Long Pants

Last updated

Long Pants
LongpantsPoster.jpg
Lobby card
Directed by Frank Capra
Written byRobert Eddy
Tay Garnett
Story by Arthur Ripley
Produced by Harry Langdon
StarringHarry Langdon
Gladys Brockwell
CinematographyGlenn Kershner
Elgin Lessley
Edited byHarry Langdon
Production
company
Harry Langdon Corporation
Distributed by First National Pictures
Release date
  • March 26, 1927 (1927-03-26)
Running time
60 minutes
CountryUnited States
Language Silent (English intertitles)
Full movie

Long Pants (also known as Johnny Newcomer) is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Frank Capra and starring Harry Langdon. Additional cast members include Gladys Brockwell, Alan Roscoe, and Priscilla Bonner. [1]

Contents

Plot

The silent tells the story of Harry Shelby (Langdon) who has been kept in knee-pants for years by his mother. One day, however, Harry finally gets his first pair of long pants.

Immediately, his family expects him to marry his childhood sweetheart Priscilla (Priscilla Bonner). Yet, Harry soon falls for Bebe Blair (Alma Bennett), a femme fatale from the big city who has a boyfriend in the mob.

Harry thinks that Bebe is interested in him as well, so he risks everything when Bebe ends up in jail. This leads to a lot of trouble for Harry. Throughout the whole ordeal Priscilla waits for Harry to face reality.

Cast

Critical reception

When it was released, film critic Mordaunt Hall gave the film a positive review. He wrote, "Some hilarious passages enliven Harry Langdon's latest film oddity, Long' Pants...Although these incidents are acted with consummate skill, except for an occasional repetition, it is quite obvious to any male who has made the decisive change from short to long trousers that the idea offers possibilities far greater and more genuine than those that greet the eye. The answer is that Mr. Langdon has once again capitulated to his omnipotent band of gag-men. It may be all very well for Harold Lloyd to rely on mechanical twists, but Langdon possesses a cherubic countenance, which offers him a chance in other directions...Mr. Langdon is still Charles Spencer Chaplin's sincerest flatterer. His short coat reminds one of Chaplin, and now and again his footwork is like that of the great screen comedian." [2]

Film historian David Kalat reports that Buster Keaton, a long-time fan of Langdon's known for his own morbid jokes about death and killings, criticized a scene in which Langdon's character tries to kill Priscilla as "going too far" in making light of murder. [3]

More recently, critic Maria Schneider reviewed Langdon's work and wrote, "Long Pants (1927), also directed by Capra, was a peculiar change of pace for Langdon, and possibly an attempt to poke fun at his baby-faced image by casting him as a would-be lady-killer; sporting little of the ingenuity of The Strong Man, it was a box-office failure that set off the comedian's quick decline into obscurity. An acquired taste, Harry Langdon's gentle absurdities and slow rhythms take some getting used to, but patient viewers will be rewarded." [4]

Film critic Hal Erikson wrote of the film, "Few comedies of the 1920s were as bizarre and surreal as Harry Langdon's Long Pants... Written by future director Arthur Ripley, Long Pants is as kinky as any of Ripley's film noirs of the 1940s. Long Pants represents the second and final collaboration between star Harry Langdon and director Frank Capra, who was fired when Langdon wrong-headedly decided to become his own director, resulting in a series of career-destroying flops." [5]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mack Sennett</span> Canadian actor

Mack Sennett was a Canadian actor, director, comedian and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Langdon</span> American actor and comedian (1884–1944)

Henry "Harry" Philmore Langdon was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films, and talkies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tay Garnett</span> American film director and writer (1894–1977)

William Taylor "Tay" Garnett was an American film director and writer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Snub Pollard</span> Australian actor (1889–1962)

Harold Fraser, known professionally as Snub Pollard, was an Australian-born vaudevillian who became a silent film comedian in Hollywood, popular in the 1920s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Natalie Kingston</span> American actress (1905–1991)

Natalie Kingston was an American actress.

<i>The Strong Man</i> 1926 film by Frank Capra

The Strong Man is a 1926 American silent comedy film starring Harry Langdon, who produced the film. It was directed by Frank Capra in his feature debut.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vernon Dent</span> American actor and comedian (1895–1963)

Vernon Bruce Dent was an American comic actor, who appeared in over 400 films. He co-starred in many short films for Columbia Pictures, frequently as the foil, main antagonist, and an ally to The Three Stooges.

<i>For the Love of Mike</i> (1927 film) 1927 film by Frank Capra

For the Love of Mike is a 1927 American silent romantic drama film. Directed by Frank Capra, it starred Claudette Colbert and Ben Lyon. It is now considered to be a lost film.

<i>Tango Tangles</i> 1914 film by Mack Sennett

Tango Tangles is a 1914 American film comedy short starring Charles Chaplin and Roscoe Arbuckle. The action takes place in a dance hall, with a drunken Chaplin, Ford Sterling, and the huge, menacing, and acrobatic Arbuckle fighting over a girl. The supporting cast also features Chester Conklin and Minta Durfee. The picture was written, directed and produced by Mack Sennett for Keystone Studios and distributed by Mutual Film Corporation.

<i>A Noise from the Deep</i> 1913 American film

A Noise from the Deep is a 1913 American short silent comedy film starring Mabel Normand and Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. The film was directed and produced by Mack Sennett and also features the Keystone Cops on horseback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jameson Thomas</span> English actor (1888–1939)

Jameson Thomas was an English film actor. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1923 and 1939.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gustav von Seyffertitz</span> German actor

Gustav von Seyffertitz was a German film actor and director. He settled in the United States. He was born in Haimhausen, Bavaria, and died in Los Angeles, California, aged 81.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Todd Karns</span> American actor

Roscoe Todd Karns was an American actor. He is perhaps best remembered for playing George Bailey's younger brother, Harry Bailey, in the 1946 film It's a Wonderful Life.

<i>His First Flame</i> 1927 film by Harry Edwards

His First Flame is a 1927 American silent comedy film starring Harry Langdon and directed by Harry Edwards. Additional cast members include Natalie Kingston, Ruth Hiatt, Vernon Dent, and others.

<i>Flight</i> (1929 film) 1929 film

Flight is a 1929 American pre-Code adventure and aviation film directed by Frank Capra. The film stars Jack Holt, Lila Lee and Ralph Graves, who also came up with the story, for which Capra wrote the dialogue. Dedicated to the United States Marine Corps, the production was greatly aided by their full cooperation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Edwards (director)</span> Canadian-American filmmaker and actor

Harry Edwards was a Canadian-born American film director and actor. He worked in films from the 1910s to the 1950s.

<i>Flames of the Flesh</i> 1920 silent film by Edward LeSaint

Flames of the Flesh is a 1920 American silent drama film directed by Edward LeSaint, and starring Gladys Brockwell, William Scott, Harry Spingler, Ben Deeley, Charles K. French, Louis Fitzroy, and Rosita Marstini. The film was released by Fox Film Corporation on January 1920.

<i>Charleys Aunt</i> (1925 film) 1925 film

Charley's Aunt is a 1925 American silent comedy film directed by Scott Sidney and starring Syd Chaplin, Ethel Shannon, and Lucien Littlefield. It was one of a handful of leading roles for Syd Chaplin, older brother of the more famous Charlie.

<i>Threes a Crowd</i> (1927 film) 1927 film

Three's a Crowd is a 1927 American silent comedy film directed by Harry Langdon and written by James Langdon and Robert Eddy. The film stars Harry Langdon, Gladys McConnell, Cornelius Keefe, and Arthur Thalasso. The film was released on August 28, 1927, by First National Pictures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leo Sulky</span>

Leo Sulky was an American actor. He usually appeared in films directed by Del Lord such as Black Oxfords (1924), Yukon Jake (1924), Wall Street Blues (1924), Lizzies of the Field (1924), Galloping Bungalows (1924), From Rags to Britches (1925), and A Sea Dog's Tale (1926); by Harry Edwards such as The Lion and the Souse (1924), The Luck o' the Foolish (1924). The Hansom Cabman (1924), All Night Long (1924), There He Goes (1925), The Sea Squawk (1925), Boobs in the Wood (1925), and Plain Clothes (1925); and by Ralph Ceder such as Little Robinson Corkscrew (1924), and Wandering Waistlines (1924).

References

  1. Long Pants at IMDb.
  2. Hall, Mordaunt. The New York Times, film review March 29, 1927. Last accessed: February 19, 2008.
  3. David Kalat (2011). Dreaming of The Love Next. Kino Lorber.
  4. Schneider, Maria. AV Club, DVD/film review, March 29, 2002. Last accessed: February 19, 2008.
  5. Erikson, Hal. Long Pants at AllMovie.