Film & Shorts Discussions > Random Comedy Reviews
Pistol Packin' Nitwits (1945) - El Brendel & Harry Langdon
metaldams:
This is a short I would love to see the filming dates for.
Yeah, toss this in with HALF-WITS HOLIDAY as the two morbidly curious Columbia shorts. Like Freddie mentioned, I too heard Langdon did the dance routine and fell ill with a stroke shortly after, possibly the same day but am not sure.
Umbrella Sam:
--- Quote from: metaldams on March 07, 2021, 10:14:40 AM ---This is a short I would love to see the filming dates for.
Yeah, toss this in with HALF-WITS HOLIDAY as the two morbidly curious Columbia shorts. Like Freddie mentioned, I too heard Langdon did the dance routine and fell ill with a stroke shortly after, possibly the same day but am not sure.
--- End quote ---
King of Silent Comedy has the dance bit as being shot on December 8. It also cites Bernds’s diary which suggests that production started sometime in November (seems like an unusual amount of time for shooting a Columbia short, but I imagine Edwards’s unreliability could have been an issue).
Paul Pain:
--- Quote from: Umbrella Sam on March 07, 2021, 07:23:59 PM ---King of Silent Comedy has the dance bit as being shot on December 8. It also cites Bernds’s diary which suggests that production started sometime in November (seems like an unusual amount of time for shooting a Columbia short, but I imagine Edwards’s unreliability could have been an issue).
--- End quote ---
Edwards was so unreliable that he got fired mid-production, so I am sure that had something to do with the delays. So I agree with metaldams' comparison to HALF-WITS HOLIDAY.
metaldams:
It’s been a few years since I’ve seen this one and just got around to revisiting it again. Thanks for the date, Sam, as it appears the dance scene was about two weeks before Harry’s death.
It’s funny with health. Curly was deteriorating in these shorts for years and has a stroke.
He lives another almost six years later and even fathers a child (and I just realized he was only a few months older than me when he had his stroke, yikes). Langdon, while getting older naturally, seems fine and he’s gone just like that.
Under the circumstances, this short is OK. Obviously there had to be some padding to complete this, but Christine does a fine job with her song and it’s always a pleasure for me to hear her sing. In this case, almost with an Irish accent, if I’m not mistaken.
Langdon and El Brendel are a strange pairing and what gets me the most is Langdon in a few parts is the Moe of the team the way he speaks to his partner. Langdon in his prime was the meekest comedian imaginable so it’s bizarre to see him ending up insulting El Brendel even slightly.
The fateful dance routine is actually the highlight of the short in my opinion. A nice job by both and El Brendel is refreshing doing just strict physical stuff versus character based. I think I only truly liked one short of his.
Yeah, sad to see Harry go like this. Now that I’m moved into my new place (amongst a sea of boxes) and have WiFi hooked up, you might see a review from me in the next week or two. I’ll be getting to more Langdon sometime, silent era stuff. Definitely Langdon in his prime and a few of these I’d love to read your reactions to. As far as the Columbia’s, interesting batch but silent Langdon is mandatory to understand him. I must say, I DON’T REMEMBER was one heck of a pleasant surprise.
Freddie Sanborn:
During his time at Columbia, Langdon said this in a press interview: “Without character, the comedian is lost. When I play in what I call the O-Ouch-O comedies, where the comedian runs about, is hit on the head, etc., I am just an animated suit of clothes.” Nothing endears someone to their employer like trashing them in the press.
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