Film & Shorts Discussions > Random Comedy Reviews

All Night Long (1924) - Harry Langdon

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Paul Pain:




IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0014667/

THE LEATHER NECKER (1935): https://moronika.com/forums/index.php/topic,6756.0.html

We have previously reviewed this short... sort of.  You see, this short was remade as a Columbia talkie short, starring Harry Langdon as well, in 1935.  That was THE LEATHER NECKER.

This short is so much better.  It's actually funny.  Harry is funny; Vernon Dent is hilarious.  The scenes are hilarious and well-done, and overall everything about this short is superior to the remake.

The opening scene does a great job of highlighting Harry and Vernon as the character's they are.  Vernon was an extremely talented man, and he clicks perfectly right here in his first significant film with Harry.

The middle part of the short is the highlight though with the brewing rivalry between Harry and Vernon, especially with Vernon's girl dropping him for Harry on sight.  The battle scene is much funnier here as now it is clear than Vernon is shining the flashlight on Harry so that the opposing troops will shoot at him.

The ending also is a much cleaner and happier resolution with Harry and Vernon even making amends after an explosive battle.

We welcome Frank Capra to the party, and we can see that Harry was Harry before this, but he and Harry will make a legendary pairing for the next 3 years.

NoahYoung:
I just picked this one up in 8mm a few weeks ago and have watched it 3 times already. I have it on an old VHS tape from Video Yesteryear where they slowed it down to a funereal pace, running at about 30 minutes. Because of that, I don't think I had seen it in over 25 years.

<Spoiler Alert!>


My favorite parts, although they rely on inter-titles:
"Boy, this is going to be some party!"
"Where is your girl, Sgt.?"

The ending is great, and unlike a lot of comedies it seems like a lot of thought was put into it. It's not just a throw-away.

I can see the influence this had on Stan Laurel, particularly if you look ahead to THE FIXER UPPERS -- the kissing scene. Also, not as close, but PACK UP YOUR TROUBLES.

Go to 7:05, or watch the whole thing!



Although the Harry and Stan characters are child-like, it's obvious that they were mature deep inside!

Another great one with Vernon Dent is BOOBS IN THE WOOD.

HomokHarcos:
World War I comedies used to be very common - Harry Langdon himself made more in the future. The beginning of this short mocks Parlor, Bedroom and Bath, and the first thing that comes to mind there for me is the Buster Keaton adaptation. The scenes where Vernon Dent and Harry Langdon are together are very good, they had great chemistry together.

I didn’t care too much for the romantic subplot, but the battle scenes were a lot of fun. This came out only six years after World War I ended, so it would have definitely been in the memory of people watching this short when it came out. Considering that, it’s impressive people were willing to laugh at the conflict.

metaldams:
Great comparison to Laurel and Hardy, Noah.  You’re right, you absolutely can see the Langdon influence on Laurel and directly from ALL NIGHT LONG in that kiss…and Mae Busch is fantastic there.

Umbrella Sam:
Yeah, I agree, this is definitely better than THE LEATHER NECKER. For once thing, the whole framing device is way better; when we’re first introduced to Dent here, it’s all dark and mysterious and makes you legitimately wonder how Dent got this way, whereas in THE LEATHER NECKER, it’s just a random car chase with bad rear projection.

HomokHarcos and I have talked a bit about SpongeBob on this forum, and I bring this up again because, while I’ve often tended to see Laurel as a big influence on that, watching this, I see even more of Harry in that; the scene where he’s desperately trying to get Vernon’s attention very much seems like the type of thing you would see SpongeBob and Squidward doing. Slowly seeing Vernon get more and more angry as he realizes the situation with Harry and his girlfriend is wonderful; Vernon was always great with those glares he did. And I agree with metaldams’s observation in the previous thread that Harry’s reaction to being kissed is much better here; it reminds me a bit of the scene where he’s crawling in THE LUCK O’ THE FOOLISH.

The war scenes with Harry are also great; whereas in THE LEATHER NECKER we have that overused slingshot gag, here we get a more intense and fun battle sequence. And, yeah, I also like the fact that in the end, Harry and Vernon actually do kind of make up; it’s a nice way to still make a funny, yet kind of sweet ending at the same time. A very well put together short overall.

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