Film & Shorts Discussions > Random Comedy Reviews
The Luck o' the Foolish (1924) - Harry Langdon
Paul Pain:
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0015096/
THE LUCK O' THE FOOLISH has no plot whatsoever. It's just an amalgam of Langdon-esque sketches.
The first reel has some good moments, but the highlight is definitely Harry shaving in the bathroom and disturbing everyone around him. Harry's simple innocence has he makes a complete fool of himself make this scene a solid piece of work.
The second reel is straight Harry with lots of his long, semi-mournful stares into the camera. He's a boy doing the man's job of a cop. He accidentally eats a tobacco pouch and that leads to a bizarre drunken spell. What then follows is what we expect of Harry: shy and fearful when he has to do what a cop does, keeping the peace. This one definitely ends with a bang though as he saves the day!
The plot between the two reels is loosely connected and quite forced, but it is a pleasant sequence of varying scenes. At minimum, it is an excellent demonstration of Harry's character.
metaldams:
My favorite Harry short so far out of the ones we’ve discussed chronologically and this has long been a favorite of mine. Another Harry shows up here, director Harry Edwards. To Three Stooges fans this is a guy who directed two shorts and was incompetent. He was sadly past his prime and I believe may have had some problems (I want to say drink, but don’t quote me on that), but in the twenties, with Sennett and Langdon, Harry Edwards made a lot of good films and we’ll be seeing them in the weeks to come.
I really enjoy this entire short. I’ve always enjoyed comedians in these cramped train sequences and this is no exception. The shaving scene Paul mentioned is fantastic and I also really love the bit where he is handcuffed to the criminal, getting tossed around all over the place. Most comedians would be flailing away and screaming but Harry has this frozen, wide eyed look the whole time and is utterly confused. It’s so funny.
My favorite part, as well as one of my favorite Langdon bits ever, are the first scenes when he’s a neighborhood cop. It’s a masterclass of Harry trying to fit in but failing miserably. Don’t try to impersonate the neurotypicals, Harry. It’s a losing game, I should know. The way he does that walk trying to impersonate the officer across the street and the awkward salutes he does are hysterical. The coup de grace is when when the cops and the neighbors greet and Harry gets stuck in the middle, totally lost, confused and out of step with everyone else. I just lost it laughing there. Just the whole concept of Langdon trying to guard an entire neighborhood is funny and his frightened reactions once it’s night are all priceless.
The stuff with the villains is also well done, luck of the foolish indeed. Harry thwarts them all with lucky circumstance and nothing resembling skill. He gets blown up and lands in the action and just happens to be holding an object resembling a bomb. I also think it’s funny the way he confuses his wife getting back the wallet as selling herself and then sneaking around on the roof he does as a result. Harry is a completely confused and out of touch character here and the results are wonderful. The first Langdon film I consider a classic. There’ll be more and even better ones to come.
Paul Pain:
--- Quote from: metaldams on February 18, 2022, 06:29:37 PM --- My favorite Harry short so far out of the ones we’ve discussed chronologically and this has long been a favorite of mine. Another Harry shows up here, director Harry Edwards. To Three Stooges fans this is a guy who directed two shorts and was incompetent. He was sadly past his prime and I believe may have had some problems (I want to say drink, but don’t quote me on that), but in the twenties, with Sennett and Langdon, Harry Edwards made a lot of good films and we’ll be seeing them in the weeks to come.
--- End quote ---
Harry Edwards was actually fired from Columbia pictures during the filming of PISTOL PACKIN' NITWITS. That's part of why shooting took so long (along with Harry Langdon's sudden death). The reason some say he was fired: he was drunk on the set. The Three Stooges and Vera Vague both refused to work with him because of his behavior (again, alcohol is debatable).
HomokHarcos:
Another short that feels like two films put together (as in each reel feels like a different film). The train scene reminds me a lot of the stuff Columbia would be doing later. Seeing Harry shave was quite bizarre, that really put into perspective that he actually is an adult. The one scene where he's eating what falls down from the power line reminds me a lot of Stan Laurel. I can really see why people have said that Laurel was influenced by Langdon. Seeing him roaming the streets is pretty good, although as Paul stated there wasn't much of a plot to this film. It was a gag comedy.
Madeline Hurlock is one of my favorite Sennett supporting players, I was happy to see her again here.
metaldams:
About the disjointed feel, according to the commentary track, the original script had more story linking Harry and Marcie talking about needing to get new work after losing the wallet. The comic stuff Harry did on the street was non scripted but so good they left it in sacrificing plot. I think they did the right thing.
Madeline Hurlock appears in a ton of Sennett shorts. The story with her is Sennett tried her out on the set and nobody thought she was special. Then they saw the film rushes and she was extremely photogenic and had great screen presence, so she translated well on film. She did have a unique beauty about her and really stood out.
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