Product Description

Discovered in 1923 by slapstick pioneer Mack Sennett, Harry Langdon quickly rose to the ranks of the other silent comedians, rivaling Chaplin, Lloyd, and Keaton in popularity. Langdon s comic persona of the wide-eyed innocent bewildered by the world around him was developed in such classic shorts as Picking Peaches and His New Mamma, which have been restored and included in this four-disc set.
LOST AND FOUND contains most of Langdon s seminal work for Sennett s studio, including Smile Please, The First 100 Years, and The Hansom Cabman. Digitally re-mastered from original negatives and archival preservation material, this essential collection also features restorations of several lost films. Each film is accompanied by an original musical score. The set includes audio commentaries by silent-film historians, rare clips, and Lost and Found, a documentary covering Langdon's career. Sennett considered Harry Langdon the best comedian he'd ever seen, and this remarkable four-disc set shows us why.
Disc One: Picking Peaches, Smile Please, His New Mamma, The First 100 Years, The Luck o' the Foolish, The Hansom Cabman, and All Night Long
Disc Two: Feet of Mud, The Sea Squawk, Boobs in the Wood, His Marriage Wow, Plain Clothes, Remember When, Lucky Stars, and There He Goes surviving extract.
Disc Three: Saturday Afternoon, Fiddlesticks, Soldier Man, and His First Flame. Plus Bonus extra: Catalina Here I Come, a sample of faux-Langdon starring Eddie Quillan and Madeline Hurlock.

Disc Four: Knight Duty, Hooks and Jabs, and Love, Honor and Obey (the Law). Plus bonus extra: Lost and Found, an original feature-length documentary on the life and films of Harry Langdon.
Special Features: Lost and Found, a feature-length documentary, Audio Commentaries by Film Historians, Home Movies, and Facets Cine-Notes collectible booklet, Home Movies, Beautiful Clothes Make Beautiful Girls talkie from 1942, HEART TROUBLE press book

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17183 in DVD
• Brand: FACETS VIDEO
• Released on: 2007-12-26
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Black & White, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Dimensions: 1.00 pounds
• Running time: 600 minutes

Customer Reviews

Absolutely Essential!
THE HARRY LANGDON COLLECTION: LOST AND FOUND is one of those rare opportunities where a cinematic wrong gets to be righted and cinematic history gets to be rewritten. This amazing compilation not only traces the evolution of Harry Langdon's screen character before his entry into feature films but shows us what Mack Sennett comedies from the 1920s were like which is invaluable as most of this material is lost. It shows that Sennett was quite capable of adapting and polishing his style as movies evolved while remaining true to himself and that Langdon already had his essential character developed from his vaudeville days before he was discovered and refined by Frank Capra as claimed in his autobiography THE NAME ABOVE THE TITLE. It also shows us much, much more. For example SMILE PLEASE from 1924 while not typical Langdon is among the funniest shorts I've seen in years thanks to Harry's reactions to the Sennett style chaos surrounding him.

This 4 DVD set follows Langdon from his first Sennett short (PICKING PEACHES) through his sound career in the 1930s when like Buster Keaton he was consigned to low budget appearances with low budget studios. It skips over his feature film period which is well represented elsewhere (Kino's HARRY LANGDON: THE FORGOTTEN CLOWN collection) although it has his rarely seen first feature HIS FIRST FLAME. The quality of the restored material is remarkable and there is also a wonderful documentary LOST AND FOUND which gives an overview of his career and contributions to silent comedy as well as numerous bonus features and commentary. As the availability of long lost films has helped to reestablish Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle's reputation, surely this set will do the same for Langdon for there is so much that we haven't seen that now paints a very different picture of the comedian. He is finally receiving the true recognition he deserves. This set is absolutely essential for silent comedy fans.

Langdon, at long last!
I was hoping that more of Harry Langdon's films would come to be seen (after fearing that time & neglect had ruined most of his work). Kino Video has already released his three hugely successful feature films (the ones which built his reputation as a serious rival to Chaplin, Keaton & Lloyd). But his shorts with Sennett have never been spotlighted until now.
While Langdon's success is partly owed to prodigies such as Frank Capra, there's no doubt that Langdon himself was these film's genuine treasure, using his comic timing & pantomimic skills to make them special.
I'll be anxiously awaiting the release of this DVD package along with many others who want to see more of this neglected silent film clown.

Applause!
This is an excellent collection of an unjustly overlooked comedian. For the most part, the prints are superb - among the best I have seen - and although the commentaries tend to duplicate themselves occasionally (perhaps understandable due to the sheer number of them), they provide an excellent education about the comedian for the uninitiated.

Langdon is definitely not your father's Oldsmobile. He is a hard sell to an audience that does not have the patience or attention span to wait for the small flits, misdirections, and half smiles that constitute a fair amount of his comic repetoire. I was struck by the comment (on the documentary) that Walter Kerr used to show a couple of "typical" silent comedies prior to showing a Langdon to a crowd to get them warmed up to his function in the silent comedy world. It actually seems like it might be a good idea!

I did mention the print quality. Apart from the slightly irritating habit of placing a number of title styles within a single film (as many as four or five in some instances), I thought they did an excellent job. The soundtracks ranged from outstanding to curious, but never seriously detracted from my enjoyment of the films, and often enhanced it. I did notice that the print of "Lucky Stars" excised a cheap racial joke (Langdon re-reads his fortune about "falling in love with a dark woman", and sees a black woman in the crowd, which both puzzles and worries him), but as much as I pine for complete prints, I don't feel much harm was done!

This set is a bargain, and it is essential for any student of silent comedy. I cannot recommend it highly enough. If the restored prints of "Fiddlesticks" (an AMAZING comedy), "Saturday Afternoon", "Remember When", and "His MArriage Wow" were all we got, it would still be worth the price.