Film & Shorts Discussions > Random Comedy Reviews

Time Out for Trouble (1938) - Charley Chase

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Paul Pain:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0030874/



OFF AGAIN, ON AGAIN: https://moronika.com/forums/index.php/topic,5739.0.html

Since this is an almost scene-by-scene copy that was remade with Shemp Howard as OFF AGAIN, ON AGAIN, I rehash my post from that thread... with amendments...

This is a pretty weak entry in the Charley Chase oeuvre.  The funniest thing isCharley's suicide attempts.  The whole photo screwup is too farfetched for my tastes.  The entire plot just has holes everywhere.  It's one of those cases where Buster Keaton would be saying that everything is too easy to explain.

Charley does great though with the suicide scenes.  He makes them very comedic yet dark.  He had that unique talent that few comedians have to make dark topics like suicide seem funny.

Dick Curtis is hammy here.  So much that he cannot be seen as a real threat.  But he is better here than in the remake.  Cy Schindell is hilarious as the murder-hungry assassin who just wants to have fun, but his role is underused and could have made for a great extended chase scene.  The rest of the supporting cast is the usual solid Columbia players delivering to perfection.

An unique short that any Charley Chase fan should keep around for its uniqueness even if a bit awkward.

7/10 [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke] [poke]

metaldams:
An OK film for Charley just as it’s an OK film for Shemp, but nothing more.  Chase still had a lot of comedic talent late in his life, but I’m starting to wonder if perhaps Jules White wasn’t the best guy to work with for Chase.  I can definitely imagine Jules really directing Ann Doran and Dick Curtis to get those phony Noo Yawk accents just right, but I really think Chase would have benefitted without running around so much - another chase scene ensues. 

It seems like everyone of these shorts has one great Chase moment and TIME OUT FOR TROUBLE is no exception.  Here, it’s the doughnut on a cane scene with Bess Flowers.  Those two worked really well together.  I know Charley liked working with the younger ladies but Bess Flowers was closer to Charley’s age and the screen chemistry just felt natural with those two in their scene.  She maybe would have made a good wife for him in a series of domestic comedies.

Paul Pain:

--- Quote from: metaldams on July 09, 2020, 09:49:51 PM ---An OK film for Charley just as it’s an OK film for Shemp, but nothing more.  Chase still had a lot of comedic talent late in his life, but I’m starting to wonder if perhaps Jules White wasn’t the best guy to work with for Chase.  I can definitely imagine Jules really directing Ann Doran and Dick Curtis to get those phony Noo Yawk accents just right, but I really think Chase would have benefitted without running around so much - another chase scene ensues. 

It seems like everyone of these shorts has one great Chase moment and TIME OUT FOR TROUBLE is no exception.  Here, it’s the doughnut on a cane scene with Bess Flowers.  Those two worked really well together.  I know Charley liked working with the younger ladies but Bess Flowers was closer to Charley’s age and the screen chemistry just felt natural with those two in their scene.  She maybe would have made a good wife for him in a series of domestic comedies.

--- End quote ---

You have to give Charley credit: he must have been really easy to work as he quickly develops chemistry with nearly every actor he comes near.

Umbrella Sam:
I actually do like this short quite a bit. I remember seeing the remake with Shemp a while back, and while I didn’t think it was bad, it clearly wasn’t a vehicle meant to work with Shemp’s style of comedy. Chase is a more natural choice for this role, as it gives him a chance to show off his eccentric reactions, which he was very good at. The plot is rushed, but the pacing is so over-the-top that it’s much easier to forget than in something like MAN BITES LOVEBUG. Chase’s reactions to whenever he thinks he’s being shot at it are funny, but there are several other standout moments as well. The doughnut on the cane definitely feels like a very Charley Chase-style scene, and he does pull it off with that slightly charming embarrassment that he could usually pull off. I also really find Cy Schindell’s obsession with killing to be funny as well. When Chase tells him the deal is off, he’s disappointed and claiming that he can’t catch a break. Probably my favorite part, though, is when Dick Curtis is about to punch Chase, and Chase just points at his glasses, indicating that he wants to use the “can’t punch someone with glasses” excuse, yet also doesn’t have the nerve to actually say it out loud.

It’s not a perfect short, but I do have to admit that the slightly more wild comedy style here is kind of appealing, and considering its emphasis on Chase reactions, I think that it does fit him well even if it isn’t the typical kind of style you’d usually expect in a Chase short.

8 out of 10

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