Well, that was...strange. I’ll give it credit in that I do like some gags, mainly when Chase trips over the phone wires and most of the gags with Mahoney. Unfortunately, the misunderstandings just get way too complicated, and I honestly feel bad for Charley considering none of them get resolved. Honestly, I was surprised to find this was directed by Del Lord because this really seems like something that would have been directed by Jules White. One of the Astor Girls even kind of barks like Curly at one point near the end. I guess the cast is alright; most of them do their fair share of slapstick and they do it well. Gloria Blondell isn’t as good as Ann Doran, but she does at least throw a few punches near the end (incidentally, Gloria was also the voice of Daisy Duck). Ethel Clayton kind of plays the standard mother-in-law you’d see in these kinds of comedies; nothing really unique about her performance. Again, the only real stand out is George Cleveland as Mahoney, and even then, I’m not fond of the unresolved ending with him just hitting Chase over the head.
It certainly could have been worse, but this does feel a bit too wild for a proper Chase comedy.
5 out of 10
