The Chief

... MGM really didn't get comedy at all, especially during the early 30s when he was tied to that studio.

Ed Wynn was more well known from his stage performances as well as his radio show than he was for his early film performances as a comedian. In later years he turned his hand to dramatic roles and was very good in them, but here I am just turning my criticism to his performance in this film, and his schtick is abysmal as translated to the big screen.

Like some other comedians of the period, Mr. Wynn favored attiring himself in a comical fashion and molding his character as an exaggeration of the norm. Because filmed performances are more intimate than the stage, characterizations of this sort can tend to be out of place.

The film is based on a character he created especially for radio - that of the son of a heroic and deceased fire chief. In the film he also gains fame as a hero (through no fault of his own) and is persuaded to stand for election as an Alderman. Of course, there is a lot of skullduggery to dodge as politicians here are presented as being crooked.

Mr. Wynn is aided in his endeavors by Charles 'Chic' Sale who plays his Uncle Joe, an aged and deaf street-sweeper; Dorothy Mackaill as scenery; Effie Ellsler as the quintessential mother; C. Henry Gordon and William 'Stage' Boyd as scheming politicians; George Givot as a Greek Clothing Merchant who is an expert in Malapropisms; Nat Pendleton as a henchman who is easily softened, and there is a brief appearance by a young Mickey Rooney.