For a non Stooge Columbia short, this is OK. Like I’ve said before, I’m usually not so concerned with plot in these things as I am in pace. This short certainly moves at a nice pace. Lots of scenery changes for a fresh perspective, so we get Harry in the office, good outdoor scenes in the backyard with dog causing ample destruction and then later on, the stuff by the cliff with the trailer is a bit thrilling. I agree with HomokHarcos, I too thought THE GOLD RUSH with the trailer on an angle off a ledge. The scene didn’t come close to milking the comic potential the way Chaplin did, but fun enough on its own, I suppose. Yes, a good supporting cast that’s always fun for Columbia fans and agreed with GreenCanaries, a pretty intimidating Blanche Payson moment. That was one Hell of a close up! I too like Ann Doran. She appears in so many of these Columbias over a few year period, especially with Charley Chase yet only appeared once with The Three Stooges. I think it’s because she was cast as a wife so often and let’s be honest, she wasn’t the Mrs. Howard or Mrs. Fine type.
For a Langdon film, he’s back with the mustache again and he’s starting to look older, a combination that robs him of his trademark baby face. Langdon at his best had a very unique comic character most actors could not pull off. Very slow and confused mannerisms and he always seemed to act a step or two behind the rest of the world. For example, whenever a crowd runs away from something, Harry will run away a few seconds after in the opposite direction of the crowd. When he speaks or pantomimes, it’s usually at a different cadence than the rest of the cast. That’s the genius of Langdon. Here, he’s very average and workman like. He does the job, but most other comics could have done this. He does give Ann Doran one trademark Langdon wave and I do like the prayer scene very much, portrays an innocence and faith that works for Langdon. But these moments are fleeting. The rest of the short, again, very workman like. It has been a few years since he’s been on screen, perhaps he was consciously trying for something new, just a guess.
So bottom line, a good enough Columbia short yet not representative of what Harry Langdon is best at.
