Film & Shorts Discussions > Random Comedy Reviews

The Luck o' the Foolish (1924) - Harry Langdon

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HomokHarcos:

--- Quote from: metaldams on February 19, 2022, 06:32:51 AM ---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.

--- End quote ---
It may have been the right thing. I guess when I'm tired (I've gotten very little sleep the past few days) I tend to be crankier and more critical of what I'm seeing. I like that Madeline Hurlock feels more mature than a lot of the other ones.

metaldams:

--- Quote from: HomokHarcos on February 19, 2022, 06:43:13 AM ---It may have been the right thing. I guess when I'm tired (I've gotten very little sleep the past few days) I tend to be crankier and more critical of what I'm seeing. I like that Madeline Hurlock feels more mature than a lot of the other ones.

--- End quote ---

Madeline Hurlock was 26 here. As a contrast,  Marceline Day was 16 (though comes across extremely mature for a 20 year old in The Cameraman). You’re right though, Madeline does come across as more mature.

Umbrella Sam:
I really enjoyed this one. It’s true that it is a bit disjointed, but at least they kind of tie it together in the end, and the short is pretty much just about Harry being Harry, which is all I can ask for. Harry eating the sandwich is played much slower than most comedians, but because it’s Harry, he makes it work, and it’s funny seeing him walking and crawling around as though he’s drunk. I too like seeing him try to act like a cop and fit in with the older cop; very funny seeing him try to walk in the same way and having difficulty catching up. Pretty much the entire second half feels like what we’d normally expect from Harry Langdon and while I can’t say Harry Edwards is entirely to thank for that (especially given his later history at Columbia), it is worth noting that the pacing does feel more along the lines of a Harry short here than a Sennett one.

The first half is good, not quite as good as the second. The shaving scene is indeed the highlight. Interestingly, the part with Harry being tied to the criminal may be the most famous scene from this, as it was featured in Robert Youngson’s THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMEDY. It’s a good compilation, but I think Youngson misfired with this choice, as there are so many better comedy scenes here. The stuff in the berths is fine; certainly better than most of these berth comedies, but I think it truly does pick up when they get to the shaving scene. Overall, though, what’s good is really good and I enjoyed it too.

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