The Strong Man (1926)
Well, it's been a while since I've seen Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, and I have been wanting to get a better understanding of the popularity of Harry Langdon, so I decided for this review, I'd check out another one of his most famous films, The Strong Man.
Langdon plays Paul Bergot, a Belgian soldier who has been exchanging letters with a blind American woman, Mary Brown (Priscilla Bonner). During the war, Bergot is kidnapped by a German soldier who later turns out to be Zandow the Great, a strong man traveling throughout the United States to perform his act with Bergot as his assistant. Along the way, Bergot attempts to find the woman he has fallen in love with.
So let's start by discussing the obvious comparison. The idea of a comedian falling in love with a blind woman was also done by Charlie Chaplin in City Lights. The Strong Man was made first, but their approaches to the subject are both different, reflecting the two comedians' different styles. Chaplin puts the story of the blind woman at the front of the story, with many of Chaplin's actions being dedicated to raise money so she can have a special operation to give her sight. Langdon puts this aspect more in the background; we actually don't find out that she's blind until more than halfway through, and Langdon's character doesn’t know it either until he meets her. While many of Langdon's actions also are based on his love for her, they don't really have any relation to the fact that she is blind, although his actions at the end are in the interests of protecting her from a bad lifestyle. This is by no means a criticism; both styles are effective, and it's not like Langdon and director Frank Capra totally ignore the dramatic aspects of it, either. Mary does get upset when she first meets him because she didn't want him to know that she was blind, and Priscilla Bonner does do a very convincing job with the emotional aspects to that scene, to the point where it actually is very sweet when it fades to the two just having a fun time together.
For the most part, the story does work. It's got an interesting setup and does do a good job at mixing Langdon's character into it. The one issue I have with the story is earlier on when Langdon asks random women if they're Mary Brown. My issue is that he has a picture of her and while it is noticeably small and kind of hard to see clearly, he must have looked at it so many times to the point that he should easily recognize her. It's not too huge of a deal, especially since it does lead to one of the funniest parts of the movie, but it is really stupid and would have made more sense if he had simply found places with people named Brown only to discover she's not there (e.g. the scene where he accidentally ends up in an art studio).
The comedy for the most part is better than it was in Tramp, Tramp, Tramp. As I just hinted at, the best comedic scenes are actually related to a misunderstanding with someone he thinks is Mary Brown. The woman in question, played by Gertrude Astor, was carrying some stolen money and in an attempt to evade suspicion, slipped the money into Langdon's pocket. Then, she has to get the money back from Langdon, who isn't even aware he has it. This leads to a bunch of funny situations; Astor following him as he keeps moving around; Langdon struggling to carry her up to her room while she pretends to have fainted; Astor chasing him around her room. Probably my favorite part is when Astor first pretends to faint to get his attention. Langdon, who by now has figured out that she's not the woman he's looking for, doesn't know what to do and ends up just wandering away before a cab driver stops him. That almost never happens in these kinds of situations in movies and I found it to be a really hilarious twist.
Other notable scenes include Langdon having to fake being the strong man, Langdon being more effective with a slingshot than a gun during the war, and the climax in which Langdon runs out the crooks. The only comedy scene that I don't think particularly works is when he's on the bus. Langdon's character has a cold during this scene and spends a lot of time trying to deal with it in different comedic situations. The problem with this scene is very similar to the issue with the cab driver scene in Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, in that he ends up annoying all these random passengers who haven't really done anything wrong other than making the mistake of riding a bus with Harry Langdon. Like the cab driver in Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, I feel too bad for them, and as I mentioned, this scene goes on for a really long time, to the point where he's rubbing Limburger cheese over his chest (no, he doesn't do it on purpose).
So, yeah, it's still not a perfect film, but as a whole, I do think that this is a better representation of Langdon's comedic potential than Tramp, Tramp, Tramp. Langdon is genuinely funny in most of his scenes and does manage to tell an interesting story on top of that. Overall, it's a good film.
8.5 out of 10
Langdon plays Paul Bergot, a Belgian soldier who has been exchanging letters with a blind American woman, Mary Brown (Priscilla Bonner). During the war, Bergot is kidnapped by a German soldier who later turns out to be Zandow the Great, a strong man traveling throughout the United States to perform his act with Bergot as his assistant. Along the way, Bergot attempts to find the woman he has fallen in love with.
So let's start by discussing the obvious comparison. The idea of a comedian falling in love with a blind woman was also done by Charlie Chaplin in City Lights. The Strong Man was made first, but their approaches to the subject are both different, reflecting the two comedians' different styles. Chaplin puts the story of the blind woman at the front of the story, with many of Chaplin's actions being dedicated to raise money so she can have a special operation to give her sight. Langdon puts this aspect more in the background; we actually don't find out that she's blind until more than halfway through, and Langdon's character doesn’t know it either until he meets her. While many of Langdon's actions also are based on his love for her, they don't really have any relation to the fact that she is blind, although his actions at the end are in the interests of protecting her from a bad lifestyle. This is by no means a criticism; both styles are effective, and it's not like Langdon and director Frank Capra totally ignore the dramatic aspects of it, either. Mary does get upset when she first meets him because she didn't want him to know that she was blind, and Priscilla Bonner does do a very convincing job with the emotional aspects to that scene, to the point where it actually is very sweet when it fades to the two just having a fun time together.
For the most part, the story does work. It's got an interesting setup and does do a good job at mixing Langdon's character into it. The one issue I have with the story is earlier on when Langdon asks random women if they're Mary Brown. My issue is that he has a picture of her and while it is noticeably small and kind of hard to see clearly, he must have looked at it so many times to the point that he should easily recognize her. It's not too huge of a deal, especially since it does lead to one of the funniest parts of the movie, but it is really stupid and would have made more sense if he had simply found places with people named Brown only to discover she's not there (e.g. the scene where he accidentally ends up in an art studio).
The comedy for the most part is better than it was in Tramp, Tramp, Tramp. As I just hinted at, the best comedic scenes are actually related to a misunderstanding with someone he thinks is Mary Brown. The woman in question, played by Gertrude Astor, was carrying some stolen money and in an attempt to evade suspicion, slipped the money into Langdon's pocket. Then, she has to get the money back from Langdon, who isn't even aware he has it. This leads to a bunch of funny situations; Astor following him as he keeps moving around; Langdon struggling to carry her up to her room while she pretends to have fainted; Astor chasing him around her room. Probably my favorite part is when Astor first pretends to faint to get his attention. Langdon, who by now has figured out that she's not the woman he's looking for, doesn't know what to do and ends up just wandering away before a cab driver stops him. That almost never happens in these kinds of situations in movies and I found it to be a really hilarious twist.
Other notable scenes include Langdon having to fake being the strong man, Langdon being more effective with a slingshot than a gun during the war, and the climax in which Langdon runs out the crooks. The only comedy scene that I don't think particularly works is when he's on the bus. Langdon's character has a cold during this scene and spends a lot of time trying to deal with it in different comedic situations. The problem with this scene is very similar to the issue with the cab driver scene in Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, in that he ends up annoying all these random passengers who haven't really done anything wrong other than making the mistake of riding a bus with Harry Langdon. Like the cab driver in Tramp, Tramp, Tramp, I feel too bad for them, and as I mentioned, this scene goes on for a really long time, to the point where he's rubbing Limburger cheese over his chest (no, he doesn't do it on purpose).
So, yeah, it's still not a perfect film, but as a whole, I do think that this is a better representation of Langdon's comedic potential than Tramp, Tramp, Tramp. Langdon is genuinely funny in most of his scenes and does manage to tell an interesting story on top of that. Overall, it's a good film.
8.5 out of 10
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