The Chases of Pimple Street

Charley has to find a date for his boss, and in the mix-up he has his wife, Betty Mack, portraying his sister-in-law, while his sister-in-law, Ruthelma Hill, is supposed to be his wife.

It's not original, and Chase had done it a couple of times before, particularly in the silent era. He often reused a plot, but the different gags he put in each time made them very different. Here he sings a duet with Miss Mack, and the guy he has to get a date for is Arthur Housman, as hilariously drunk and befuddled as he ever was.

In "The Chases of Pimple Street" - its title a spoof of the 1934 drama "The Barretts Of Wimpole Street" - is a funny little two-reeler from a period when Charley frequently churned out shorts that cannot be compared to his best silent work but which were still constantly amusing. In this one, Charley happily volunteers his bragging sister-in-law, Celeste, to his boss who urgently needs a girl to entertain an out-of-town client. Alas, his sister-in-law is not on time for the meeting and so Charley has to present his wife as the girl for his boss' client while Celeste, who arrives later, is introduced as his wife. Later, the whole company visits a dance hall and complications arouse which ultimately lead to Charley losing his job.

With its clever mixture of sight gags and situational comedy, "TCOPS" is a thoroughly enjoyable Chase sound short, one of his best from that particular period. Nice to see Arthur Housman sober for a few minutes.

While the average Charley Chase short has a score between 6 and 7 on IMDb, for some odd reason, this one as of my review is 9.5. I just can't see why, as this is a good short but certainly not a great one! I have a feeling once more people vote on this film, the score will drop significantly--especially since Turner Classic Movies has recently shown quite a few Chase films.

This short, like most of Chase's others, was directed by Chase himself--using his real name "Charles Parrott". The film begins with a very unusual singing sequence, where Charley and his wife sing about their wedded bliss. The song is pretty sappy, but does a great job of setting up the rest of the film--since his obnoxious sister-in-law is staying with them and doing her best to interfere with the couple's happiness. Surprisingly, Chase had a very amiable voice and it was even better than that of his female lead. I really admired this sequence because it was different and had me EXPECTING a sappy film but delivered a far different product! Charley is in trouble at work and to try to get back in his boss' good graces, he offers to set up his sister-in-law with a client. However, when the client and his boss arrive at Chase's house, she is gone and Charley's own wife pretends to be the single sister-in-law! Then, after they tell this lie, the sister-in-law shows up and Charley panics--telling them that SHE is his wife! This is all pretty cute and very reminiscent of an earlier Chase short, LOOSER THAN LOOSE. In a way, it's too bad that the innovative opening led to just a re-tread of a plot. Also, while the overall film is pretty good, the movie ends very poorly--with a funny but very stupid conclusion. Not a great film, but worth your time and a bit better than the average Chase talking comedy (his silents, by the way, are generally better).

Chases of Pimple St. (1934)

*** (out of 4)

Charley Chase comedy has him play a tormented husband who's married to a lovely wife. The only problem is that the wife's sister lives with them and refuses to move out. I'm actually a pretty big fan of Chase's silent shorts and find them more entertaining and funny that those of Harold Lloyd. I had heard his sound shorts weren't as good but I find them just as funny. There are countless gags in this film including a wonderful sequence where Chase must get ready downstairs because his sister in law is in the bathroom. The film starts off with a stupid musical number but gets better after that.

What a pity this little gem of a film is not available on DVD or tape. This is simply a joy to watch, from the opening song and nostalgic moon in the window of the Chase residence to the closing scenes at the night club, this is one great short.

I especially like the line "Why he's one of the finest men from Ashtabula, Ohio." That's where I live and when that finest man shows up drunk, it's absolute hoot for local audiences who enjoy a screening of this film at my home.

I am running a super 8mm Blackhawk sound print, but hope one day to have a 16mm print of this wonderful comedy. It's certainly the best he did in 1935 and eclipsed only by Pip from Pittsburgh, IMHO.