The Mind Needer

Charley Chase had spent a quarter of a century in screen comedy by the time he made this movie. He had worked as actor, director and writer for all the big names, with the exception of the Christie Brothers. He could make anything funny. After Hal Roach ended short subject production, he went to Jules White's department at Columbia, where he annoyed his boss by turning in comedies both funnier and cheaper than White could himself, usually with Del Lord directing (sorry, all you Stooges fans). His subjects tended towards domestic comedies, usually co-starring Ann Doran, with efforts acted a bit broader than his work at Roach, but more realistically than most Columbia comedy shorts.

In this one he has a terrible memory, which irks Ann. The gags on the subject are perfectly pitched and paced, but it is the small gags having nothing to do with the major thread that really tell -- he spends half a minute trying to get all the pins out of a new shirt.

Fans will notice Bess Flowers, Queen of the Extras in a real role with lines. She appeared in more than eight hundred movies and television episodes, almost always as a "dress extra" who provided her own clothes.

THE MIND NEEDER is not a classic Chase picture, but there are laughs aplenty and should satisfy anyone looking for a good comedy.