Topic: Mighty Like a Moose (1926) - Charley Chase

[metaldams]

      Nice to finally getting around to reviewing a Charley Chase short.  The guy was a fixture in two reelers comedies from the mid teens all the way to his death in 1940, though things really picked up when he moved into a two reel series for Hal Roach in the mid twenties.  He went on to have a series at Columbia later in his life and even directed six Stooge shorts himself, but right now the film of focus is 1926’s MIGHTY LIKE A MOOSE, perhaps his most famous two reeler.  Chase, like Harold Lloyd, was believable enough to play straight, romantic roles yet could turn on the meter for the absurd in the blink of an eye.  MIGHTY LIKE A MOOSE is a fine example of this.

      The basic plot is Chase has buck teeth and his wife, played by Vivian Oakland, has a big nose.  Both of them, on the same day, get plastic surgery to correct these things without letting the other know.  Both go out and run into each other, not recognizing their own spouse due to the alterations.  They both go into a minor little fling with each other and are trying to hide from each other at the same time due to the unusual circumstance.  I’ll get this out of the way - in order to enjoy MIGHTY LIKE A MOOSE, you have to suspend your disbelief.  Alterations aside, as much as these two converse with each other, you’d think they’d start to catch on this is their spouse after a while.  Voice, speech pattern, personality, body shape, body movement, size - these two people are intimate with each other as a married couple, you’d think there’d be enough clues to catch on who they really are after a while.  This has to be a silent film, as if this were a talkie, more of the realistic things we’d hear would be that much more obvious.

      All that said, forget my bitching in the paragraph above and try to accept this very unreal premise, because what we do get is a very creative and entertaining fantasy world.  Both Chase and Oakland play the perfect combination of shy and sly when flirting with each other and we get some wonderful scenes.  The two avoiding each other in their own homes as they try to get ready to go out to see - each other - is quite creative.  It reminds me of the way Buster Keaton and Kathryn McGuire creatively avoid each of, though by accident in their case, in THE NAVIGATOR.  In the case of MIGHTY LIKE A MOOSE, they run into each other only from the back, never noticing each other’s presence at the same time and never seeing the new alterations.

      The party scene is great as we establish both spouses were never too serious about cheating - just dipping their toes in the water - and we get that great shot of Chase and his unwanted dance partner’s feet and lower legs.  Just by showing their legs, it is conveyed they find each other, Chase is momentarily flustered but gives in and dances anyway.  Great pantomime and great film making.

      The coup de grace is Chase finding out it was really his wife he was out with before she finds out it was her husband she was out with.  He saved a set of false buck teeth to identify his old self and uses this a disguise.  He brilliantly goes back and forth between his old self and the man she thought she was seeing by removing his teeth.  He gives her a scare and even stages a fight in the other room through a doorway - the boot gag being my favorite.  The way Chase changes his mannerisms acting as the angry buck tooth husband and the man she thought she was seeing is brilliant as are the energy and body movements he gives out running around all over the place.  She eventually catches on seeing a picture in a newspaper lying around of before and after surgery pictures of her husband and Ms. Oakland’s amused looks as Chase stages this elaborate fight with himself is a highlight.  The whole staging a fight with yourself pretending there are two people premise was inspired by Max Linder in BE MY WIFE.

      A very funny and pleasantly absurd Charley Chase short.  A man whose films are becoming more and more available and worth seeking out.

[Paul Pain]

Charley Chase, whose Columbia films will soon be in the review queue, is just fantastic.  Yes, this requires much suspension of disbelief, but what a great result.  The coordination between he and Vivien Oakland is absolutely supreme throughout this, and it's definitely a good short to introduce newbies to his work.

The dance scenes were great, and the piano mover trick was a most worthy gag for their escape.  That ending fight scene is just comedic gold and couldn't have been better crafted around Charley's talents.  Vivien's reactions are just as good, and it's hard to decide whether she loves or hates the charlatan, though I think it's mixed.

Charley Chase was definitely one of the best all-around actors of the Golden Age of Comedy.  It's a shame he died so young with so much still able to be accomplished because he adjusted so well to changing technology.

10/10

[metaldams]

Charley Chase, whose Columbia films will soon be in the review queue, is just fantastic.  Yes, this requires much suspension of disbelief, but what a great result.  The coordination between he and Vivien Oakland is absolutely supreme throughout this, and it's definitely a good short to introduce newbies to his work.

The dance scenes were great, and the piano mover trick was a most worthy gag for their escape.  That ending fight scene is just comedic gold and couldn't have been better crafted around Charley's talents.  Vivien's reactions are just as good, and it's hard to decide whether she loves or hates the charlatan, though I think it's mixed.

Charley Chase was definitely one of the best all-around actors of the Golden Age of Comedy.  It's a shame he died so young with so much still able to be accomplished because he adjusted so well to changing technology.

10/10

You’re correct about Chase adjusting well to sound.  When the silent comedians transitioned over, Chase’s smooth transition rarely gets mentioned.  Look forward to whatever Columbia shorts of his you review.

[Umbrella Sam]

While it is true that there has to be a suspension of belief in order to enjoy this...well, it’s one that’s well worth it. This was a really fun short. The situation is unique and while a lot of gags are based around that, Chase does manage to throw in a few different gags as well, most notably the ones involving Chase and Oakland trying to get out of the party with the musicians. For me, the highlight is Chase’s pretend fight. It’s really well coordinated, especially when Chase does things like keeping one part of the “husband’s” robe on his arm and pretending to beat himself up with it. It seems like something that was really well thought out, and the end result was worth it. Looking forward to checking out more Chase silents (so far, I’m really only familiar with the sound shorts).

10 out of 10

[metaldams]

While it is true that there has to be a suspension of belief in order to enjoy this...well, it’s one that’s well worth it. This was a really fun short. The situation is unique and while a lot of gags are based around that, Chase does manage to throw in a few different gags as well, most notably the ones involving Chase and Oakland trying to get out of the party with the musicians. For me, the highlight is Chase’s pretend fight. It’s really well coordinated, especially when Chase does things like keeping one part of the “husband’s” robe on his arm and pretending to beat himself up with it. It seems like something that was really well thought out, and the end result was worth it. Looking forward to checking out more Chase silents (so far, I’m really only familiar with the sound shorts).

10 out of 10

I’m the opposite.  I saw a bunch of Chase silents first before seeing his talkies as for years they were more readily available.  MIGHTY LIKE A MOOSE is the first Chase short I ever saw and I saw it on the Slapstick Encyclopedia set which I bought a very long time ago.  This short is actually on the National Film Registry.

[NoahYoung]

Can we officially say that Charley Chase is no longer "forgotten"? I'm still not sure when he was considered forgotten. Maybe from 1940 to 1957, when clips from his silent short, THE STING OF STINGS, were included in THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMEDY. I'm not sure he was "forgotten" even during that time, as most of his talkies were re-issued by Film Classics, the same company that re-issued the Laurel and Hardy Roach talkies.

Film Classics bought the entire 1929-1938 film library in 1943, originally for theatrical showings. In the case of L&H, they wound up on TV -- I'm not sure about Charley on TV, however. Add that to the fact that many of his films were in constant release for home viewing from companies such as Blackhawk. I lost track of how many I have on 8mm and Super 8, but years ago a fellow film collector was surprised when I told him how many I had -- he said he never realized that many were released in that gauge. (At the time, he was primarily a 16mm collector, having started out in 8mm and Super 8 as a kid, just like me.) Columbia released 4 of his films on Super 8, which you can read about in another thread where I included a list. As late as 1979, the Blackhawk Film Digest (aka catalog) itself had Dick Bann write an article on him being "uncelebrated", despite the fact that they offered so many of his films.
See page 76: https://web.opendrive.com/api/v1/download/file.json/Ml8xNTkwMTY4MzNf?inline=1

On to the film -- this and LIMOUSINE LOVE are probably his best silent shorts. Actually, IMHO, they are. I slightly prefer LIMOUSINE LOVE by a nose. That film is hard to find in the U.S., but it pops up from time to time on youtube -- then it gets pulled off. Amazingly, its been there for a year now. Watch it while you can. I won't post a link since it's not PD. But I'm sure you can find it, (and perhaps do something else, if you get my drift.) 

There is not much more to say about MOOSE than what has already been said in this thread. If you haven't seen it, then it is "must" viewing. It is also one of those silent that even people who don't like silents will enjoy. This and the other Chase silents are perfect examples that all silent comedy was not in the Mack Sennett mold. (Though I do enjoy those myself.)

[Dr. Mabuse]

One of the great Charley Chase two-reelers. I was fortunate enough to see "Mighty Like a Moose" at the Academy's Samuel Goldwyn Theater in 2011 and it really comes alive with an audience.  A genuine classic.

10/10

[metaldams]

That’s great you got to see this one in front of an audience, Dr. Mabuse!

As far as Chase being forgotten, until recently his work was hard to find.  All his thirties stuff is now available and his silent up to about 1926 or so are also.  Ten, fifteen years ago, this wasn’t the case.  It’s that 1927 - 1929 stuff that’s still hard to find and yes, Limousine Love, which I saw once and loved, falls into that category.  Something tells me those years can possibly have Chase’s best stuff.

I reviewed Mighty Like A Moose a while back and all the Columbia shorts have been covered, but presently, HomokHarcos is chronologically doing the Chase silents starting with the Jimmy Jump one reelers on a weekly basis.

[NoahYoung]

As far as Chase being forgotten, until recently his work was hard to find.  All his thirties stuff is now available and his silent up to about 1926 or so are also.  Ten, fifteen years ago, this wasn’t the case.  It’s that 1927 - 1929 stuff that’s still hard to find and yes, Limousine Love, which I saw once and loved, falls into that category.  Something tells me those years can possibly have Chase’s best stuff.

I reviewed Mighty Like A Moose a while back and all the Columbia shorts have been covered, but presently, HomokHarcos is chronologically doing the Chase silents starting with the Jimmy Jump one reelers on a weekly basis.

Well, although everything available today wasn't always available, at least not easily, back in the early 90s I bought 2 VHS tapes from Grapevine video with Chase silent shorts, which at this very moment I am holding in my hand. They contain:
BROMO AND JULIET
THE CARETAKER'S DAUGHTER
MIGHTY LIKE A MOOSE
LONG FLIV THE KING
HIS WOODEN WEDDING
CRAZY LIKE A FOX

In 1998, the first book-length study of Chase was published, "Smile When The Raindrops Fall: The Story of Charley Chase", co-written by Brian Anthony and Andy Edmonds (author of HOT TODDY). In it, like me, it mentions Blackhawk films, and for video, "Mail order video companies specializing in short comedies offer an impressive selection of Chase titles."

Circa 1996, "The World of Charley Chase" website was created by Yair Solan, who I believe was still in his teens. The website still exists. Even in 1996, Solan had seen and posted reviews of many Chase talkies and silents. In the 80s, many Chase talkies were included as extras on the Nostalgia Merchant video releases of Laurel and Hardy features.
In the 90s, a few Chase films were available on VHS in the LAUREL & HARDY & FRIENDS SERIES:

http://www.inkwellimagesink.com/pages/comedy/LaurelAndHardy.shtml

In the early 90s, in a brick and mortar music and movies chain, I bought WHEN COMEDY WAS KING and THE GOLDEN AGE OF COMEDY, which included Chase segments. In the 80s, I taped LAUREL AND HARDY'S LAUGHING TWENTIES from TV, which contained a lot of Chase. In that same decade, American Movie Classics showed FOUR CLOWNS, which showed about half of LIMOUSINE LOVE.

In 2005, I taped the Charley Chase marathon on TCM that showed  a total of 15 Chase silents. I still have the tape.
A bit before and after 2005, I was already taping Roach talkies from TCM, long before the DVDs came out. Around that time, I also bought from Amazon THE FURTHER PERILS OF LAUREL & HARDY, which contains some Chase clips. So between all that, plus my collection of his films on real film, I have never really had problems finding Chase films to watch. Have I seen every Chase film? No, but in time I will watch all available. There were (and might still be) most of the Roach and Columbia talkies that were released on DVD, or shown on TCM, on youtube, where you can often see the TCM logo on the screen.

The first Chase DVD of silents was released in 2004, 18 years ago:
http://charleychase.50webs.com/dvd.htm

That site also lists the availability, concentrating on real film and DVDs, but not VHS:
http://charleychase.50webs.com/extantfilms.htm

Just skimming through it, I found a few inaccuracies, to the best of my knowledge:

- IT HAPPENED ONE DAY was only released by Blackhawk in 16mm. That's what all my catalogs show, and I have never seen it offered for sale in Super 8 or 8mm in over a quarter of a century of looking for it. I think I only saw it for sale on eBay once in 16mm, but unfortunately, I didn't win the auction.

- "Still available in 16mm from David Shepard" - David passed away in 2017, and stopped offering films in 16mm from his company, Film Preservation Associates/Blackhawk Films, in 2007.  The company still exists, however: https://www.fpa-blackhawk.com/

This is sad:

1927-29 Two Reelers.

MGM releases, not public domain. Yet more classics during this golden period for Charley Chase. Sadly, the survival rate drops to just over 50%, and several of these comedies only seem to exist in fragmented form.

THE STING OF STINGS (1927) (aka A TREAT FOR THE BOYS) Golden Era Films: 16mm
THE LIGHTER THAT FAILED (1927)
THE WAY OF ALL PANTS (1927) [fragment] Films of Laurel & Hardy Volume 6
US (1927)
NEVER THE DAMES SHALL MEET (1927) [only surviving fragment appears in Robert Youngson's compilation film FOUR CLOWNS]
ACHING YOUTHS (1928)
THE FAMILY GROUP (1928) [only surviving fragment appears in Robert Youngson's compilation film FOUR CLOWNS]
LIMOUSINE LOVE (1928) still available in 16mm from David Shepard, Kinowelt Laurel & Hardy Vol. 22
ALL PARTS (1928) [may not survive complete]
MOVIE NIGHT Blackhawk: 8mm, Super8mm, still available from David Shepard in 16mm
Kinowelt Laurel & Hardy Vol. 20

Lost MGM Two-Reelers (1928-1929).

The biggest hole in the Charley Chase canon is comprised of his late '20s two-reelers released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. MGM was not nearly as involved as Pathe was in releasing the films they distributed to the home viewing market, and coupled with the growing interest in sound films during this transitional era for the film industry, this results in a very low survival rate for these films. Judging by the high quality work evident in the scant number of comedies Chase produced during this period that do survive ("Limousine Love", "Movie Night") the unavailability of these films is downright tragic - the discovery of a print of any of the following shorts would be a monumental find.

ALL FOR NOTHING (1928) [lost]
THE FIGHT PEST (1928) [lost]
IMAGINE MY EMBARRASSMENT (1928) [lost]
IS EVERYBODY HAPPY? (1928) [lost]
CHASING HUSBANDS (1928) [lost]
THE BOOSTER (1928) [lost]
RUBY LIPS (1929) [lost]
OFF TO BUFFALO (1929) [lost]
LOUD SOUP (1929) [lost]
THIN TWINS (1929) [lost]

[metaldams]

Thanks for that list.  A shame so much of that Chase stuff is lost!  I knew when MGM took over for Pathé with Roach some copyright issues came up, but I didn’t realize that many were lost. 

[NoahYoung]

That Chase book I mentioned seriously states that many of the Chase films are buried in the desert! They are 35mm originals that were owned by Chase himself. They escaped destruction in the early 50s. This was written in 1998, and it also says they have yet to be found.
Puzzling, but it also states that it was an incredible rumor that had been recently substantiated. How could it be substantiated if none have been found? No titles are mentioned, so whether or not it is any of those lost films is anyone's guess.

I'm not pulling anyone's leg here as in my MEXICAN HAYRIDE "bs" review. Perhaps tomorrow I'll scan or take a pic of the page from the book and post it.

https://books.google.com/books?id=Z_7T2JWhJdUC

[NoahYoung]