Film & Shorts Discussions > Random Comedy Reviews

Young Oldfield (1924) - Charley Chase

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HomokHarcos:


https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209500/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_179

The next short, Position Wanted, is lost, so we move on to Young Oldfield. I find it mostly amusing, aside from one element.

Another Charley Chase short, and another amusing one. It starts off with Charley racing Barney Oldfield, supposedly he was a famous auto racer at the time. I believe Paul Pain is the auto racing expert on this board, maybe he can let us know more about him. Charley actually wins, and I thought it was pretty optimistic for a Chase short, but then it turns out to be a dream.

We get to a pretty bleak setting where Charley and his family can't pay the mortgage, and their property is about to be taken away. Charley has a pretty clever solution that reminds me of what Chaplin did in The Kid, gives people a cold. I like how putting on a fan is all it takes to get people sick. Just like Chaplin offered to fix windows he smashed, Chase decides to offer medicine to people who get a cold. That gives him the money, but the race is on to pay it off before they lose it. There's another appearance from one of my favorite Our Gang children, Joe Cobb.

The ending is Sennett like, ending in a chase scene, either it's not as cartoony. Unfortunately, there is a short blackface gag here. Your mileage may vary on whether that ruins the whole film or not.

Barney Oldfield and the race scene seemed to be the selling point, but that was mostly a short scene at the beginning before the main plot takes over.

Umbrella Sam:
Once again, another fun Charley Chase short. I can’t really think of many great car race comedies at the top of my head; I know there’s a Larry Semon short about racing, but I haven’t seen that in a long time. Once again, a well-structured story, this time involving Chase and his mother having to find a way to pay the mortgage on time, getting the money through a clever idea on Chase’s part, and then racing to get to pay it on time. The chase is Sennett-like, but Sennett style chases are still very fun, and this is no exception. The blackface gag is a bit uncomfortable, but the shots are so brief that it doesn’t really ruin it for me in the same way that most blackface shots in films from that time do. Again, it’s just nice to see Chase tell another complete, structured story in such a short timeframe.

Paul Pain:
Barney Oldfield was not only a race car driver of days of old, but he was one of the greatest American race car drivers ever.  He won hundreds of races outright in addition to the races he "won" as part of Ernie A. Moross's traveling racing circus that showed in nearly all 50 states at some point or another.  Barney was to motorsport then what Babe Ruth was to baseball or Jack Johnson was to boxing.  He was also a speed record holder and overall was an American icon whose name was synonymous with speed until the 2nd half of the 20th century.

metaldams:
I have thoughts, but you guys did a great job saying most of them.  When Charley got the people sick to drum up more business, I was thinking of Harold Lloyd, but Homok is right, also comparable to Chaplin’s window gag in THE KID.  I too thought this felt more Sennett than Roach towards the end, even using the majestic old cyclorama in the chase!

As far as Barney Oldfield and speaking of Sennett, this Chase short is not his only appearance in a silent comedy.  11 years earlier, with Ford Sterling, Mack Sennett and Mabel “Jimmy Page” Normand.  A short that is on The Slapstick Encyclopedia set, one of the first sets I bought when discovering silent comedy.  BARNEY OLDFIELD’S RACE FOR LIFE (1913).

Paul Pain:

--- Quote from: metaldams on April 16, 2022, 06:57:08 AM ---As far as Barney Oldfield and speaking of Sennett, this Chase short is not his only appearance in a silent comedy.  11 years earlier, with Ford Sterling, Mack Sennett and Mabel “Jimmy Page” Normand.  A short that is on The Slapstick Encyclopedia set, one of the first sets I bought when discovering silent comedy.  BARNEY OLDFIELD’S RACE FOR LIFE (1913).

--- End quote ---

In addition, Charlie Chaplin's first film as "The Tramp" was KID AUTO RACES AT VENICE in 1914, set on the real Vanderbilt Cup race course.

Yes, that really was Mr. Oldfield here, although I won't number the inconsistencies in the racing scenes.  Mack Sennett actually owned a racing Fiat in the 1910s.

I didn't see any "blackface" in that scene.  To me it was just Charley and the mortgage holder covered in soot from the train.

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