The Pip from Pittsburg

Charley Chase was one of the funniest old-time movie comedians, and made hundreds of two reelers. "The Pip From Pittsburgh" is not one of his best but is representative of Charley's everyman style, presenting 'everyman' in various goofy situations. Here, he is accompanied by the tragic Thelma Todd, who would become the victim of one of Hollywood's unsolved murders just three years later. She had a genuine flair for comedy and could be called an early Carole Lombard.

As stated, the humor is pretty ordinary in "The Pip", because I am thinking of many other Charley Chase shorts which were funnier. But I am not going to lowball a short by one of Hollywood's funniest - not on your life. If you haven't seen him before, just know that he is even funnier in some other shorts.

"The Pip from Pittsburgh" is undoubtedly a great short which can compete with the top shorts of any comedian of that time. But personally I can't quiet understand the high praise it usually gets; to me this is NOT Chase's best sound short. A few years later his style has much more refined. The shorts under his own direction (signed with his real name, Charles Parrott) were real masterpieces of subtle screwball comedy. "You Said A Hatful", "The Count Takes the Count" or "Neighbourhood House" all have a touch of real originality - they were films that only could have been made by Charley Chase. "The Pip" wears not quiet his own personal style of handwriting - but it is developing.

In the 1920s and 30s, Charley Chase was a very popular comedian--having starred in about 250 short films as well as directing quite a few as well (under his real name 'Charles Parrott'). While the quality of these films vary tremendously, his better films compare quite favorably to comedians such as Laurel and Hardy and Harold Lloyd. Unfortunately, especially during the sound era, his films also too often were very disappointing as well due to lousy scripts. I really think that most of the time, other Roach stars (in particular Laurel and Hardy) were given the better scripts and Chase was given those that didn't quite cut it. This might be much of the reason his name is so rarely recognized today.

However, it's nice to see that Chase is in excellent form in this film. While certainly not among his funniest, this is a very pleasant comedy that nearly earns an 8 because it has some very funny bits.

Charley's friend is trying to fix him up on a blind date with some girl from Pittsburgh. Charley naturally is less than excited and assumes the girl is horrible--after all, it IS a blind date. So his friend gives him the idea of dressing in old clothes, not shaving and eating lots of garlic to keep this "Thelma from Pittsburgh" at a distance. The plan backfires, though, when Thelma turns out to be the lovely and shapely Thelma Todd--a familiar star in Roach films of the early 30s.

So Charley decides he must clean up his act quickly so he can win her heart and he does so in some clever and funny ways. For example, he manages to shave quite covertly at the dance hall, clean his breath AND strip his friend of his suit--all to impress Thelma. It's very, very funny though I am sure uptight politically correct types might be offended at the breath cleaning scene--you just have to see it to see what I mean.

Overall, not among Charley's best (such as MIGHTY LIKE A MOOSE) but a nice old comedy short nonetheless.

Hal Roach is best known as the genius behind many Laurel & Hardy shorts. However, Roach went far beyond the Laurel and Hardy series. This is one example of his genius. The talented Thelma Todd, who starred with the Marx Brothers, steals the show in this hilarious short. "The Pip From Pittsburgh" (aka Chasing Charley) was just shown on TCM and it was great from beginning to end. The dance scene appears to have been a Stan Laurel creation, as he was in the background of many a Roach production as well as some major films, most notably "Bringing Up Baby" (1938) when Katherine Hepburn tore the back of her dress in front of a crowded banquet room. The background music from this short was also standard for the Roach comedies and was so successful in conveying hilarity to a movie that it proved influential with other directors and producers later on.

This short should be marketed on DVD along with many other gems that Roach produced. Hopefully this will come to be in the future. Two thumbs up!

This is one of the most charming Hal Roach comedy shorts ever made. Charley is set up on a blind date with Thelma. He, of course, believes that she will be unattractive and makes himself unkempt. Once he meets beautiful Thelma, he must attempt to clean himself up. Chase is at his best when he portrays a reasonable, single guy. The sight gags are fast and furious and Leroy Shield's music score adds to the charm of this short.