The Caretaker's Daughter

I just saw The Caretaker's Daughter at The Silent Movie Theater in L.A. before a screening of Harold Lloyd's Hot Water. As with so many of director Leo McCarey's two-reelers (including a number of Laurel and Hardy gems), this Charley Chase short is comic perfection. It starts out as a rather simple comedy of misunderstanding, then escalates to full-blown farce. McCarey's light touch is a perfect fit with Chase's everyman persona. Though laugh-out-loud hilarious, the story also makes room for moments of subtle humor. Chase isn't a daredevil physical comedian like his more famous contemporaries, but his priceless reactions and deft timing have definitely stood the test of time. If you can track down any of his work on video, by all means do so. If you're a fan of classic comedy, you won't be disappointed.

Next up is one of my favorite Chases, "The Caretaker's Daughter" (1925). In fact, I laughed so much that I rewound my DVD and played it again. I laughed so much the second time, that – you guessed it! – I played it yet again. And the following night, I ran it a fourth time! So why isn't everyone as rapt in this movie as I am? Charley pulls such inimitable expressions of frustration and surprise and his timing is so impeccably polished; plus he's given such wonderful support by George Siegmann (any movie with George Siegmann is a must-see movie), Symona Boniface (as Siegmann's wife), Katherine Grant (Charley's wife – now there was a comic talent that Hollywood hardly ever used to advantage), James Parrott (the caretaker – a brilliant comedy writer as all Laurel and Hardy fans will readily testify), William J. Kelly (a charismatic stage actor), and last and also least as far as importance to the plot goes – except of course for a really neat fade-out – James Finlayson. When you compare the Chase two-reelers to other Roach shorts, you can see they were produced on a really top-budget by supremely gifted directors like Leo McCarey. So why doesn't everyone like "The Caretaker's Daughter?" I think a person's reaction has far more to do with how the movie is presented than the movie itself. Is the print attractive to look at, is it projected at the right speed, and above all, is it accompanied by a really accomplished musical score – not just canned music but preferably timed, scored and played specifically for this movie? In this case of the Chase shorts, the DVD manufacturers have really excelled themselves by hiring Don Kinnier, a really on-the-ball musician whose score is not only most foot-tappingly pleasant to listen to, but really augments the mood, the action, the laughs of every minute of this wonderful short of shorts, "The Caretaker's Daughter".

Caretaker's Daughter, The (1925)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Charley Chase gets into a mess when his wife catches him with another woman. Not too many laughs here but it's still worth watching. The best moment is when Chase sells his broken down car to an ex-con.

Isn't Life Terrible? (1925)

*** (out of 4)

Charley Chase takes his family on a cruise but nothing goes right. A pretty good short that has plenty of laughs ranging from physical comedy to the highlight of a lazy brother in law.

This one gets off to an overly slow start but the pace picks up nicely when Charley tricks an ex-con into buying his wreck of a car. As it happens, Charley's boss is having an affair with the ex-cons wife and asks Charley to drive the wife to his lodge. But following them to the lodge, in addition to the boss are the ex-con and Charley's wife. Already at the lodge are the caretaker and a "prohibition sleuth," played by Jimmie Finlayson. Charley introduces the wife to the sleuth as the caretaker's daughter. The short then becomes quite frenetic with Charley, the sleuth and the wife all disguising themselves as the caretaker. The timing of the disguised characters and the caretaker as they enter and exit scenes is excellent and provides the best moments of humor. A satisfying and entertaining short but not as much fun as some Chase shorts I've seen.