The Leather Necker

While it seems completely ridiculous, the diminutive Harry Langdon plays a Marine in this short film. His sergeant has been invited to his girlfriend's house for a dinner party and he's supposed to bring a friend. But everyone is busy and he's forced to bring dopey Harry. When the girlfriend starts paying too much attention to Harry, the Sergeant gets mad. Little did he know that things would soon get a lot worse.

Not a single laugh in this one. Add to that a slopping rear projection car sequence and you have a film that is just plain bad.

Probably one of the better Columbia shorts starring Harry Langdon, this one directed by Arthur Ripley who with Frank Capra wrote the classic Langdon silents. This reportedly is a remake of one of his silent shorts. Langdon't facial reactions often evoke Stan Laurel, but Langdon was doing the blank expression and goofy smile reacting to a pretty girl long before Stan Laurel. This might be why Laurel used Langdon as a gag writer on his last Hal Roach films. He also looks with that split curl down his forehead a lot like Lupino Lane who also was probably influenced by Langdon. Although it is often thought Langdon's career crashed when talkies came in, he was in decline at the end of the silent era when his features after he fired Capra bombed. Langdon actually worked regularly in shorts after that. His stay at Hal Roach was brief. He then starred in shorts for Educational, then moved to Columbia where he remained until his death in 1944. I saw this on YouTube.

Wade Boteler was Harry Langdon's sergeant on a filibuster to some Latin American company. He recounts his troubles wit Harry, who stole Mona Rico's heart from him, then later, when he tried to kill Harry, was frustrated by Harry.... well being Harry.

It's still early in Jules White's career running Columbia's short comedy division, so the budgets are still reasonably ample, and with Arthur Ripley directing, there are some nice bits. Ripley was part of Harry's team back at Sennett, when he was Sennett's once-a-decade breakout star. Now back in short subjects, Harry was still trying to merge his pixilated silent persona with the demands of sound, without tremendous success. Still, the gag sequence when he takes on Boteler with a slingshot is good.