Probably one of the better Columbia shorts starring Harry Langdon, this one directed by Arthur Ripley who with Frank Capra wrote the classic Langdon silents. This reportedly is a remake of one of his silent shorts. Langdon't facial reactions often evoke Stan Laurel, but Langdon was doing the blank expression and goofy smile reacting to a pretty girl long before Stan Laurel. This might be why Laurel used Langdon as a gag writer on his last Hal Roach films. He also looks with that split curl down his forehead a lot like Lupino Lane who also was probably influenced by Langdon. Although it is often thought Langdon's career crashed when talkies came in, he was in decline at the end of the silent era when his features after he fired Capra bombed. Langdon actually worked regularly in shorts after that. His stay at Hal Roach was brief. He then starred in shorts for Educational, then moved to Columbia where he remained until his death in 1944. I saw this on YouTube.
Review of The Leather Necker
