Film & Shorts Discussions > Random Comedy Reviews

Remember When? (1925) - Harry Langdon

(1/1)

Paul Pain:




IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0016283/

REMEMBER WHEN? is also known as LOST & FOUND apparently.

This short is a smattering of various flavors of comedy that Harry Langdon did so well.  Nervous denial of wrongdoing, youthful innocence, obliviousness to danger, and bizarre resourcefulness all play into this short.

Harry starts as a kid in an orphanage who runs away.  Then we get to see him as the tramp type he played so well.  Harry is perfect for this because his meticulously clean shaven child-like mannerisms are so the antithesis of a tramp.  The gags this creates are numerous and done to perfection, and you get the feeling that nothing in this short would have been funny except in the hands of an acting genius like Harry.

The concept of Harry as a circus hobo is funny on paper.  Somehow, Harry is friends with an elephant (echos of ZENOBIA, anyone?) who assists him in some tasks; but likewise Harry is a troublemaker throughout this.

Take for instance the picnic table scene.  Harry sits down and sees a picnic spread.  He grabs a piece of bread, but then can't decide which plate's bread to steal.  So he keeps grabbing and putting down different pieces of bread.  Then he can't decide if he wants hot sauce or salt, so he takes different pieces of bread and can't decide which to eat.  At one point, he puts two pieces of bread between... two pieces of bread.  This is something that's only funny with Harry's manchild face.

The bearded lady isn't much of a gag because it's revealed immediately that she just dresses up as a bearded lady and isn't really one at all.  But it creates some fun interaction between Natalie Kingston and Harry.

Umbrella Sam:
The story has elements of Chaplin in it, but the short still manages to be very much a Harry Langdon short. Harry putting the two pieces of bread between the other two pieces of bread is indeed a highlight. I also like his attempts at interactions with people in the circus; his attempting to hammer in the tent stake in only to just lightly tap it after everyone has left is a really good Harry moment. There’s also a funny moment early on where he’s running from the tourists and the sheriff and starts mimicking the sheriff when he tells them to cross the state line. Heck, you can even see some elements of his first two independent features in here; the part with the chickens calls to mind the fruit part from TRAMP TRAMP TRAMP, and him telling the circus people about the orphanage he grew up in is very similar to his telling people about Mary Brown in THE STRONG MAN. Overall, another solid short, and this one has a very sweet ending as well.

metaldams:
      REMEMBER WHEN is another fine Harry Langdon short that feels like a transition into features, as there’s a lot of straight storytelling and less laughs.  Well, it turns out the very next film that was shot after this, if not released, was HIS FIRST FLAME, Langdon’s first filmed feature.  So yes, at this point, Langdon really was eyeing bigger things.  Want to make a couple of comedic comparisons on this one with both Chaplin and Lloyd.

      In the case of Chaplin, the influence is obvious.  Langdon is a homeless guy, little bag carrying his meager belongings on a stick hunched over his shoulder, walking around whatever dirt road he stumbles upon.  Langdon being influenced by Chaplin is obvious here.  However, one can argue perhaps Langdon also influenced Chaplin as well.  The traveling circus setting brings to mind Chaplin’s feature THE CIRCUS - which had not yet gone into production.  Also notice the way Langdon gets Vernon Dent’s attention and offered a job in the circus.  Langdon gets stung by bees and (his stunt double) as a result does all these backflips and cartwheels and what not.  Dent, impressed by Langdon’s physicality, gives him a job.  Chaplin is only funny and gets a job because a donkey is chasing him around the circus, causing him to make the audience laugh as a result.  So in both cases, whatever talents the comedians are perceived to have are initiated by accident from the insect/animal kingdom.  So yes, a case where it’s probably safe to say Chaplin influenced Langdon and vice versa.

      As far as Lloyd, I’m glad we just watched NOW OR NEVER because it’s fresh in my mind.  Notice both films have childhood flashback sequences where the comedian is with their sweetheart.  The difference is how they meet up as adults.  With Lloyd, it’s instant recognition, never mind the years apart and the changes of puberty making the characters perhaps not as recognizable as they should be - at least instantly.  Harold sees Mildred at the train station and it’s instant they’re back together, no hassle or anything.  Love, in a lot of these shorts, comes easily for Lloyd - that would change as the features go on.  But in Langdon’s case.  You got her fake beard so Langdon most definitely doesn’t recognize her.  She sees adult Langdon, nothing instant.  In this case, we get the whole idea of Langdon going to the orphanage, hearing her story, getting the letter, removing her beard.  Once this happens, the story is over.  Them getting together is the big finish.  When Lloyd sees Mildred, the story just begins, them getting together is obvious.  So yes, two different approaches to a similar plot device.

HomokHarcos:
Supposedly in the 1920s critics were calling Langdon the next Chaplin, ironic, considering Langdon was actually older than Chaplin. I can definitely see that here, though, both settings are very Tramp like.

The forest/road part was my favorite. I just like the scenery so much, and like Paul stated he might be even more sympathetic in this role than Chaplin, it's just hard not too feel bad for him. Pathos might not have worked for Keaton or the Marx Brothers, but it did for Harry Langdon. I was thinking about the fact that this came out before The Circus, but knowing that now, it does seem like Chaplin might have been influenced by Langdon.

metaldams:
….and Harry has a blind girlfriend in THE STRONG MAN - five years before CITY LIGHTS was released.

Navigation

[0] Message Index