Picking Peaches

There was a time -- even as late as the 70's -- that Harry Langdon was considered one of the top four silent screen comedy actors, along with Chaplin, Keaton and Lloyd.

Alas, today he is all but forgotten. And Lloyd is not far behind in the forgotten arena.

I was never a fan of Langdon, having only seen a couple of his feature films. But I have to say this short is pretty decent. He had a good comedic style, but an unusual face. Sadly, he died very young in the 1940's

As a bit of tid, he had one son, Harry Jr., who became a photographer of celebrities and last I checked, was still alive and still had an office in Beverly Hills. He must be in his 80'sor 90's by now and recently got married too!!!

This, this first short to appear in theatres starring the great Harry Langdon, is a fun watch, but it really shows its roots as a piece written for another comedian and the degree to which the proper showcase for his comedy in films had not really been found. The film proceeds at a nice jaunty pace without the wild, frenetic slapstick that was associated with Mack Sennett's studios, but the gags there are in the film do not always suit Harry Langdon especially well, nor do they always proceed from character or situation.

At the same time as it doesn't offer much opportunity for his comic character (reportedly already well-developed in Vaudeville) to shine, it also doesn't allow the camera to linger quite long enough for him to draw the comedy purely out of his reactions. It's really the occasional, funny, and wonderfully played moment of expressiveness from Langdon that one has to look for. Intermittent flashes (such as the gag in which the woman's leg seems to be removed, repeated in "His First Flame," and his immediate turning on his heel when his beard disguise is discovered) show the familiar Langdon, but mainly his character here is, as other reviewers have noted, his character here is actually a rather unlikeable cheating husband. He's made even more unlikeable when we're shown how upset he is when he thinks his wife is cheating. It's odd to watch Harry as a ladies' man, and he comes across as rather innocently eager in his pursuit of women.

Mack Sennett, aware that his star was not established in films and never known for being particularly sophisticated, made sure the film included many women (the peaches in the title) in bathing suits. I'm sure no heterosexual male audience-member minded this in 1924, and they won't today either, but it doesn't really make the film as a comedic or artistic piece, so to speak.

There is a nice stunt sequence here, a few very charming early animated sequences, a bunch of good gags, and a bunch of pedestrian gags, and a fairly typical premise. Much better was coming in Langdon's career. If I had seen it without knowing who Harry Langdon was (and would become) I would have thought it was an above-average 1920s two-reeler with a lead-comic who injects some subtle and funny moments into an otherwise unlikeable role. That's what it is.

Picking Peaches (1924)

* 1/2 (out of 4)

Harry Langdon's film debut has him playing a shoe clerk who sneaks out with another woman, which doesn't sit well with his wife when she finds out. There's really not too much humor here, although the film does try to get laughs. The best sequence is when Langdon falls out the window on a ladder but the rest of the humor fails. For some reason the screenwriters thought that having women slap Langdon would fill all the laughs.

This short can be found on the Harry Langdon: Lost and Found Collection, which features four discs worth of shorts.