In a landmark Life Magazine article in 1949, author James Agee spelled out a compelling argument that Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Harry Langdon were the original “kings of comedy,” thanks to their brilliant work in the silent film era.
Many quickly concurred with the designation for Keaton, Chaplin and Lloyd, explained Denise Morrison, historian and silent film aficionado.
“But there’s always been a question about Harry Langdon,” Morrison told the Register in a telephone interview. “Why did he deserve to be there? Why not somebody like Fatty Arbuckle or Charley Chase?”
Morrison, who helps organize a silent film festival each February in Topeka and is director of collections and curatorial services at Union Station and the Kansas City Museum, will explain her answer Friday at the 18th annual Buster Keaton celebration.
Morrison’s presentation, “Harry Langdon: Misunderstood Silent Film Clown,” is part of this year’s theme, “Keaton and the Tragic Clowns.”
All of the festival’s activities take place at the Bowlus Fine Arts Center and are free of charge.
LANGDON’S career arc in movies was decidedly shorter than his peers, Morrison noted, in large part because he was so much older than Keaton, Chaplin or Lloyd.
“By the time he got into film, he was already in his 40s,” she said, and like Keaton, had already made a name for himself as a vaudeville star.
Langdon only starred in six full-length features, one of which has been lost, Morrison said.
But the zenith of his career, while relatively short compared to Keaton’s or Chaplin’s, is outweighed by the quality of his work, Morrison contends.
Langdon’s characters were unique because they frequently portrayed him as a bit of a “man child,” usually naive and oblivious to his surroundings.
“He had a slower-paced comedy that wasn’t all about slapstick,” Morrison said. “And somehow with his innocence, he still manages to save the day.”
Langdon’s characters, she said, were able to elicit feelings of compassion from the audience.
“Like Chaplin, he was able to create a comic pathos, but Langdon was able to take it to another level.”
Langdon also partnered with Stan Laurel briefly before Laurel went on to be come a star in his own right with Oliver Hardy.
“It would be fair to say that without Harry Langdon, there may not have been Laurel and Hardy,” Morrison said. “He was very influential with Laurel.”
“The Strong Man,” perhaps Langdon’s most famous film, also marked the directorial debut of Frank Capra, who later would direct such classics as “It’s a Wonderful Life,” “It Happened One Night” and “Mr. Smith Goes To Washington.”
A falling out between Langdon and Capra may have led in part to Langdon’s downfall.
Langdon, wishing to take more creative control over his films, dismissed Capra, which coincided with the downward arc in Langdon’s film career. His appeal to audiences soon faded as Langdon appeared in a number of short films and “B” movies.
“By the time ‘talkies’ came about, Langdon’s career was pretty much over.”
Controversy arose later on when Capra made disparaging remarks about Langdon, contending that Capra was the driving force behind his success.
Morrison, like many other film historians, disagrees, noting that Langdon’s film character was essentially the same persona he had during his days in vaudeville.
MORRISON IS making her inaugural visit to the Keaton celebration, “which is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”
The last weekend in September usually has Morrison’s schedule filled to the point that she is unable to make it to Iola.
Morrison grew up a fan of classic films.
“My earliest memories are of my grandmother talking about her work. Morrison’s grandmother was an accompanist who would play music at silent film showings.
Morrison was particularly fond of movies from the 1930s and 1940s and became enthralled with silent films after watching a documentary one day on PBS television.
She eventually joined forces with others to form the Kansas Silent Film Festival in 1997, an annual event that returns Feb. 25-27 at White Concert Hall at Washburn University in Topeka. The 2011 festival will celebrate “The First Academy Awards,” showing films from 1927 and 1928. The festival will include the showing of “Wings” the inaugural Oscar winner for best picture.
Morrison also noted that the two events have some of the same organizers, such as Bill Shaffer of KTWU Television.
And like the Keaton Celebration, the silent film festival is provided free of charge to audiences.
