Considering that Harry Langdon was one of the top movie comics of the mid-1920s, this film will probably come as quite a bit of a surprise because he plays a role that isn't terribly funny--nor was it really intended to be. Instead of a hilariously funny film, it's a pleasant little movie with a few small laughs at most. Now this isn't really a complaint, because it IS a decent film, it just isn't a slapstick or belly-laugh comedy that you might expect from Langdon.
According to the stories I have read about Langdon, after some success in films it all "went to his head" and he quit the studio and started off on his own--thinking he could write, direct and produce masterpieces. Considering that he is almost unknown today, you can tell he was not a success in this venture. In fact, for years he had a hard time getting work until Hal Roach hired him in the late 1930s to write gags or act in his new one-hour format films. I've seen quite a few of them lately, though this is only the second starring Langdon I've seen. All of them are moderately funny--some worth seeing and some definitely not! None of them are stylistically like Roach's Laurel and Hardy or Our Gang films, but are instead light comedies.
In this one, Langdon plays a forgetful mouse of a man who has been happily married for 20 years. Infortunately, on the night of his surprise anniversary party some bizarre events conspire to make him miss the party. He had been accused of murdering a woman but instead it was only a mannequin from his department store he nicknamed "Carole"--perhaps after actress Carole Landis who was under contract with Roach at the time. Instead of telling his wife that he was late because he was at the police station he tried to sneak back in the house. The wife naturally catches him along with a shoe and some other accessories from the mannequin and she thinks he's been having an affair. This story idea is pretty novel but unfortunately one where a SIMPLE explanation could have avoided the mess that their lives became and that is a problem. But instead of being a normal person and just telling her exactly what occurred and taking her to the police station to verify the story, we spend forty more minutes until the truth comes to light. Now understand, the film is enjoyable and worth a look--it's just that the plot doesn't make much sense and they should have worked this out better before filming. IMDb claims it was shot in only 15 days and this would lend credence to my feeling they rushed the film before working out all the kinks. Watchable but nothing more.
According to the stories I have read about Langdon, after some success in films it all "went to his head" and he quit the studio and started off on his own--thinking he could write, direct and produce masterpieces. Considering that he is almost unknown today, you can tell he was not a success in this venture. In fact, for years he had a hard time getting work until Hal Roach hired him in the late 1930s to write gags or act in his new one-hour format films. I've seen quite a few of them lately, though this is only the second starring Langdon I've seen. All of them are moderately funny--some worth seeing and some definitely not! None of them are stylistically like Roach's Laurel and Hardy or Our Gang films, but are instead light comedies.
In this one, Langdon plays a forgetful mouse of a man who has been happily married for 20 years. Infortunately, on the night of his surprise anniversary party some bizarre events conspire to make him miss the party. He had been accused of murdering a woman but instead it was only a mannequin from his department store he nicknamed "Carole"--perhaps after actress Carole Landis who was under contract with Roach at the time. Instead of telling his wife that he was late because he was at the police station he tried to sneak back in the house. The wife naturally catches him along with a shoe and some other accessories from the mannequin and she thinks he's been having an affair. This story idea is pretty novel but unfortunately one where a SIMPLE explanation could have avoided the mess that their lives became and that is a problem. But instead of being a normal person and just telling her exactly what occurred and taking her to the police station to verify the story, we spend forty more minutes until the truth comes to light. Now understand, the film is enjoyable and worth a look--it's just that the plot doesn't make much sense and they should have worked this out better before filming. IMDb claims it was shot in only 15 days and this would lend credence to my feeling they rushed the film before working out all the kinks. Watchable but nothing more.