Long Pants

Infobox Film
name = Long Pants


image_size = 250
caption = Theatrical Poster
director = Frank Capra
producer = Harry Langdon
writer = Screenplay: Robert Eddy Tay Garnett Story: Arthur Ripley
narrator =
starring = Harry Langdon Gladys Brockwell
music =
cinematography = Glenn Kershner Elgin Lessley
editing = Harry Langdon
distributor = First National Pictures Kino Video
released = March 26, 1927
runtime = 60 minutes
country = United States
language = Silent film English intertitles
amg_id = 1:100100
imdb_id = 0018102

"Long Pants" (AKA "Johnny Newcomer") (1927) is a American comedy silent film starring Harry Langdon and directed by Frank Capra. Additional cast members include Gladys Brockwell, Alan Roscoe, Priscilla Bonner, and others. [imdb title|id=0018102|title=Long Pants.]

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 falate" 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 lead to a lot of trouble for Harry. Throughout the whole ordeal Priscilla waits for Harry to face reality.

Cast

* Harry Langdon as Harry Shelby
* Gladys Brockwell as His Mother
* Alan Roscoe as His Father
* Priscilla Bonner as Priscilla, His Bride
* Alma Bennett as Bebe Blair, His Downfall
* Betty Francisco as His Finish

Critical reception

When 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." [ [http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?_r=1&res=9806E2DA1E3FE733A2575AC2A9659C946695D6CF&oref=slogin Hall, Mordaunt] . "The New York Times," film review March 29, 1927. Last accessed: February 19, 2008.]

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." [ [http://www.avclub.com/content/node/2012 Schneider, Maria] . "AV Club," DVD/film review, March 29, 2002. Last accessed: February 19, 2008.]

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." [Erikson, Hal. amg movie|id=1:100100|title=Long Pants.]

ee also

* List of United States comedy films

References

External links

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* [http://www.silentsaregolden.com/featurefolder2/longpantsscenes.html "Long Pants"] images at Silents are Golden.
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG8mHZ9ZqTg "Long Pants"] film clip at You Tube.