Topic: More Charley Chase out this summer!

[falsealarms]

More of Charley Chase's sound-era output will be out on July 16....

Pre-order: https://www.amazon.com/Charley-Chase-Roach-Talkies-1932-33/dp/B07PMLWXWK

Charley Chase returns in Volume Two of his classic Hal Roach talkie comedies from the years 1932-1933. This was a period of transition for both the comedian and the Lot of Fun as Charley says farewell to the lovely Thelma Todd (returning for an appearance in The Nickel Nurser), experiments with science-fiction (Now We'll Tell One) and surrealism (Nature in the Wrong) and introduces his new main leading lady, the lovely Muriel Evans.

Lots of great laughs as Charley Chase is ably supported by the stalwart Hal Roach Stock Company of Comedy Players: Billy Gilbert, James Finlayson, James C. Morton, Dell Henderson, Jimmie Adams, and Gale Henry.

1932: The Tabasco Kid, The Nickel Nurser, In Walked Charley, First in War, Young Ironsides, Girl Grief, Now We'll Tell One, and Mr. Bride 1933: Fallen Arches, Nature in The Wrong, His Silent Racket, Arabian Tights, Sherman Said It, Midsummer Mush, and Luncheon at Twelve.

Bonus features include: Special Features - Una cana al aire (4-reel Spanish version of 'Looser than Loose'); Commentaries by Richard M Roberts; Poster and Stills Gallery

[metaldams]

I was literally just thinking the other day when the next volume would come out.  Thanks Falsealarms.  Looking forward to this.  The only short I've seen that I can recall is LUNCHEON AT TWELVE and that will hold interest for Stooge fans.  Some painting and coffee drinking gags that inspired TASSELS IN THE AIR, if my memory serves me well.  No coincidence that Chase directed that Stooge short.

[falsealarms]

Release day is this Tuesday, July 16. If anyone else is getting this, I'd love to see your thoughts on these shorts. All of them will be new to me. There's a few later Chase Roach shorts I've seen but I haven't seen any from this 1932-33 period. The Nickel Nurser is especially interesting as it's the last short Chase and Todd appeared in together.

[metaldams]

I'll be posting my thoughts for sure.

[falsealarms]

I'm through the first disc of the set. Here's a few spoiler free thoughts of my own:

The best shorts on disc one were YOUNG IRONSIDES, GIRL GRIEF and FIRST IN WAR (probably in that order). Young Ironsides is as good as good as any Chase short I've seen, just a terrific short from beginning to end. Heine Conklin stands out as the house detective. GIRL GRIEF has possibly the funniest single Chase sequence I've seen, a scene where he's conducting a class of girl singers and the school's principal is standing outside the room listening. The whole short is very high energy. FIRST IN WAR is a first-class military-themed short featuring great supporting turns from Luis Alberni, Billy Gilbert and Carlton Griffin. Military themed shorts aren't always my favorites but I liked this one quite a bit.

NOW WE'LL TELL ONE, MR. BRIDE, and IN WALKED CHARLEY were all solid offerings though a step below the three above. MR. BRIDE is certainly different - Charley goes on a honeymoon with another man so the other man can have a trial run for his own honeymoon. It's different but there's some humorous situations along the way. NOW WE'LL TELL ONE is a fun short with a sci-fi twist but some horribly blatant rear projection work. IN WALKED CHARLEY had an interesting premise - a man faking lunacy to avoid being left with his mother-in-law - and some interesting moments but I thought it was a little too drawn out.

THE NICKEL NURSER, the last Chase-Todd short, was somewhat of a disappointment. Not a bad short at all but I was expecting something better. Maybe a victim of high expectations. THE TABASCO KID was the weakest short on disc one by a fair margin for me. It struck me as overly bizarre and short on laughs and humor. Other people seem to really like it so your mileage might vary.

Overall, the hits far outweigh the misses so far.

[metaldams]

I'm through the first disc of the set. Here's a few spoiler free thoughts of my own:

The best shorts on disc one were YOUNG IRONSIDES, GIRL GRIEF and FIRST IN WAR (probably in that order). Young Ironsides is as good as good as any Chase short I've seen, just a terrific short from beginning to end. Heine Conklin stands out as the house detective. GIRL GRIEF has possibly the funniest single Chase sequence I've seen, a scene where he's conducting a class of girl singers and the school's principal is standing outside the room listening. The whole short is very high energy. FIRST IN WAR is a first-class military-themed short featuring great supporting turns from Luis Alberni, Billy Gilbert and Carlton Griffin. Military themed shorts aren't always my favorites but I liked this one quite a bit.

NOW WE'LL TELL ONE, MR. BRIDE, and IN WALKED CHARLEY were all solid offerings though a step below the three above. MR. BRIDE is certainly different - Charley goes on a honeymoon with another man so the other man can have a trial run for his own honeymoon. It's different but there's some humorous situations along the way. NOW WE'LL TELL ONE is a fun short with a sci-fi twist but some horribly blatant rear projection work. IN WALKED CHARLEY had an interesting premise - a man faking lunacy to avoid being left with his mother-in-law - and some interesting moments but I thought it was a little too drawn out.

THE NICKEL NURSER, the last Chase-Todd short, was somewhat of a disappointment. Not a bad short at all but I was expecting something better. Maybe a victim of high expectations. THE TABASCO KID was the weakest short on disc one by a fair margin for me. It struck me as overly bizarre and short on laughs and humor. Other people seem to really like it so your mileage might vary.

Overall, the hits far outweigh the misses so far.

Through the first disc myself now, taking them in slowly.  I too enjoyed FIRST IN WAR very much.  I like NOW WE’LL TELL ONE very much.  Thought it was a creative premise and gave Chase a chance to do a wide array of character roles and physical comedy.  Really good short.  Also want to add Richard Roberts, as usual, does excellent audio commentaries.

[Paul Pain]

How I wish I didn't live at home right now, or we could have a whole Charley Chase discussion.

1300!!!!

[falsealarms]

Great review:

https://thrillingdaysofyesteryear.wordpress.com/2019/08/06/ah-the-vastness-of-it-all/

[metaldams]

“Nature in the Raw” is a wonderfully bizarre Tarzan comedy that is quite awesome and “His Silent Racket” has Jim Finlayson and - Anita Garvin.  . This series is getting a little more surreal and I’m thankful these are being released.  Still have four shorts to go, but I saw “Luncheon at Twelve” years ago, which I’m looking forward to revisiting.

[metaldams]

Just finished the set - Betty Mack, one of the wives from THE SITTER DOWNERS, played Chase’s leading lady in the last couple of shorts with her hair dyed blonde.  Being a blonde was apparently a requirement to be a Chase leading lady, to the point Anita Garvin barely worked with Chase.  Mack does a fine job.

Great set and I hope enough people bought this to entice them to release a volume three.  Very thankful for volumes one and two.

[falsealarms]

Luncheon at Twelve was the last short on this set - and one of the best. The location work always adds so much to these old two-reelers, and that short had a good amount of it. I'm not always  the biggest fan of songs in two-reelers but the ones here (and in Sherman Said It, for that matter) were great. The one thing that seemed odd to me was.... I thought there was going to be some kind of confrontation between Charley's character and the worker who picked up ashes when he arrived to party at the end. I thought when he saw Charley there, something was going to happen. But the short just ended. Still great stuff but the ending wasn't as expected.

Those interested in location work should watch:

[metaldams]

Agree completely about the end of LUNCHEON AT TWELVE....very sudden and unresolved.   Still a fun short just the same.

[HomokHarcos]

The first two volumes came in the mail. One of my top wishes for this year is that the third and final volume comes out.

[metaldams]

The first two volumes came in the mail. One of my top wishes for this year is that the third and final volume comes out.

Hope you enjoy those sets.  Yes, put me on the list of those anxiously awaiting volume 3.  With that release, the last ten years of Chase’s career will be covered on DVD.

[NoahYoung]

I found all the Chase Roach talkies from these sets on the internet archive last year.  I assume they're still there. They left out the 2 talkies missing soundtracks -- but it was the first time I had seen those other 1929 talkies. For years, they've had Chase stuff usually grabbed from TCM showings.

[metaldams]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0D92WZR6H/

Out in November!  Just placed my pre order

[NoahYoung]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0D92WZR6H/

Out in November!  Just placed my pre order

Nice. Would it have killed Amazon or whoever put the ad copy there to list all the shorts included?

I need to check my Charley Chase book, but as of the late 90s most of the late silent shorts were lost. THE WAY OF ALL PANTS survives in clips from THE FURTHER PERILS OF LAUREL AND HARDY, but I wonder if they found the rest of it. For years I was frustrated that every new DVD release of Charley Chase shorts did not include LIMOUSINE LOVE, so I never bought any of them. Then I grabbed LL from youtube several years ago, but there are different versions where some scenes are missing. I tried to edit together my own "restoration" to include all scenes, but then the "free" editor I was using ran out of free trials.

Since LL is from 1928, I assume yet again they won't include it. Sheesh! TTBOMK, LL has only been released on DVD outside the U.S.

Regarding THE WAY OF ALL PANTS , I guess we can get into a discussion of whether or not the whole film exists somewhere in the late Robert Youngson's film collection...

The following is the best introduction to Charley Chase silents for the unitiated, and it includes a fantastic abridgement of LL -- that's where I first saw it, and for years was all that most people could view of that film.

The owner disable viewing it on other sites.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZHH0NgDs4KI

[Freddie Sanborn]

Most or all of Charley’s 1927 shorts survive, since the bulk of them (the Pathe’s) had Show-at-Home Kodascopes made. The losses occur when MGM began distributing them. But you can get a good idea of what’s on the set by looking at  Charley’s 1927 releases at imbd.com.

[NoahYoung]

Most or all of Charley’s 1927 shorts survive, since the bulk of them (the Pathe’s) had Show-at-Home Kodascopes made. The losses occur when MGM began distributing them. But you can get a good idea of what’s on the set by looking at  Charley’s 1927 releases at imbd.com.

The few titles they list spill over to the M-G-M era, which is good.

[metaldams]

So the majority of these are indeed Pathe shorts.  Good to know.  Those are the shorts that tend to be available in other collections, though I’m not sure how many from 1927 will show up from previous collections.  I will simply have to look to see what’s included in my previous collections.

Either way, I’m thrilled and thankful about this and look forward to whatever shorts are made available.  No complaints from me.

Now that 1928 and next year 1929 becomes public domain, I’m curious to see if whatever MGM shorts survive eventually see the light of day.  I do consider that the biggest hole in my silent comedy viewing.

[NoahYoung]

So the majority of these are indeed Pathe shorts.  Good to know.  Those are the shorts that tend to be available in other collections, though I’m not sure how many from 1927 will show up from previous collections.  I will simply have to look to see what’s included in my previous collections.

Either way, I’m thrilled and thankful about this and look forward to whatever shorts are made available.  No complaints from me.

Now that 1928 and next year 1929 becomes public domain, I’m curious to see if whatever MGM shorts survive eventually see the light of day.  I do consider that the biggest hole in my silent comedy viewing.

My Charley Chase book (from 1998) says there are rumors that the lost films are buried in the desert! I kid you not.
Repeating shorts that have previously been released on Region 1 DVDs would bite, even thought they'd be upgrades. People want to see stuff previously unavailable.

I find the Chase silents more consistently funny than his talkies, although there are some gems there, too. If 1928 shorts are PD now, maybe someone will post LIMOUSINE LOVE again and it won't get taken down! In the interim, check at that yt link I posted above which has the potted version, and is excellent.

BTW, 4 CLOWNS is basically responsible for Chase's modern reputation. I kicked myself for years for not taping it from an early 90s showing on AMC. Unlike other films, they never re-showed it as far as I know. Back then, it was the only way to see such a generous helping of both Chase and Buster Keaton, whose sole "clip" was a lengthy abridgment of SEVEN CHANCES. The other 2 "clowns" were 2 guys by the names of Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy. Perhaps you've heard of them. It included some rare at the time clips from L&H silents that Youngson had excerpted from before, but these were scenes never before included by Youngson.

[NoahYoung]

Luncheon at Twelve was the last short on this set - and one of the best. The location work always adds so much to these old two-reelers, and that short had a good amount of it. I'm not always  the biggest fan of songs in two-reelers but the ones here (and in Sherman Said It, for that matter) were great. The one thing that seemed odd to me was.... I thought there was going to be some kind of confrontation between Charley's character and the worker who picked up ashes when he arrived to party at the end. I thought when he saw Charley there, something was going to happen. But the short just ended. Still great stuff but the ending wasn't as expected.

Those interested in location work should watch:

LUNCHEON AT TWELVE was partially remade as TASSELS IN THE AIR, directed by Chase himself! The ashes guy was Jack Barty, the mad butler in OLIVER THE EIGHTH! (Oops, I see now that the Stooge connection was already mentioned above.)

https://archive.org/details/luncheon-at-twelve-1933

The whole shebang: https://archive.org/details/30-now-we-ll-tell-one-november-19-1932

[NoahYoung]

THE NICKEL NURSER, the last Chase-Todd short, was somewhat of a disappointment. Not a bad short at all but I was expecting something better. Maybe a victim of high expectations. THE TABASCO KID was the weakest short on disc one by a fair margin for me. It struck me as overly bizarre and short on laughs and humor. Other people seem to really like it so your mileage might vary.

I agree on THE TABASCO KID -- one of the poorest shorts he made.
I disagree about THE NICKEL NURSER. I think it is one of his best! (And I've seen all of his pairings with Thelma Todd, which I've read spilled over into real life. Lucky you-know-what!)

[metaldams]

There are 16 Charley Chase 1927 credits on IMDb.  The description on the Amazon links says 15 films.  These are two facts, the rest of this paragraph is speculation.  My guess is CALL OF THE CUCKOO is the one not included because a.) it’s a Max Davidson film Chase is in as a guest and b.) it is already included on the recent Laurel and Hardy blu ray since Stan and Ollie are in the film.  Merely an educated guess on my part, but I won’t know for sure until I see an official list.  I’m excited either way.

As far as the desert theory, I’ll dig for them, heat stroke be damned.

The Robert Youngson compilations, at the risk of spewing blasphemy, I have never had much interest in beyond historical appreciation.  I’m living in the age where I’m spoiled and this stuff is more readily available and became a fan when that was starting to happen.  The initial point was to expose these films to people who have a hard time seeing them.  Doesn’t apply to me.  But 4 CLOWNS is the exception.  It is where I saw footage of LIMOUSINE LOVE and am thankful for it to this day.

[Freddie Sanborn]

The Glorious Fourth is an Our Gang short from 1927 in which Chase has a cameo. It will certainly be on the forthcoming Silent Our Gang set from ClassicFlix, but who knows how long that will take?

[NoahYoung]

The Robert Youngson compilations, at the risk of spewing blasphemy, I have never had much interest in beyond historical appreciation.  I’m living in the age where I’m spoiled and this stuff is more readily available and became a fan when that was starting to happen.  The initial point was to expose these films to people who have a hard time seeing them.  Doesn’t apply to me.  But 4 CLOWNS is the exception.  It is where I saw footage of LIMOUSINE LOVE and am thankful for it to this day.

I haven't watched a full Youngson compilation in years. I bought THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMEDY and WHEN COMEDY WAS KING on VHS over 30 years ago, when it was impossible to see most of the films it excerpted. I had seen these compilations before on TV, though. I bought THE FURTHER PERILS OF L&H on DVD when it came out maybe about 20 years ago.

I enjoy the music and narration on his compilations. Now this is blasphemy: I sometimes prefer the way Youngson edited a film over the original! One of the things he was good at was what people called "potted" versions, like LIMOUSINE LOVE. His "potted" version of WE FAW DOWN is much, much better than the complete short. It is in L&H's LAUGHING 20s. I was very disappointed when I finally saw the complete short, which I think is one of L&H's weakest silent films not including some of those Pathes where they weren't really a team yet.

Youngson mixed short clips in with these longer versions, and I always thought he struck the perfect balance.

So I, too, rarely watch Youngon compilations anymore, but still have a high appreciation for them. I do have a few from archive.org that I haven't gotten around to watching yet (though I probably saw them on TV back in the 70s.) One is DAYS OF THRILLS AND LAUGHTER. There still can be hidden gold in them -- a short you might not have taken the time to seek out before.

And yes, LIMOUSINE LOVE is legendary because of Youngson's 4 CLOWNS -- which makes it all the more puzzling that it has yet to be released in any video format, not even VHS, in the U.S. The first time I saw it complete was with an audience of perhaps 50 people, at a 16mm screening. It brought down the house! I was tempted to buy a copy from Film Preservation Associates  (David Shepard) in 16mm, but it was over $200 I think, and I was told by the person who projected it at that screening that it was more complete than FPA's.


Here's yet another incomplete version:

[NoahYoung]

LUNCHEON AT TWELVE was partially remade as TASSELS IN THE AIR, directed by Chase himself! The ashes guy was Jack Barty, the mad butler in OLIVER THE EIGHTH! (Oops, I see now that the Stooge connection was already mentioned above.)

https://archive.org/details/luncheon-at-twelve-1933

The whole shebang: https://archive.org/details/30-now-we-ll-tell-one-november-19-1932

The whole shebang is gone, but most of the shebang can still be found here: https://archive.org/details/@a_comedy_classics750