Paul Pain has been doing a fine job reviewing these Columbia Charley Chase shorts. Most of them are available on YouTube - at least during the time of this review, but sadly RATTLING ROMEO is not. Available on a DVD which I own, I’ll pitch in the review. I hope you guys will get a chance to view this one someday if you haven’t already as this Del Lord directed effort is one of the better ones in the series.
Some of these Columbia Chase shorts seem to lack focus and have an almost Sennett like feel in more extreme cases, a style not necessarily suited for a more mature Chase. RATTLING ROMEO does have more focus in addition to outdoor settings that were more common in prime era Columbia shorts.
Charley, once again, is paired up with Ann Doran and these two are becoming quite a team. The premise is Charley has a rival for her affection, a man who has a car and is able to drive her to work. Charley has to use public transportation to get to work as he’s without a car. His luck changes as he wins $250 in a contest and is able to buy a used car for that price - what they’ve done to the dollar since then. Anyway, Charley puts down a $125 down payment and uses the rest of the winnings to buy car accessories.
The car turns out to be a massive piece of junk which leads to some very focused and funny comedy. The car is a great comic prop. Through several minutes in the short - doors fall off, bumpers and headlights hit the ground, mirrors easily break and a tire easily bursts, shooting dust into the faces of a Charley and Ann. There’s also a great shot where Chase falls through the floor of the passenger side of the car butt first, legs and upper torso sticking out. Chase’s frustration builds and he decides to take the car to the man who sold it to him. The man won’t take it back without Charley paying the rest of the down payment. Chase refuses to pay the man and the man threatens to repossess the car.
Chase won’t give the man satisfaction and drives the hunk of junk around town, setting up more great comedy. He has to drive through back alleys and put on disguises in order to avoid the man trying to repossess the car from him. After making it to work, Chase’s boss gives him $30,000 worth of bonds he has to deliver. While doing so, the man trying to repossess the car finds and tricks Charley into getting the car back, yet is kind enough to let Charley keep the car accessories he bought.
From here, the short is not quite as strong. Chase is carrying all the parts he bought and accidentally smacks people on the trolley train with them, causing a scene. He runs into his boss and girl on the train. The boss fires Charley for not concentrating on delivering the bonds, a ruckus ensues where the bonds get on the ground, Cy Schindell tries to steal them and Charley retrieves them by throwing a giant bumper on Schindell’s head. The part is rushed compared to the rest of the short and even feels more rushed as the boss suddenly gives Charley a raise and the couple suddenly decide to marry. Rushed ending aside, there are a lot of funny bits and a very strong 1 and a half reels here. A good comedy of frustration and well written when this is good. I recommend seeking RATTLING ROMEO out.
