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A Doggone Mixup (1938) - Harry Langdon

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Offline Paul Pain

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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]
« Last Edit: December 21, 2020, 09:00:03 PM by Paul Pain »
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Offline GreenCanaries

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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.
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Offline 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
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline 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!


Offline Paul Pain

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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.

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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Offline metaldams

      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.

- Doug Sarnecky


Offline HomokHarcos

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
I've been reading a biography on Harry Langdon. He was touring Australia and England during that time.


Offline metaldams

I've been reading a biography on Harry Langdon. He was touring Australia and England during that time.

Thanks!  Makes sense considering that directing credit was in England,

What bio are you reading?
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline HomokHarcos

Thanks!  Makes sense considering that directing credit was in England,

What bio are you reading?
Little Elf: A Celebration of Harry Langdon by Chuck Harter and Michael J. Hayde.


Offline metaldams

Little Elf: A Celebration of Harry Langdon by Chuck Harter and Michael J. Hayde.

Cool.  I’ll have to check it out.  The Langdon bios are all expensive, but I’ll cave in one day,
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline HomokHarcos

Cool.  I’ll have to check it out.  The Langdon bios are all expensive, but I’ll cave in one day,
I usually like buying physical books, but it was expensive so I bought the Kindle edition. I'd definitely recommend this book for Harry Langdon.


Offline Umbrella Sam

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I’ve been wanting to read up more on Langdon too, but those biographies really are very expensive. For that matter, the books on Charley Chase are way too expensive as well.
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Offline Umbrella Sam

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Well, it’s not great, but I wouldn’t really call this short terrible either. I do see Paul’s points about the plot holes, but they’re all minor things that I don’t think really affects the characters’ personalities, which usually tends to be my problem with plot holes.

As far as this short goes, the best moments are at the beginning and the end. At the beginning, I like when Langdon tricks his boss by standing behind him and I also like how Harry become impressed with “genuine imitation”. The climax, on the other hand, is essentially THE GOLD RUSH meets MICKEY’S TRAILER, but I mean that in a good way. It’s fun and I can see metaldams’s point about not quite milking it enough, but for a Columbia short, I think this is actually quite impressive by their standards. The supporting cast is great; Ann Doran, Vernon Dent, Bud Jamison, all do well in their roles.

Unfortunately, the middle of this film is pretty tedious, and it all amounts to the fact that it’s simply the dog causing trouble and not much else. Yeah, they try to throw in stuff with Harry knocking stuff over, but it’s just not that special and outside of the scene with him praying, I didn’t particularly enjoy it. So, yeah, it is pretty boring for a good amount of it, but I still enjoyed at least some of it.

6 out of 10
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Offline metaldams

I’ve been wanting to read up more on Langdon too, but those biographies really are very expensive. For that matter, the books on Charley Chase are way too expensive as well.

Yup!  Exactly, Chase is the other one, same scenario.

I’m not good with these apps.  I know one of the Langdon books is available cheap on Kindle like Harkos mentioned, but I’m not sure what I have is compatible with Kindle.  I download books from iTunes and they show up on some app on my iPad.    I got Buster and Rob Halford’s auto biographies that way.  Langdon’s is on Amazon.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Umbrella Sam

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Yup!  Exactly, Chase is the other one, same scenario.

I’m not good with these apps.  I know one of the Langdon books is available cheap on Kindle like Harkos mentioned, but I’m not sure what I have is compatible with Kindle.  I download books from iTunes and they show up on some app on my iPad.    I got Buster and Rob Halford’s auto biographies that way.  Langdon’s is on Amazon.

I occasionally use iBooks if I don’t feel like having to order a book and waiting for it to arrive, but generally I tend to prefer actually having physical copies of books. I just checked and it looks like Harry Langdon: King of Silent Comedy is available through iBooks, but not Little Elf.
“I’ll take a milkshake...with sour milk!” -Shemp (Punchy Cowpunchers, 1950)

My blog: https://talk-about-cinema.blogspot.com


Offline metaldams

I occasionally use iBooks if I don’t feel like having to order a book and waiting for it to arrive, but generally I tend to prefer actually having physical copies of books. I just checked and it looks like Harry Langdon: King of Silent Comedy is available through iBooks, but not Little Elf.

Yeah, it’s available - for $39.99.  May as well get the physical book for that price.

I’m cool going digital if it saves me money.  I bought Rob Halford’s newly released auto biography Confess for $15 digital, it’s $30 physical.  That’s worth it.  If the Langdon book was $15 or $20 digital, I’d probably download it.
- Doug Sarnecky


Offline Umbrella Sam

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True. I’m still waiting for the same reason.

There’s a YouTube channel that has collected a bunch of Harry’s shorts as well as his supporting roles. I’ve been watching some of those clips of his supporting roles and realized that Harry probably had the most interesting post-silent career of all the 4 major silent comedians. While Keaton was usually hired to either be like silent Keaton or Elmer in his later appearances, Harry’s roles were actually quite varied, to the point that I think he really could have had a great career as a character actor had he not unfortunately died so early.
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Offline Paul Pain

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I've been reading a biography on Harry Langdon. He was touring Australia and England during that time.

Thanks for sharing this information!
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