The Chief

Ed Wynn is listed in the cast as Ed Wynn "The Perfect Fool" and that's because he first gained fame on stage from a show with that title. In 1932 he became an overnight sensation with his radio show 'The Fire Chief' and this film is an attempt by MGM to make some money off Wynn's success. But taking his show to film was not a success, either at the box office or as a movie. It's all wheezy stuff now. Wynn does his dithery, silly shtick as the turn-of-the-century doofus "hero" of a local fire department who is co-opted by political wheeler dealers trying to make him an alderman. Oddly, the film ends with Wynn dropping any pretense of playing his character and instead doing his radio show: explaining into a microphone what happens with the remainder of the story and characters. The film has shades of a Harold Lloyd feature, but without the laughs. And Wynn is an acquired taste, seeing as he's both physically repulsive and cartoonish in voice and manner. But fans of Wynn and/or Golden Age of Radio buffs may find it of interest.