Harry Langdon [1884-1944] Page at Magic Lantern Video & Book Store

B I O
h e r e

after years in vaudeville, signed with Mack Sennett's company in 1923 at age 40
In 1926, Harry decided to form his own company, the Harry Langdon Corporation, and he immediately got a six-film deal with First National; in 1929-30 Hal Roach gave him a contract and did eight films; 1932 signed with Educnl; 1934 Harry signed with Columbia
Star on the Walk of Fame

the great baby-faced comedian Harry Langdon parlayed his man-child persona into a string of hit Mack Sennett comedies. Working with writers Frank Capra and Arthur Ripley, Langdon became a superstar, and brought them along when he quit Sennett to form the Harry Langdon Corporation. His first three pictures were hits, including "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp" [1926], which starred a young Joan Crawford, "The Strong Man" [1926], and "Long Pants" [1927], the latter two directed by young Capra. Unfortunately, Langdon's ego had swollen with fame, and he fired Capra and began directing himself, launching a string of unsuccessful films that totally derailed his career.

"Slapstick Encyclopedia, 1909-1927" DVD Box Set [2002]
Curated by film historians David Shepard & Joe Adamson
Image Ent. b&w DVD [4/2002] 5 disks for $62.99
includes 53 complete shorts plus snippets, from directors & comedians Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Monty Banks, Charley Bowers, Charlie Chaplin, Oliver Hardy, Buster Keaton, Harry Langdon, Stan Laurel, Max Linder, Harold Lloyd, Will Rogers, Larry Semon, Mack Sennett, Ben Turpin & Bert Williams
Disk Three is entitled "Sennett In The Twenties" and includes "All Night Long" [1924] with Harry Langdon & Vernon Dent; "His Marriage Wow" [1925] with Harry Langdon & Vernon Dent; "Afternoon" [1926] with Harry Langdon & Alice Ward

"Harry Langdon: The Forgotten Clown" [2003]
Kino Video b&w DVD [9/2003] out of prodn/used
three silent feature films: "Long Pants" [1927] directed by Frank Capra, with Priscilla Bonner & Alma Bennett; "The Strong Man" [1926] directed by Frank Capra, with Priscilla Bonner; and "Tramp, Tramp, Tramp" [1926] co-starring Joan Crawford

Lost & Found Harry Langdon DVD Collection box set

"Lost and Found: The Harry Langdon Collection" DVD Box Set [2007]
Facets Video b&w DVD set [12/2007] 4 disks - out of prodn/used
includes "All Night Long", "Beautiful Clothes Make Beautiful Girls" [1942 sound short], "Boobs In The Wood", "Feet of Mud", "Fiddlesticks", "The First 100 Years", "The Hansom Cabman", "His First Flame", "His Marriage Wow", "His New Mamma", "Hooks and Jabs", "Knight Duty", industrial short "Love, Honor, and Obey (the Law)", "The Luck o' The Foolish", "Lucky Stars", "Picking Peaches", "Plain Clothes", "Remember When", "Saturday Afternoon", "The Sea Squawk", "Smile Please", "Soldier Man", and "There He Goes" {surviving clip}; with documentary feature "Lost and Found" [1997]; extras include faux-Langdon sample "Catalina Here I Come" starring Eddie Quillan & Madeline Hurlock, plus audio commentaries & home movies

	"The Actors: Rare Films of Harry Langdon" on DVD [2010] Classic Video Streams b&w DVD [12/2010] for $16.99 contains 1 sound short film & 2 comedy features: "The Stage Hand" [1933]; "Misbehaving Husbands" feature [1940] with Betty Blythe; and "Double Trouble" [1941]
	"Harry Langdon Comedy Classics" on DVD [2011] Alpha Home Ent. b&w DVD [6/2011] for $7.69 contains 3 silent short films from the Sennett Studio: "All Night Long" [1924] with Natalie Kingston & Vernon Dent; "Boobs In The Wood" [1925] with Vernon Dent; "Feet of Mud [1924] with Natalie Kingston
	"The Langdon Collection" on DVD [2012?] Reel Classic DVD b&w DVD [2012?] for $20.00 via third party vendor contains 5 short silent films, each with a Wurlitzer theatre pipe organ score by Bernie Anderson, Jr.: "Feet of Mud [1924] with Natalie Kingston; "Lucky Stars" [1925] with Natalie Kingston & Vernon Dent; "Saturday Afternoon" [1926] with Alice Ward & Vernon Dent; "Soldier Man" [1926] with Natalie Kingston & Vernon Dent; and "Fiddlesticks" [1927] with Vernon Dent

"All Night Long" [1924] with Harry Langdon, Natalie Kingston & Vernon Dent /tt0014667/
"Feet of Mud [1924] with Natalie Kingston /tt0014882/
"Smile Please" [1924]
"The Cat’s Meow" [1924]
"The Luck of The Foolish" [1924]
"The Hansom Cabman" [1924]
"His Marriage Wow" [1925] with Harry Langdon & Vernon Dent
"Boobs In The Wood" [1925] with Harry Langdon & Vernon Dent /tt0015635/
"Plain Clothes" [1925]
"The White Wing’s Bride" [1925]
"Lucky Stars" [1925] with Natalie Kingston & Vernon Dent

"Tramp, Tramp, Tramp" silent feature
[First National Pictures March 1926]

lobby card for Harry Langdon's 1926 silent feature'Tramp, Tramp, Tramp'

'6 reels of long Langdon laughs' • The hapless son of a shoemaker falls in love, is mistakenly entered in a cross country hiking competition, wins the prize, pays off the family mortgage, and marries the girl • Produced & co-written by and starring Harry Langdon; directed by Harry Edwards; co-written by Frank Capra; also starring Joan Crawford, Edwards Davis, Tom Murray, Alec B. Francis, Brooks Benedict, Carlton Griffin
full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia
available on the "Harry Langdon: The Forgotten Clown" 3-fetaure DVD [2003]
Kino Video b&w DVD [9/2003] out of prodn/used
watch full movie with piano music [5/2017 upload; 1:01:48] online at YouTube

"The Strong Man"
[First National Pictures Sept 1926 silent feature]
Directed by Frank Capra; starring Harry Langdon & Priscilla Bonner • full credits from IMDb

"Saturday Afternoon" [1926] with Alice Ward & Vernon Dent
"Soldier Man" [1926] with Natalie Kingston & Vernon Dent
"Ella Cinders" [1926]
"Fiddlesticks" [1927] with Vernon Dent

"Three's A Crowd"
[Langdon / First National Pictures Aug 1927 silent feature]
Directed by & starring Harry Langdon, with Gladys McConnell & Cornelius Keefe;
available on double DVD below; full credits from IMDb

"The Chaser"
[Langdon / First National Pictures Feb 1928 silent feature]
Directed by & starring Harry Langdon, with Gladys McConnell, Helen Hayward, Bud Jamison &
Charles Thurston; available on double DVD below; full credits from IMDb

"Long Pants"
[First National Pictures March 1927 silent feature]
Directed by Frank Capra, starring Harry Langdon, Priscilla Bonner & Alma Bennett; full credits from IMDb

"Heart Trouble" [1929 late silent]
video/DVD not available {considered to be a lost film}; directed by & starring Harry Langdon

"Hallelujah I'm A Bum" [United Artists 1933]
starring Al Jolson & Harry Langdon

"Zenobia" [Hal Roach / United Artists April 1939]

A circus owner asks a country doctor to heal a sick elephant; the animal is so grateful that it follows the doctor everywhere. Directed by Gordon Douglas; starring Oliver Hardy {without SL}, Harry Langdon, Billie Burke, Alice Brady, Jean Parker, Stepin Fetchit & Hattie McDaniel
Starz / Anchor Bay b&w VHS [10/97] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb

"Spotlight Scandals" aka "Spotlight Revue"
[Monogram Pictures July 1943]

Spotlight Scandals aka Spotlight Revue 1943 musical film

A con man and a singing barber become friends and decide to create a vaudeville act together; the film charts their gradual success alongside the great comedy & musical acts of 1943. Then the duo must choose between staying together or allowing one partner to have a shot at being a famous radio singer. Co-written & directed by William Beaudine; starring Frank Fay, Billy Gilbert, Bonnie Baker, 'Butch & Buddy', The Radio Rogues, Harry Langdon, Iris Adrian, Herb Miller's Orchestra & Henry King's Orchestra
Reel Enterprises b&w DVD [10/2007] for $8.85
full credits at IMDb

"Block-Heads" feature film [Hal Roach/M.G.M. Aug 1938]

half-sheet poster for Block-Heads feature film starring Laurel & Hardy

At the end of World War I, Ollie advances with the troops and Stan stays behind; years later, Stan is still guarding his post and shoots down a French aviator. Stan is hailed as a hero and Ollie sees his picture in the paper and visits him at the Soldiers Home. Ollie invites Stan to a home-cooked meal ... Co-produced by Stan Laurel & Hal Roach; directed by John G. Blystone; animated opening credits by Harry Langdon; starring Stan Laurel & Oliver Hardy, Patricia Ellis, Minna Gombell, Billy Gilbert & Jimmy Finlayson
b&w VHS [8/87] out of prodn/used
full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia
available on DVD as part of L&H three-pack with "Way Out West" & "Chickens Come Home"
LionsGate b&w DVD [3/2005] out of prodn/used

Harry Langdon clips & shorts are featured on the 1957, 1960 & 1963 volumes of
Robert G. Youngson's "Kings of Comedy Collection" documentaries
"The Golden Age of Comedy" [D.C.A. Dec 1957]
"When Comedy Was King" [Fox March 1960]
"Days of Thrills and Laughter" [Fox March 1961]
"30 Years of Fun" [Fox Feb 1963]

"Harry Langdon: Lost and Found - A Story In Five Parts" [1997]
74-minute documentary included as bonus feature on the "Lost & Found" DVD box set above;
narrated by Beth Daniels; credits at IMDb

Little Elf Celebration of Harry Langdon biography by Chuck Harter & Michael J. Hayde

"Little Elf: A Celebration of Harry Langdon" [2012] by Chuck Harter & Michael J. Hayde, Introduction by Edward Watz, Foreword by Steve Massa
billed as "the definitive life story . . . the most complete and accurate summation of Langdon's life and career"; includes a filmography and over 500 images
Kindle Edition from BearManor Media [6/2012] for $9.95
BearManor Media 11x8¼ pb [6/2012] for $44.96

http://www.myspace.com/247172130
http://www.silentsaregolden.com/articles/langdonarticle.html
http://silent-movies.com/Langdon/Films1.html

	"Four Great Comedians: Chaplin, Lloyd, Keaton, Langdon" [1968] by Donald W. McCaffrey A.S. Barnes pb [1968] out of print/used A.S. Barnes pb [1968] out of print/used see also Magic Lantern's Chaplin, Keaton & Lloyd pages
	"Harry Langdon: His Life and Films" biography [1982] by William Schelly McFarland & Co. 10x7 pb [6/2008] for $45.00
	"Harry Langdon: The Comedian As Metteur-en-Scène" [1983] by Joyce Rheuban Fairleigh Dickinson Univ Press 9¾x6¾ hardcover [5/83] out of print/used
	"The Silent Comedians" [1993] by Richard Dyer MacCann featuring John Bunny, Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harry Langdon, Harold Lloyd, Mabel Normand & Mack Sennett Scarecrow Press 8½x5½ textbook binding [6/93] for $32.50 Scarecrow Press 8¾x6 hardcover [6/93] for $49.50

Magic Lantern Video & Book Store Harry Langdon[1884-1944]

Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
Harry Langdon
[1884-1944]