Skip the Maloo!

This is a very funny sound short for Charlie Chase, playing the Duke of Chasewick, but hired by Dell Henderson to play himself, and disabuse his wife and daughter of any fondness for nobility. Charley gets into a very funny fight at the beginning of this short, and has some lovely support, not only from a young Julie Bishop as Henderson's daughter, but also uninhibited silent comedy pro Gale Henry. James Parrott directs this one, and Charley always seems a little more charming under his brother's direction. The whole thing turns into a bit of a series of revenge on Henderson as Charley leads them in a game of follow the leader. Good physical comedy makes this a fine short comedy -- standard for Charley and not to be missed if the chance arises.

Like many of Charley Chase's films, this one was directed by his brother, James Parrot. And, if you are wondering, Charley's real name was Charles Parrot.

A Duke is coming to town and a rich lady and her daughter are excited to see him...but Father sure isn't. He assumes the Duke is some poor royal looking to marry a rich American...and he's determined to stop him. So, when the Duke's boat arrives, he arranges for some thugs to beat him up...but it backfires when the Duke (Charley Chase) beats the snot out of them. When Father arrives at the dock, he thinks Charley is some ordinary guy and pays him to imitate the Duke! The plan is to have this faux Duke come to a party and behave like a boorish idiot...and convince the wife and daughter he's not worth it.

The story for "Skip the Maloo!" is quite clever. And, I generally liked the film...though I disliked the bell-ringing gag...it wasn't all that funny, made no sense and was used too often. Still, apart from that, it is fun and worth your time...though the ending is also a tad weak.