CHARLEY CHASE AT HAL ROACH: THE LATE SILENTS 1927

 

Kit Parker Films and The Sprocket Vault continue their wonderful series of home video releases featuring comedy two-reelers made by the Hal Roach Studios. The latest one is CHARLEY CHASE AT HAL ROACH: THE LATE SILENTS 1927, a three-disc set containing 15 shorts starring (who else) Charley Chase. The set also includes three bonus shorts. (I purchased the DVD version of the set--it is also available on Blu-ray.) 

On his audio commentaries for this set Richard M. Roberts states that 1927 was the apex of Charley Chase's time working for Hal Roach. All the shorts on this set are consistently funny, and most of them are directed by Charley's brother, James Parrott. Among the supporting players in them are Roach mainstays Oliver Hardy and Anita Garvin, Eugene Pallette, Bull Montana, and Lupe Velez. BIGGER AND BETTER BLONDES has Jean Arthur, in her only appearance in a Hal Roach production, and A ONE MAMA MAN has Three Stooges foil Vernon Dent, in his only role for Hal Roach. A ONE MAMA MAN also got my attention for the fact that Charley's character in the short hails from my hometown of South Bend, Indiana. 

Among the more notable shorts in the set are WHAT WOMEN DID FOR ME, a risque tale in which Charley is a very bashful teacher who winds up working in a girls school, where all the nubile young ladies are more than willing to make him feel more comfortable. This short has a number of expressionistic visual montages. THE STING OF STINGS, which has Charley treating a bunch of orphans to an outing at a carnival, has plenty of wild stunts & gags, including a Model T winding up on top of a Ferris wheel. ARE BRUNETTES SAFE? has a charming dance routine with Charley and Polly Moran. (Despite the fact that all these shorts are silent, Chase still found ways to incorporate his love and dancing & music into many of them.) NOW I'LL TELL ONE, which only exists in an incomplete form, is also on this set--it also is included on Flicker Alley's LAUREL & HARDY: YEAR TWO. 

The bonus shorts include two in which Charley has cameo appearances, and one which is a remake of NOW I'LL TELL ONE. 

A lot of time and effort went into getting the best quality and the most complete versions of these shorts on this set. Some of the shorts look better than others, and a few of them have some scenes missing, but as I always say, the important thing is that these films are available on home video from a reputable company. 

As he usually does on these Sprocket Vault Hal Roach releases, Richard M. Roberts provides an audio commentary for each short. Roberts' knowledge of this era of film comedy is astounding, and while he obviously loves the Hal Roach output, he isn't afraid to point out whatever weaknesses some of the titles here may have. Roberts' talks add much to the viewer's appreciation of these shorts. Each short in this set has music provided by Andrew E. Simpson, and his work complements what is happening onscreen, instead of drawing attention to itself. An image gallery is also included. 

I'm a huge fan of the Hal Roach releases by The Sprocket Vault, and I've always written positive blog posts about them. The reason I do this is because I want people to know about these sets.....there's plenty of great and rare material in them, and they prove that the movie buff's best friend will always be physical media.