Film & Shorts Discussions > Random Comedy Reviews
A Doggone Mixup (1938) - Harry Langdon
Paul Pain:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030065/
If you suffer from cataracts, gonorrhea, irritable bowel syndrome, cancer, kidney disease, or stomach ulcers, please do not watch this.
Holy doghouses, Batman, is this awful. I don't mean awful like SWEET AND HOT, but more like El Brendel or YOKES ON YOU. This short, most of the way, isn't even funny. This script should have been burned on camera. And crazier is that it's been 3 years since Harry's last short, as 1935-1938 was the first time Harry left Columbia.
Now, Harry is fantastic in this one, and we get to see Bud Jamison as a shyster, Vernon Dent as an ill-tempered boss, and Ann Doran as a long-suffering housewife, so the acting is fantastic. But the best actors Jules White has all will still stink after standing in a dog kennel.
This plot is weird and full of so many holes. So Harry lives in an apartment, but in some scenes he's on the first floor so dog can climb through the window, yet likewise his wife looks WAY down at him to call him in for dinner. The dog can teleport through walls to eat Harry's dinner and apparently is stronger than an Ironman competitor.
Nothing makes sense except Harry's wife. She is the only thing that's reasonable. Harry makes no sense. The neighbors make no sense. The co-workers make ZERO sense. Herbert makes no sense, but was probably a dig at Herbert Hoover. The apartment building makes no sense. The trailer hitched outdoors and held only by one thin rope makes no sense. NOTHING makes any coherent sense enough to justify this short. Even the ending is unfunny and makes no sense.
There are almost no redeeming qualities here.
1/10 [poke]
GreenCanaries:
That shot at 12:56 - definitive Blanche Payson footage. Almost looks like she's about to throw a sucker-punch right into the lens. I'd be cowering, too.
When I saw this a long while back, I thought it was alright, and watching it again, I still think so. I thought Harry being an obsessive bargain hunter was a decent premise and through-line, coming back up sporadically as the short goes on to focus more on the trials and tribulations of having the dog. Good callback to it at the end, too. Ann Doran was her usual solid (and, might I say, her usual very pretty) self as Mrs. Langdon.
I liked Harry sneaking in behind Vernon as the latter wonders where he is; Vernon's sarcastic "Moving in?" and Harry hitting his head on the doghouse roof; the pan from the clock to a fuming Ann; Harry's reaction to Ann's sarcastic elephant remark; Harry's casually demonstrative "I'll scold him" and his later odd "larger house or a smaller dog collar" line; the reversal/callback to the "sir/ma'am" mixup earlier in the short; Harry's bizarre door-kicking calisthenics; Harry's casual "Thanks" to The Man Upstairs; the reveal of the doghouse being pulled behind the trailer; and the bed or whatever coming down on Harry's noggin right after he announces he'll see what's going on.
Nice location stuff in the final minutes, too. Some good stunt work with the trailer as well. This would be borderline unthinkable by the time the Columbia shorts department enters the '50s. And again, the bargain callback was a decent way to wrap things up. Always nice to see James C. Morton.
Worth noting this was directed by Charles Lamont (RESTLESS KNIGHTS, PLAYING THE PONIES). Nice to see the original titles at the beginning, too, which
weren't present in the video I had previously viewed. Funny how Columbia had a scribe named Charles Melson and an editor named Charles Nelson at the same time.
Normally I just read these or contribute trivia, but as in the case of ONE A.M., I felt compelled to throw in a coupla cents this time around. Also, I'm kinda surprised: a 1/10 from the Heartthrob of Millions and no B.I.H.?
Overall, sure as hell beats HORSING AROUND.
metaldams:
Will watch this short this weekend, but I need to read a bio on Langdon. Not only did he not do a Columbia short in 1936 or 1937, but he has no on screen credits as an actor anywhere, then was very active again 1938 - 1944. He directed one feature in England in 1937.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0300663/?ref_=nm_flmg_dr_1
HomokHarcos:
I could honestly understand why Langdon's wife would be angry here. She seems like a genuinely good person who has a miserable life because she is married to Harry. Vernon Dent is his boss, but is mostly at the beginning. When I saw the title I was expecting it to be like that Tex Avery cartoon where a man thinks he is a dog. Herbert is causing most of the problems here and steals the show. The ending reminded me of The Gold Rush, but fortunately Herbert saved the day!
Paul Pain:
--- Quote from: GreenCanaries on December 10, 2020, 02:59:56 AM ---Normally I just read these or contribute trivia, but as in the case of ONE A.M., I felt compelled to throw in a coupla cents this time around. Also, I'm kinda surprised: a 1/10 from the Heartthrob of Millions and no B.I.H.?
Overall, sure as hell beats HORSING AROUND.
--- End quote ---
Yes, I thought this was that bad. I found those same gags you referenced to be forced or weak. [pie] >:D
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