Neighborhood House

Hal Roach was shutting down his production of short subjects and was giving his stars vehicles to see if they could sustain feature-length -- Charley Chase had already starred in a part-talkie for Universal, MODERN LOVE, back in 1929. Roach had Chase expand his last silent short, MOVIE NIGHT, into a sound feature. Then they struck a problem: theater owners did not want to run a feature which satirized, however mildly, the movie-going experience. So they cut the feature down to this two-reeler and tried again with KELLY THE SECOND.

Charley, wife and child go to the local movie theater on Bank Night. His daughter, played by Darla Hood from Our Gang, is chosen to draw the winning ticket for $500 -- worth about twenty times that much in today's dollars -- and guess whose number she picks? I'd like to see the full-length version of this film, because this cut-down is tremendous fun, Charley at the top of his game. Judging by what survives and comparing it to the 1929 short, there was doubtless a long sequence at the office, now cut down to a couple of minutes, and the foibles of how people behaved in a movie theater. Still, Chase on any terms is worthwhile. Enjoy this for what it is: a top-notch Chase talking short made under his own supervision. You can't do better than that.

The "house" in the title refers to the neighborhood movie house where every week (in the early and mid-'30s) there were giveaway prizes given at local movie houses. In this case, the house is offering a $500 prize on "Bank Night" and the lucky winner is CHARLEY CHASE--who has already caused quite a commotion in the audience when he, his wife and daughter make too much of a stir while being seated.

When he wins the prize, the audience boos and think it's a cheat between him and his friend, the theater manager. His daughter volunteers to pick out the next ticket from the bowl--and she reads off his prize number when she can't read the actual number on the slip. This causes more of a furor. And on it goes, as he tries to get others to read the numbers and it always comes back to the Chase family.

Very amusing short was probably considered a lot funnier back then when it was more relevant to Depression-era audiences.

Charley and his family are looking forward to "Bank Night" at the local theater. It seems they pick a lucky person from the audience to receive $500--a HUGE sum of money back in 1936. While most kids today don't realize it, prize drawings and giveaways were common during that era as incentives to get people into the theaters.

Unfortunately, through some ridiculous coincidences, the audience think that Charley has somehow rigged the drawing and the theater patrons behave like a bunch of animals. This aspect of the film is pretty funny and a good commentary on human nature, though apart from this, the movie just doesn't have the number of jokes and laughs as a typical Laurel and Hardy short from the same studio. I've seen a lot of Charley Chase shorts and in general his silents are funnier. Because of this, I had relatively low expectations for NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE but was pretty happy to see that it was a cut above most of his sound films. While not great, it is very funny and well worth your time.

Neighborhood House (1935)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Charley Chase takes his wife and young daughter to the movies where it's Bank Night. The daughter is asked to draw the winning ticket for $500 and of course ends up picking her father's number, which makes everything think it's a scam. This Chase short comes from his period working for Hal Roach and it's a fairly good one even though the repeated jokes start to get old. The film opens up with a mildly funny sequence where Chase and his wife are trying to rush through dinner but of course things go wrong. Things don't get any better once they reach the theater and everyone feels they put the daughter up to cheating. The joke dealing with all the cheating gets repeated as more and more people are brought in on it and this is where things start to fall apart but there's still plenty of charm from start to finish. Chase is quite good in his role as he easily fits into that character who seems real and down to earth.

This film will put a constant smile on your face! If not more! "Neighborhood House" was planned as the first Charley Chase feature lenght film. But for some reason, Hal Roach was not satisfied with it - he made Chase cut it down to twenty minutes so it could pass as a short. It works remarkably well! There are some unmotivated fade-outs and a somewhat abrupt ending, but apart from this it is one of Chases best attempts! Charley and his family are attending a "Bank night" at the local cinema. They give away 500 Dollars that night - and Charley number is drawn. But because it was drawn by his little daughter, the audience runs mad. He finally has to return the prize - this time its his daughters number which is drawn... There are so many hilarious, admirably well executed gags in this short you want to watch it over and over again! One of the best comedy shorts ever!