USA,
1926
Shown in 1971
CREDITS
- dir
-
Frank Capra
- scr
-
Arthur Ripley
- cast
-
Harry Langdon, Gertrude Astor, William Mong
- prod co
-
First National
- source
-
Raymond Rohauer
-
COMMENTS
Shown at Frank Capra tribute; he appeared in person.
OTHER
A tributary showing of The Strong Man is in honor of today's homage to Frank Capra, but at the same time, a reminder of the genius of one of America's great silent film comedians—Harry Langdon. This baby-faced clown was the star of Frank Capra's first feature film, and today's showing is the first Bay Area exhibition of The Strong Man in many decades. While The Strong Man is an episodic work, there are many scenes which attest to Langdon's comic genius, and account for his popular and critical acclaim during the 1920s. His impeccable pantomime and masterful use of comic weakness and dumbness as facets of a comic personality were superbly handled in the story of the typical "little fellow" who becomes a reformer and hero to the people of the vice-ridden town of Cloverdale. It is difficult to choose one's favorite moments, but Harry's belief that he is being seduced by an aggressive gun moll, when she only seeks to retrieve some money hidden in his coat pocket, is one of the rare occasions in which a comic character of the twenties utilized sexual fear as a comic device. There are also situations which are reminiscent of Chaplin's later film, City Lights and it is fascinating to see how Langdon behaves in his poignant moments with the blind heroine, Mary Brown. Langdon, under the guidance of Capra, employed the melodramatic, thrilling climax in The Strong Man, while defending Mary's good name against a tavern full of angry men. The comedian follows the acrobatic traditions of Lloyd and Keaton, at the same time displaying inimitable comic ingenuity as he swings over his assailants' heads on a trapeze. The art of Harry Langdon reached its highest levels of perfection in this film and in Long Pants (1927), also directed by Frank Capra. He was the skilled creator of an unusual comic character and Harry Langdon will remain among the cinema's comic monarchs as long as his films are preserved for posterity.
—Albert Johnson
FACTOID #222
The SFIFF has honored some of cinema’s best lensers with tributes, including James Wong Howe (1974), Gabriel Figueroa (1984), Nestor Alemendros (1986), Ernest Dickerson (1991) and John Alton (1994). Cinematographer Haskell Wexler received a tribute as a featured filmmaker in the New Directors series, when he appeared with his directorial debut, Medium Cool.
