This reminds me a bit of Chase’s 1930 short, ALL TEED UP, and that’s a good thing. Normally, I can’t stand watching obnoxious, loudmouth characters who take delight in seeing others miserable, but Charley Chase and Shemp Howard are the two actors I can think of who are able to pull it off. Both are just so lively when it comes to this that it’s so much fun to watch them, even if they are playing characters we’re not supposed to like. Personally, I slightly prefer ALL TEED UP, but THE HECKLER is also a great premise.
There’s a great supporting cast here too. Monte Collins is especially funny here; I love his reaction when the ice cream falls into his pipe. It’s surprising to learn that Chase died not too long after this, because his performance is so spirited that you can’t really tell how much worse his alcoholism had gotten. While this role did involve a lot of sitting, it still did require lots of energy in order to pull off the facial expressions and the constant screaming. Chase’s facial expressions are especially good here. The happy grins he makes whenever he yells “watch him miss it!” are just so funny that it’s honestly hard to hate his character, despite how annoying he would be in real life.
From what I’ve seen, Chase didn’t really play these types of roles often, but when he did, he took full advantage of the situation. I love the Shemp version, too, but if I had to pick between them, I probably would slightly lean towards this one.
10 out of 10
