The Charley Chase Talkies: 1929-1940

by James L. Neibaur

Overview

Charley Chase began his film career in early 1913 working as a comedian, writer, and director at the Al Christie studios under his real name, Charles Parrott. Chase then joined Mack Sennett's Keystone studio in 1914, costarring in early films of Charlie Chaplin and Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle, as well as directing the frenetic Keystone Cops. By 1924 he was starring in a series of one-reel comedies at Hal Roach studios, graduating to two-reel films the following year. In 1929, he made the transition to sound films. Along with the continuing popularity of his own short comedies, Chase often directed the films of others, including several popular Three Stooges efforts.

In The Charley Chase Talkies: 1929-1940, James L. Neibaur examines, film-by-film, the comedian's seventy-nine short subjects at Roach and Columbia studios. The first book to examine any portion of Chase’s filmography, this volume discusses the various methods Chase employed in his earliest sound films, his variations on common themes, his use of music, and the modification of his character as he reached the age of forty. Neibaur also acknowledges the handful of feature film appearances Chase made during this period.

A filmmaker whom Time magazine once declared was receiving the most fan mail of any comedian in movies, Charley Chase remains quite popular among classic film buffs, as well as historians and scholars. A detailed look into the work of an artist whose career straddled the silent and sound eras, The Charley Chase Talkies will be appreciated by those interested in film comedy of the 1920s and 30s.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780810891616
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	09/05/2013
Pages:	380
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.30(d)

About the Author

James L. Neibaur is a film historian and educator who has written several books on film, including The Fall of Buster Keaton (2010), Early Charlie Chaplin (2011), and The Silent Films of Harry Langdon, 1923-1928 (2012), all published by Scarecrow Press.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xi

1 The Charley Chase Silents 1

2 The Charley Chase Sound Films 8

3 The Big Squawk 10

4 Leaping Love 14

5 Snappy Sneezer 19

6 Crazy Feet 23

7 Stepping Out 25

8 Great Gobs 28

9 The Real McCoy 30

10 Whispering Whoopee 34

11 All Teed Up 40

12 Fifty Million Husbands 45

13 Fast Work 48

14 Girl Shock 52

15 Dollar Dizzy 56

16 Looser Than Loose 60

17 High C's 67

18 Thundering Tenors 70

19 The Pip from Pittsburg 73

20 Rough Seas 78

21 One of the Smiths 81

22 The Panic Is On 85

23 Skip the Maloo 89

24 What a Bozo 93

25 The Hasty Marriage 95

26 The Tabasco Kid 100

27 The Nickel Nurser 103

28 In Walked Charley 108

29 First in War 112

30 Young Ironsides 115

31 Girl Grief 122

32 Now We'll Tell One 127

33 Mr. Bride 131

34 Fallen Arches 136

35 Nature in the Wrong 140

35 His Silent Racket 144

37 Arabian Tights 148

38 Sherman Said It 151

39 Midsummer Mush 156

40 Luncheon at Twelve 161

41 The Cracked Iceman 167

42 Four Parts 171

43 I'll Take Vanilla 175

44 Another Wild Idea 178

45 If Happened One Day 182

45 Something Simple 186

47 You Said a Hatful 192

45 Fate's Fathead 196

49 The Chases of Pimple Street 201

50 Okay Toots! 206

51 Poker at Eight 209

52 Southern Exposure 213

53 The Four Star Boarder 217

54 Nurse to Yow 222

55 Manhattan Monkey Business 227

55 Public Ghost #1 232

57 Life Hesitates at 40 235

55 The Count Takes the Count 239

59 Vamp Till Ready 243

60 On the Wrong Trek 247

61 Neighborhood House 251

62 Hollywood Party 256

63 Chase at Columbia 258

64 The Grand Hooter 261

65 From Bad to Worse 267

66 The Wrong Miss Wright 270

67 Calling All Doctors 274

68 The Big Squirt 278

69 Man Bites Lovebug 282

70 Time Out for Trouble 287

71 The Mind Needer 292

72 Many Sappy Returns 296

73 The Nightshirt Bandit 300

74 Pie à la Maid 304

75 The Sap Takes a Wrap 309

76 The Chump Takes a Bump 313

77 Rattling Romeo 317

78 Skinny the Moodier 321

79 Teacher's Pest 324

80 The Awful Goof 328

81 The Heckler 332

82 South of the Boudoir 336

83 His Bridal Fright 340

Appendix A Written, Produced, or Directed by Charley Chase 345

Appendix B Music Credits for the Charley Chase Films 351

Bibliography 357

Index 359

About the Author 365

Editorial Reviews

The bulk of The Charley Chase Talkies is made up of a film by film examination of the sound shorts produced by Chase. Each movie is given its due, with an informative who-what-when section and a thoughtful examination of how each fits into Chase’s overall body of work. Tracking both the evolution of his direction and the growth of his talents as an actor, this overview is as rewarding as it is informative. Particularly interesting were the examinations of the difference between the films that Chase both directed and starred in, as opposed to those where he acted under the direction of another.

For fans of Chase, The Charley Chase Talkies will expand and illuminate your understanding of his remarkable talents.” —Pretty Clever Films

“Neibaur’s knowledge and passion for the subject shines through in his writing, making this more than your average film-by-film study. Consistently interesting and entertaining, the book is filled with enough knowledge to satisfy any film buff. The best part is that this segment of Chase’s career hasn’t been so thoroughly studied until now, so the information and Neibaur’s analyses are fresh and original. The choice to concentrate only on Chase’s talkies was a good one as well, allowing much more room for a more in-depth study in what still ended up being over a 300 page book. . . . Neibaur’s [has written an] impressively thorough book. This is required reading for any fan of Charley Chase, comedy, or just film in general.” —Examiner

From the Publisher

The bulk of The Charley Chase Talkies is made up of a film by film examination of the sound shorts produced by Chase. Each movie is given its due, with an informative who-what-when section and a thoughtful examination of how each fits into Chase’s overall body of work. Tracking both the evolution of his direction and the growth of his talents as an actor, this overview is as rewarding as it is informative. Particularly interesting were the examinations of the difference between the films that Chase both directed and starred in, as opposed to those where he acted under the direction of another.

For fans of Chase, The Charley Chase Talkies will expand and illuminate your understanding of his remarkable talents.

Pretty Clever Films

Neibaur’s knowledge and passion for the subject shines through in his writing, making this more than your average film-by-film study. Consistently interesting and entertaining, the book is filled with enough knowledge to satisfy any film buff. The best part is that this segment of Chase’s career hasn’t been so thoroughly studied until now, so the information and Neibaur’s analyses are fresh and original. The choice to concentrate only on Chase’s talkies was a good one as well, allowing much more room for a more in-depth study in what still ended up being over a 300 page book.. .. Neibaur’s [has written an] impressively thorough book. This is required reading for any fan of Charley Chase, comedy, or just film in general.

Examiner