the furniture on all of the walls, causing his wife to stumble down when she tries to sit on a chair. There's also a scene reminiscent of The Chaser when he tries to commit suicide, but it gets even better when he tries to to kill Vernon Dent and steal a policeman's gun! Very fun.

[metaldams]

This is definitely a good one.  I remember Charley Chase did a Columbia short where he couldn’t remember things, but a confused Langdon I like more.  Langdon appearing different than the rest of the world around him is always the best Langdon and he acts wonderfully confused in this short with loads of energy to match.  The script is really fast paced and I got a good laugh when Vernon Dent asked Harry to listen to reason.  By this point in the short, this obviously was not possible.

Harry losing, regaining and then again losing that ticket stub in the wind and down the building was brilliant.  Just one situation piling on top of each other with the bulb hitting Harry’s head and jolting his memory, all the other papers blowing amongst the ticket and the car washing the street getting the ticket wet....fantastic.  Oh yeah, and the furniture being painted on the wall situation is also clever and brilliant.

This is a well written, well acted and funny short.  Love it.

[HomokHarcos]

This is definitely a good one.  I remember Charley Chase did a Columbia short where he couldn’t remember things, but a confused Langdon I like more.  Langdon appearing different than the rest of the world around him is always the best Langdon and he acts wonderfully confused in this short with loads of energy to match.  The script is really fast paced and I got a good laugh when Vernon Dent asked Harry to listen to reason.  By this point in the short, this obviously was not possible.

Harry losing, regaining and then again losing that ticket stub in the wind and down the building was brilliant.  Just one situation piling on top of each other with the bulb hitting Harry’s head and jolting his memory, all the other papers blowing amongst the ticket and the car washing the street getting the ticket wet....fantastic.  Oh yeah, and the furniture being painted on the wall situation is also clever and brilliant.

This is a well written, well acted and funny short.  Love it.

I was hoping you'd tell us this was a remake of one of his silents. I would have looked forward to watching that.

[metaldams]

I was hoping you'd tell us this was a remake of one of his silents. I would have looked forward to watching that.

Nope.  As far as I can tell, this one is original, at least to Langdon.  Now like all of these shorts, it’s possible this script or some gags showed up in some silent or earlier talkie I’ve never seen.

[Umbrella Sam]

Watching this short, two later Columbia shorts came to mind: Charley Chase’s THE MIND NEEDER and Sterling Holloway’s MORON THAN OFF. As I’ve mentioned before, I really enjoy Chase’s version, as it gave him a chance to show off his eccentricities, and it’s fun seeing his cheerful, but easily forgetful personality contrasting with his constantly frustrated wife. Holloway’s version isn’t particularly memorable, but that’s because he really wasn’t well suited for physical comedy (in one of his diary entries, Emil Sitka mentioned that Holloway was pretty frail when he worked with him).

As for I DON’T REMEMBER, I really like it. I still think Chase’s very loud and cheerful personality is a bit better of a fit for the bad memory story, but Langdon’s version still works well too. His version is eccentric too, but he’s more quiet. There are a lot of great gags here. I like when Harry has to pretend to be the test subject for the fake doctor, when Harry thinks the lion painting has come to life, and when he goes crazy and starts chasing after Vernon Dent. The chase for the ticket is great too. I especially love when Harry walks up some stairs only to fall when he realizes they’re actually ladder in front of the actual stairs; I feel like that was something Buster Keaton would have done as well. Probably my favorite part, though, is the painted furniture part. It’s pretty clever, and I like that they don’t forget about it either when Vernon Dent returns. Overall, this was a really fun short and while I do slightly prefer Charley Chase’s take, this one is still excellent as well. Easily the best of Langdon’s Columbia shorts that I’ve seen so far.

10 out of 10

Also, I’m curious to find out, does anyone know if Harry actually drew the paintings in this short? I know he did caricature work for BLOCK HEADS and THE FLYING DEUCES, but I’m not sure if he did art work for any of his own films.

[Umbrella Sam]

I’m currently watching the Holloway version again and just realized that many of the gags are the same there as they are here. Again, though, Holloway really just wasn’t that well suited for this type of comedy. Just goes to show that sometimes you really do need the right type of performer for certain bits to work.