American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
starring
Harry Langdon
Harry Philmore Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.Obituary ''Variety'', December 27, 1944, page 39.
Life and career
Bor ...
and directed by Harry Edwards. Additional cast members include
Natalie Kingston
Natalie Kingston (born Natalia Ringstrom; May 19, 1905 – February 2, 1991) was an American actress.
Background
Kingston was born as Natalia Ringstrom in Vallejo, California, and raised in San Francisco. She was of Spanish, Hungarian, an ...
,
Ruth Hiatt
Ruth Hiatt (born Ruth Redfern; January 6, 1906 – April 21, 1994) was an American actress in motion pictures beginning in the silent film era. She is best known for performing in 1920s comedies directed by Jack White, Norman Taurog, and ...
,
Vernon Dent
Vernon Bruce Dent (February 16, 1895 – November 5, 1963) 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 and the main antagonist and ally to The Thr ...
, and others.
Plot
The story tells of Harry Howells (Langdon), a recent college graduate who's madly in love with his sweetheart Ethel (Kingston) and hopes to marry her. His woman hating uncle, however, Fire chief Amos McCarthy (Dent), tells his nephew to avoid marriage because all women want is money.
Even though Harry is determined to marry Ethel, it seems his uncle was right: Ethel is a gold-digger. Harry is crestfallen. Her sister, Mary Morgan (Hiatt), however, is very interested in Harry. Still, unhappy, Harry spends the night in the firehouse. That night the fire alarm goes off, and it gives hapless Harry a chance to prove his mettle.
Cast
*
Harry Langdon
Harry Philmore Langdon (June 15, 1884 – December 22, 1944) was an American comedian who appeared in vaudeville, silent films (where he had his greatest fame), and talkies.Obituary ''Variety'', December 27, 1944, page 39.
Life and career
Bor ...
as Harry Howells
*
Natalie Kingston
Natalie Kingston (born Natalia Ringstrom; May 19, 1905 – February 2, 1991) was an American actress.
Background
Kingston was born as Natalia Ringstrom in Vallejo, California, and raised in San Francisco. She was of Spanish, Hungarian, an ...
as Ethel Morgan
*
Ruth Hiatt
Ruth Hiatt (born Ruth Redfern; January 6, 1906 – April 21, 1994) was an American actress in motion pictures beginning in the silent film era. She is best known for performing in 1920s comedies directed by Jack White, Norman Taurog, and ...
as Mary Morgan
*
Vernon Dent
Vernon Bruce Dent (February 16, 1895 – November 5, 1963) 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 and the main antagonist and ally to The Thr ...
as Amos McCarthy
*
Bud Jamison
William Edward "Bud" Jamison (February 15, 1894 – September 30, 1944)Okuda, Ted, and Edward Watz. 1999. The Columbia Comedy Shorts: Two-reel Hollywood Film Comedies 1933–1958'. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. . was an American film actor. ...
as Hector Benedict
*
Dot Farley
Dorothea "Dot" Farley (February 6, 1881 – May 2, 1971) was an American film actress who appeared in 280 motion pictures between 1910 and 1950. She was also known as Dorothy Farley.
Biography
Born in Chicago, Illinois, Dorothea Farley was t ...
as Mrs. Benedict
* William McCall as President of the College
*
Irving Bacon
Irving Bacon (born Irving Von Peters; September 6, 1893 – February 5, 1965) was an American character actor who appeared in almost 500 films.
Early years
Bacon was the son of entertainers Millar Bacon and Myrtle Vane. He was born in St. Jose ...
as Man Who Jumps Out of Window (uncredited)
* Margaret Cloud as Minor Role (uncredited)
*
Evelyn Francisco
Evelyn Francisco (born Evelyn Barton; August 13, 1904 – January 27, 1963) was a silent era film actress who began as a bathing beauty. Her sisters Betty''News Of The Cafes'', Los Angeles Times, August 19, 1925, p. A6. and Margaret Franci ...
as Minor Role (uncredited)
*
Christian J. Frank
Christian Julius Frank (March 13, 1890 – December 10, 1967) was an American actor. He appeared in 65 films between 1920 and 1948, mostly in uncredited roles. His most notable role was that of an irascible cop in the Laurel and Hardy short ' ...
as Minor Role (uncredited)
*
Thelma Hill
Thelma Hill (born Thelma Hillerman; December 12, 1906 – May 11, 1938) was an American silent screen comedian and one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties.
Early life
Hill was born Thelma Hillerman on December 12, 1906, in Emporia, Kansas. ...
as Girl Who Jumps Into the Hoop Net (uncredited)
*
Thelma Parr
Thelma Parr (born Thelma Sill, October 19, 1906 – February 13, 2000) was an American actress. She is best remembered for her roles in Mack Sennett comedies as one of the Sennett Bathing Beauties, appearing in numerous films for Mack Sennet ...
as Girl Who Drops Handkerchief Outside Firehouse (uncredited)
* Elsie Tarron as Minor Role (uncredited)
Critical reception
When the film was released, the film critic for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'',
Mordaunt Hall
Mordaunt Hall (1 November 1878 – 2 July 1973) was the first regularly assigned motion picture critic for ''The New York Times'', working from October 1924 to September 1934.First National hits. Its central feature is a romantic triangle between rich idiot Langdon, his gold-digging fiancee Kingston, and his woman-hating uncle Dent. In a segment of very dark humor on the joys of domestic violence, Harry witnesses two simultaneous donnybrooks in neighboring houses, one in the foreground and the other in deep focus in the background. This is one of the set’s clearest examples of Langdon’s tendency to exploit humiliation and unease, an area of comedy that crosses into an audience’s discomfort zone. Among these early works, this daring sequence is perhaps the clearest application of
Agee
Agee may refer to:
* Agee (surname), including a list of people with the surname
* ''Agee'' (film), a 1980 documentary film
* Agee Creek, a stream in Missouri
* Agee (biblical figure), a minor biblical character
See also
* Gee (surname)
* A ...
's warning (or celebration) about Langdon’s strange territory, though Agee was probably thinking most of the homicidal feature ''
Long Pants
''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.
Plot
The silent ...
''."Barrett, Michael ''Pop Matters,'' film reviews, 1999-2008. Last accessed: February 19, 2008.