Photos
Billie Bennett
- Trouser-Pressing Boarder
- (uncredited)
Vivian Edwards
- Restaurant Patron
- (uncredited)
William Hauber
- Check Room Clerk
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Featured review
Won't make you board
Leo McCarey gets a lot of credit for inventing the formula that would bring Charley Chase his success in film comedy, and there is no real way of knowing how much influence Charley Chase would have been able to have on the story of an early Keystone short such as this, but it is certainly temping to assume a lot of the successful humor here comes from Chase's particular comic mind.
The feel of the film, in fact, is like a cross between a characteristic later Chase film where the mad situations grow from the humiliating situations in which Charley fights to maintain his last shreds of dignity, and a fairly typical madcap Keystone comedy of people being suddenly undressed and losing their clothes. The comedy situation itself, in which Charley steals (something not quite so congruent with the later Charley Chase) an empty wallet and therefore cannot pay for his expensive date, is more prominent in the second half of the film, and works quite well, though not as well as plots of its kind would for the star in the future. In fact, it recalls a very embryonic version of the later and, to be fair, far superior "Manhattan Monkey Business." Chase himself overplays less than he did earlier in this Keystone series, though he retains some of the milquetoast, petulant expressions that don't necessarily work the best for him. He's also characteristically charismatic, though, and is developing some of his trademark flourishes. There's a wonderful moment where makes show of mock gallantry before accidentally pulling a pair of panty-hose out of his pocket that wouldn't have worked nearly so well with other comics. Those panty-hose are a great running gag that provide some of the best laughs in the movie -- also wouldn't seem out of place in one of Chase's own later comedies.
Overall quite a nice and funny one-reeler that is extra interesting for its glimpse of the very early work of Charley Chase and perhaps the beginnings of his great comedies of the twenties.
The feel of the film, in fact, is like a cross between a characteristic later Chase film where the mad situations grow from the humiliating situations in which Charley fights to maintain his last shreds of dignity, and a fairly typical madcap Keystone comedy of people being suddenly undressed and losing their clothes. The comedy situation itself, in which Charley steals (something not quite so congruent with the later Charley Chase) an empty wallet and therefore cannot pay for his expensive date, is more prominent in the second half of the film, and works quite well, though not as well as plots of its kind would for the star in the future. In fact, it recalls a very embryonic version of the later and, to be fair, far superior "Manhattan Monkey Business." Chase himself overplays less than he did earlier in this Keystone series, though he retains some of the milquetoast, petulant expressions that don't necessarily work the best for him. He's also characteristically charismatic, though, and is developing some of his trademark flourishes. There's a wonderful moment where makes show of mock gallantry before accidentally pulling a pair of panty-hose out of his pocket that wouldn't have worked nearly so well with other comics. Those panty-hose are a great running gag that provide some of the best laughs in the movie -- also wouldn't seem out of place in one of Chase's own later comedies.
Overall quite a nice and funny one-reeler that is extra interesting for its glimpse of the very early work of Charley Chase and perhaps the beginnings of his great comedies of the twenties.
helpful•00
- hte-trasme
- Sep 24, 2009
Details
- Runtime11 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.33 : 1
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