For about as good a review as you can find on this film, try reading wmorrow59's--they have a lot of great insights into this and many other Harry Langdon films from the recent four DVD set of his remaining shorts. Unfortunately, due to the ravages of time on nitrate prints, many of Langdon's films are gone or the print is damaged like this one. Though not severely damaged, it isn't a particularly good print.
Harry plays a private detective in this film. About the only role I can think of where Harry was more out of his league was his being a lumberjack and bouncer in BOOB IN THE WOODS. For those of you out there unfamiliar with Langdon, this is because he almost always plays a sweet and innocent little boy-like man--amazingly naive as well as a weakling.
Harry goes to the boarding house his girlfriend's mother run and his sweetie tries to smooch--though shy Harry is definitely hard to get! Interestingly, the "great detective" didn't seem to notice that among the boarders was a gang of thieves--probably because he isn't much of a detective. You find soon after this that, not surprisingly, the contents of his office are being repossessed. Everything looks hopeless until Harry is promised a huge reward if he can recover a valuable necklace--that this same gang has stolen.
When Vernon Dent (a perennial heavy in Harry's films) tries to pawn the item, the police are called and Harry joins them. However, when the shooting starts, Harry is absolutely no good at all and accidentally helps Dent escape. Dent is thrilled and takes Harry to join the gang. The thought of poor Harry in a vicious gang is pretty funny, but what isn't funny is when Harry's girl accidentally tells the gang that Harry is a private eye! Somehow, despite this, Harry is able to escape, get the girl AND recover the necklace--ain't movies grand? The film has a pretty good story, several cute gags and us well-paced--so much so that I nearly gave the film an 8.
By the way, did you notice that Harry never turned off the gas AND that the film makers never really followed up on this?
