The Chases of Pimple Street

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).