Topic: One of the Family (1924) - Charley Chase

[HomokHarcos]

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0860502/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

The second of Charley Chase's one reelers, this one I think is not as good as the first. Charley Chase is a chauffeur and takes a rich woman for a ride, not realizing that smoking right in her face is rude. He goes to a woman's house, a poor working class group that don't have aristocratic etiquette. It seems as it's going to set up a Three Stooges type scenario when they follow his every move when they invite him to dinner, instead it's Charley Chase that gets disgusted by how they are eating.

The stolen wallet bit comes out of nowhere, and does not feel like a logical follow-up to what's going on. A chase ensues and he saves the day. This feels more like a Sennett style short, with a focus on setting up gags and chaotic endings instead of a strong story. As a result, I consider it a disappointment after seeing At First Sight.

[metaldams]

      I actually think the short is very logical, more so than a Sennett short.  The wallet gag was a relative that needed saving and good excuse for Charley to sneak out and give us a chase finale.  I did like the impersonate while you eat bit which was later done in TERMITES OF 1938, a short Chase produced.  I’m not saying the gag necessarily originated here, but it was done in ONE OF THE FAMILY and Chase ended up producing TERMITES OF 1938, so likely an influence.

      They throw a lot in for one reel with Charley transitioning into different relationships with different people.  Charley also has a great screen presence I’m not sure how to characterize into words.  There are plenty of other comedians who do these situational comedies that are less memorable for some reason.  Overall a fun one reeler.

     

[Umbrella Sam]

Another fun short overall, the second half more than the first. While I agree the wallet thing does seem to pop up randomly, it does at least (kind of) tie back to what was happening in the first half of the short, which is more than can usually be said for a Sennett short. My favorite part is the whole dinner imitation thing and, while short, the chase is fun enough. I agree regarding Charley’s screen presence. There was a certain charisma he had that’s hard to put into words; even in the few instances in his career where he had to act annoying, there was always a hint of that likable personality shining through.

[Paul Pain]

I enjoyed this one although it wasn't as good as the previous short.  We have some funny build-ups and typical Sennett style rapid fire gags.  Charley's charisma makes for an extremely enjoyable experience in nearly any scenario.  The plot ties together, although the "uncivilized family manners" trope always makes me squirm.

Following metaldams' thought line: I would guess the dinner scenes in TERMITES OF 1938 definitely were based on this scene, but of course who knows, as he said, if it originated here or earlier.  I have never disliked any Charley Chase affiliated production except for MUTTS TO YOU.