Young Ironsides (1932)
*** (out of 4)
Very funny short has a couple of rich parents hiring "Fearless" (Charley Chase) to track down their daughter who is going out to California to enter a beauty contest. The parents fear this will ruin their reputation so Chase goes after the girl and gets some help from someone who he doesn't realize is actually the daughter. This isn't a masterpiece of comedy but there are enough big laughs here to make it worth viewing. THe more Chase films I see, silent or sound, the more I begin to feel he's perhaps the most underrated comedian from this era. Once again he does a masterful job at playing that lovable loser and some of the best moments happen early on as he tries playing tough only to get scared by a mouse as well as a fake tiger. The high pitched scream from Chase is priceless and will certainly have you laughing. The ending has Chase in drag, which was pretty funny as is another sequence aboard a train when Chase goes to whisper some sweet words to the lady only to end up in a dark tunnel. Muriel Evans plays the girl and is incredibly charming and extremely good looking as well. Heinie Conklin has a funny bit as a house detective and Billy Gilbert has a quick role. Paulette Goddard plays one of the beauty pageant entries as well.
*** (out of 4)
Very funny short has a couple of rich parents hiring "Fearless" (Charley Chase) to track down their daughter who is going out to California to enter a beauty contest. The parents fear this will ruin their reputation so Chase goes after the girl and gets some help from someone who he doesn't realize is actually the daughter. This isn't a masterpiece of comedy but there are enough big laughs here to make it worth viewing. THe more Chase films I see, silent or sound, the more I begin to feel he's perhaps the most underrated comedian from this era. Once again he does a masterful job at playing that lovable loser and some of the best moments happen early on as he tries playing tough only to get scared by a mouse as well as a fake tiger. The high pitched scream from Chase is priceless and will certainly have you laughing. The ending has Chase in drag, which was pretty funny as is another sequence aboard a train when Chase goes to whisper some sweet words to the lady only to end up in a dark tunnel. Muriel Evans plays the girl and is incredibly charming and extremely good looking as well. Heinie Conklin has a funny bit as a house detective and Billy Gilbert has a quick role. Paulette Goddard plays one of the beauty pageant entries as well.