LITTLE ELF: A CELEBRATION OF HARRY LANGDON Kindle Edition

The diligent research done by Little Elf authors Chuck Harter & Michael J. Hayde is matched by their commitment to setting aside personal bias to set the record straight in the matter of Harry Langdon. The central question about Langdon has been whether he deserved to be ranked with Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd and other comedians in the silent film pantheon.Many of those on the negative side cite Frank's Capra's long-winded and somewhat fanciful autobiography as if hs spite were fact. Fans point to Harry's better shorts and two superior features, Tramp, Tramp, Tramp and The Strong Man, and what was one of the more successful talkie careers of any silent clowns, excepting Keaton and Laurel & Hardy.The more fascinating question is less easy to explain to movie fans who do not have a clearer understand of the economics of the time and the transition from silence to sound than the musical "Singin' in the Rain." Arbuckle had developed as a comedian over a decade until false charges sidelined him from cavorting in films. Chaplin and Lloyd early on fought for their independence, were smart with finances, and ran their own careers: thus they became the two most successful silent clowns. Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, like many others were considered second rate until a happy pairing made them the most beloved comedians in the world of cinema. Keaton, a vaudeville headliner since a tot, slipped into films under the comfortable apprenticeship of Roscoe Arbuckle, and both Arbuckle and Keaton enjoyed a semi-independence for a time under Joe Schenck's management. Ben Turpin, the oldest (born 1869) of the silent clowns and the first (1907 film debut). a hard life behind him, was content to make an excellent living from his forties through his sixties and enjoy a host of fans..Landon, 40 when he left big-time vaudeville for movies, entered films barely two years before the first Vitaphone talking shorts were made. Two years later, when Harry was about to make his first feature-length film, the movie industry was struck by three quakes: the likelihood that the public would prefer sound to silent movies, free network radio programs that kept listeners away from movie houses, and the stock market crash and the ensuing 25% unemployment of the Great Depression. You've got to read Little Elf to find out what happened. to Harry Langdon. It is a fine book.- Frank Cullen, co-founder American Vaudeville Museum; author of Vaudeville, Old & New: an Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America (two volumes, Routledge Press, 2007).

Finally, the definitive book has arrived about one of the greatest comic actors of the silent--and sound--era, Harry Langdon. Ranking with Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd, Harry Langdon was a superstar with a unique and appealing persona known as the "Little Elf." A master of pantomime, Langdon was adored by movie audiences and was a top attraction for many years. He smoothly transitioned to "talkies" and continued to work right up until his death in 1944. This book, "Little Elf: A Celebration of Harry Langdon," by Chuck Harter and Michael J. Hayde, traces Langdon's life from childhood, to vaudeville, to Broadway, to Hollywood. In so doing it provides a fascinating chronicle of a determined and brilliant comic's rise to fame. It's a story that any aspiring talent of today's era can learn from. Although nonfiction, "Little Elf" has the narrative power of a well-written novel in that it propels the reader through Langdon's Hollywood ups and downs, his marriages, his controversial split with the great director Frank Capra ("It's a Wonderful Life"), and his interactions with other screen legends. As if all this wasn't enough, "Little Elf" also includes a complete and detailed filmography, scripts, and contemporary magazine feature articles on this brilliant actor. The authors of this book (Chuck Harter and Michael J. Hayde) are both accomplished film/TV/pop-culture historians, whose subjects have collectively ranged from Superman, to "Dragnet," to the Monkees. This book should be required reading for every college-level film class, as it comprehensively describes the journey of a tremendous cinema talent from birth to death and provides a fascinating "snapshot" of American popular entertainment as it existed during a formative period of its history. "Little Elf" is highly recommended.

Amazing research went into this book. I haven't even begun to delve into all the details yet. Just about anything you would wish to know of Harry Langdon is here. It includes a complete filmography with a description of each film, an analysis and then what critics of the time wrote. Throughout the book there are ads for the movies as they appeared in magazines of the time or copies of movie placards or posters. Another plus is the complete copy of "A Night on the Boulevard from 1912 in Appendix I. Another appendix reproduces some articles on Harry from vintage movie magazines. There are black and white photos throughout the book and a nice index, although there is no table of contents, which I would have liked to see.The book is a large scale paperback of 666 pages. The only negative I would have to say about the book is that, although I paid a goodly amount for the book, the paper is not what I would have expected in such a good informative book for that price. This is the only reason that I have not given the book five stars. I would have liked to see it in a hard cover edition.For the content of the book, I would indeed give it five stars. This book, despite the paperback format of it, is a worthwhile purchase for any Harry Langdon or silent movie fan.

This book lives up to all the praise it has received. This is a detailed, comprehensive, and thoughtful review of the life and remarkable career of Harry Langdon. Time and fuzzy (or one-sided) recollections have dimmed the very real impact Langdon had on silent comedy. Much praise is due to the authors for filling in the numerous gaps in his story. Will you now enjoy and seek out the works of Harry Langdon? Perhaps not, as after 90+ years, he is still a very specialized comedian, but the reader can still appreciate his craft and influence.

There is a mass of detail here which it will take a long time to absorb.

Wonderful book about a great silent comedian -informative, entertaining, and with many illustrations fromfilmstills, portraits and posters.