Film & Shorts Discussions > Random Comedy Reviews

Long Pants (1927) - Harry Langdon

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Umbrella Sam:
Probably the film I was most curious about going into this, as I knew of its controversial reputation. Here’s the thing; I’ve mentioned before that Langdon’s character is almost in an entirely different reality from everyone else and as such, he can often make dark gags work. But even Langdon couldn’t pull off that attempted murder scene; it’s way too discomforting and, while the gag is supposed to be that he’s too incapable to pull it off, it still does put a very unlikable spin on the character. And, Harry being Harry, it’s really drawn out.

But I’m more on metaldams’s side here; that’s really the only part of this film I don’t like. In fact, you could actually remove that one sequence and still follow along to the film. Yeah, think about it; if they just cut from Harry at his wedding arguing with his father to the scene of them discussing Harry’s abrupt departure, the plot would still make sense, and it would also protect the innocent quality of his character that is prevalent throughout the film. The idea of him falling in love with Bebe does feel in line with his oblivious character and there is something oddly satisfying about him realizing in the end who she really is and deciding he wants out. You have to remember that the initial idea is that this is a character that’s been kept out of long pants for years so he won’t get in trouble, and once he does get into them, he has to learn for himself the difference between right and wrong. That’s really not a bad concept. And, to top it all off, it does have a really great comedy sequence in the second half. Yeah, the cop-dummy part is fantastic. Langdon moves and panics in the way only Langdon can do, and it’s also funny seeing him run around with the wrong crate. The rest of the comedy revolves around Harry’s obliviousness to seeing Bebe commit these horrible acts and not realizing what’s going on. I think the scene with her robbing the man on the street would have played really well with sound; I can just imagine Langdon thanking the man for his generosity as he hands him his wallet. And, again, it actually does kind of make sense for Langdon’s character; he didn’t see Bebe pull the gun on the man, he legitimately thinks the man is just giving him stuff.

So, yeah, a flawed film, but it’s really only one part that ruins it and, like I mentioned, you could very easily remove that sequence and make it a much better film. Is it the worst Langdon feature? Well, we’ll see, but I will say I have seen a bit of one of the upcoming films and it has a scene in it that infuriates me so much...and unlike this film, you can’t remove it and have the plot make sense. So I’m going to say it’s probably not the worst Langdon feature, but we’ll see. As it stands, LONG PANTS is a film that had a bad idea mixed in with lots of good ideas; this is the film where the Langdon-Capra fallout happened and you can tell just by how disjointed that sequence is in comparison to the rest of the movie.

HomokHarcos:
My opinion of the movie after my first viewing, and my re-evaluation after reading your reviews is different. After my first watch I loved this movie, and it was my favorite Langdon feature. Bebe was a highlight of the movie, and I can easily see why Langdon would fall for her. When I first watched this movie I was the same age as Alma Bennett when this movie came out, and I found her attractive. Probably my favorite vamp in a Langdon movie. I love the scenes Harry has with her, especially when trying to get her past the cops, and the fight scene where the women both take their tops off to fight, and Langdon decides to take his top off, too. But Paul's comment makes me also reconsider this whole relationship. As he noted, Langdon is usually confused by women and doesn't understand attraction, so the fact that he is actively attracted to her is unique.

I've also heard people complain about Langdon playing an adolescent, but in my view he wasn't supposed to actually be that young. I interpretated it as his parents knowing how childish he was and being reluctant to let him go out on his own, and trying to arrange a marriage for him, so he doesn't fall for a bad woman. I do find Priscilla to be much less entertaining than Bebe.

Now on to the most infamous scene of Harry trying to kill his wife. Frank Capra, when asked about this scene, said it was Harry's idea and he agreed that it ruined the film. Now, we know that Capra can be unreliable, and he may have been trying to deflect it to Harry, but I do think it being Langdon's idea is not far fetched. I agree with Umbrella Sam that it could have been removes from the movie without affecting the plot, and that's right. On my first viewing I thought it was really funny, it reminded me of Wile E. Coyote trying to attack the Road Runner and always failing, but yeah it destroys the whole mood of the movie.

metaldams:

--- Quote from: HomokHarcos on July 09, 2022, 06:31:15 PM ---I've also heard people complain about Langdon playing an adolescent, but in my view he wasn't supposed to actually be that young. I interpretated it as his parents knowing how childish he was and being reluctant to let him go out on his own, and trying to arrange a marriage for him, so he doesn't fall for a bad woman. I do find Priscilla to be much less entertaining than Bebe.

--- End quote ---

That’s a really interesting take I never thought of.  Makes sense.

This thread got messed up somehow.  It was moved to archived topics a few days ago and I had to move it back to the Random Comedy Reviews section.  Somehow FreddieSanborn’s post and my response are missing.  Have no clue what happened.

Umbrella Sam:

--- Quote from: HomokHarcos on July 09, 2022, 06:31:15 PM ---On my first viewing I thought it was really funny, it reminded me of Wile E. Coyote trying to attack the Road Runner and always failing, but yeah it destroys the whole mood of the movie.

--- End quote ---

Yeah, I was actually thinking along the same lines regarding the Wile E. Coyote/Road Runner connection, although in that case, it’s at least understandable that a carnivorous animal would be trying to hunt its own food, and I can see why audiences would feel bad for the Coyote in that context. I think if this was its own short and it revolved more around constantly punishing Langdon for what he’s trying to do, it probably could have worked as a comedy, but it really does not work well in the context of a movie where they’re clearly trying to make you root for him.

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