Film & Shorts Discussions > Random Comedy Reviews
Feet of Mud (1924) - Harry Langdon
Paul Pain:
IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0014882/
FEET OF MUD is more like three-intertwined skits centered around the theme of Harry wanting to marry his girlfriend. They all share one thing though: skits showing Harry at his best. The funniest Harry Langdon scenes see him, the manchild, thrust into a situation requiring boldness and strength.
Harry Langdon just has a funny character. He handles the football scene fantastically, and the buildup with him sitting next to a teammate with a broken neck and watching another get mutilated on the field leads perfectly into his time on the field. What we see is a classic Harry response to receiving a punt: terror.
The Harry fest continues through the remainder of the film with fantastic scenery and an interesting look at 1920s America. The subway scene is a riot and serves Harry perfectly. His fashion reactions are a treasure of comedy. Likewise, the tong war foreshadows THE CAMERAMAN in a big way and provides more opportunity for Harry to be a manchild and to make great facial reactions.
You won't be disappointed. This one is a good subject in arguing that Harry Langdon made a Mount Rushmore of silent comedians.
HomokHarcos:
It's funny thinking how a comedy about a football game turns into a comedy about a Chinese gang war. The football game I liked watching as a sports fan myself, it's funny to see how the helmets looked back then (their faces weren't very covered). I would have been OK with this taking up the bulk of the film. The Freshman is the most known silent football comedy, but this came out a year before.
Seeing Harry would as a manual labor picking up garbage is fun. I like it when he gets into a hassle with the policeman. Harry more than any other comedian really makes you believe he has the mentality of a child.
Tong wars in the 1920s were a pretty common news topic, my brother actually bough a book about the history of gang wars in American Chinatowns, and the 1920s were filled with rivalries. I like when Harry asks people to translate the message for him, and they all run off scare because of the threatening nature of the letter. Another one of my favorite gags is when Harry is posing as a statue head. Just like this movie came out before The Freshman, it also came out before The Cameraman.
metaldams:
FEET OF MUD is a stone cold classic. Anytime Harry has any dealings with a mannequin or dummy you know you are witnessing something on par with The Sistine Chapel. I also really love the fact that Harry’s mother catches Harry in an opium den and has nothing but loving eyes for her son. That is somebody who is out of touch with reality and is incapable of seeing her son as anything but good. Scary in real life, wonderful for a Harry Langdon comedy.
I’m not going to say too much more about this one except this. Watch this short again with the theme in mind Harry does very little to move forward the action. Things happen to him. The way he catches the football is completely passive. The way he finds Natalie and saves her is completely passive. Several events in between these two things are passive. See how many you can spot, but this for me is what makes FEET OF MUD so wonderful. Langdon is the perfect comedian for this set up.
Allen Champion:
THE MT RUSHMORE OF SILENT COMEDY:
Bevan, Pollard, Semon, Turpin!
Sorry, I was just compelled to post something really stupid!
metaldams:
--- Quote from: Allen Champion on March 21, 2022, 05:55:01 AM ---THE MT RUSHMORE OF SILENT COMEDY:
Bevan, Pollard, Semon, Turpin!
Sorry, I was just compelled to post something really stupid!
--- End quote ---
You’re right, it is stupid.
Everybody knows it’s Bevan, STERLING, Semon, Turpin.
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