The strong man
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The strong man |
| Original title | The Strong Man |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1926 |
| length | 75 minutes |
| Rod | |
| Director | Frank Capra |
| script | Arthur Ripley |
| production | Harry Langdon |
| camera |
Glenn Kershner Elgin Lessley |
| cut |
Harold Young Arthur Ripley |
| occupation | |
| |
The strong man is an American slapstick - silent film comedy from 1926 by Frank Capra with Harry Langdon in the lead role. It is Capra's first full-length feature film direction.
action
The Belgian Paul Bergot fought on the home front in World War I and at the same time made pen pals with a young American named Mary Brown. A little later he was taken prisoner by Germany. The man who captured him back then is a big guy with a huge mustache. After the war, he called himself Zandow, the great one, and played the invincible powerhouse in vaudeville and circus events, which lifts everyone with its muscles and bends everything. Paul has attached himself to Zandow and travels with him to the USA, where he wants to appear in show numbers. There Paul absolutely wants to get to know the woman who wrote him the letters to the front and who he likes very much. In fact, he tracks down Mary in the small town of Cloverdale, where Zandow stops for a performance.
The law of the outlaws prevails in Cloverdale, just like in the 19th century Wild West. A gang of gangsters and smugglers holds the city in its stranglehold. Zandow the strong has to be replaced by Paul the weak here of all places, because when the performance approaches, Zandow is hopelessly drunk. And so the slim Paul soon becomes the new, eponymous strong man . With his chaotic appearance during the performance he demolishes the entire vaudeville stage, which in turn speaks from the soul of Mary's faithful father, who had been praying for a week that the vaudeville stage, this “cave of the pleasure truck”, like the one that bursts once upon a time Walls of Jericho may collapse. With his chaotic nature, Paul also saves the entire city by eliminating the criminals. Finally he is appointed the new sheriff and wins the heart of the good Mary.
Production notes
The strong man ran on September 19, 1926 in the USA and was probably seen in Germany during the silent film era. The first German post-war performance took place on March 2, 1969 on ARD .
Immediately after this hit, Capra and Langdon made another comedy together, The First Long Pants .
Reviews
In 1926 the journal Variety read: “A whale-sized comedy production with slapstick values, a tumultuous finale, and a bit of pantomime comedy in the earlier sections, which are remarkable. Harry Langdon has a method of comedy that is very different from other jesters. (...) His comedic talent has found an excellent vehicle here. "
“The special art of Langdon ... proves itself here in the most beautiful way. The beginning is typical when he tries in vain to 'kill' an opponent with a machine gun. Such are his weapons. Like David in the old days, he drives the enemy to flight with a sling. And in Cloverdale, again, it is not strength but ingenuity that helps him to defeat the crooks. (...) However, Capra made sure that Langdon did not become a shining hero. In the final scene his blind wife has to help him when the newly baked sheriff trips over a stone. "
"Very charming star comedy, probably Langdon's best."
"One of the most beautiful silent films from Capra's early days, which helped to establish the fame of comedian Harry Langdon (1884–1944)."
Individual evidence
- ↑ The Strong Man in the Lexicon of International Films , accessed December 9, 2018
Web links
- The strong man in the Internet Movie Database (English)