Loose Change

Neal Burns' rich Scottish uncle, Jack Duffy is in town to visit him and wife Winnie Law. Neighbor Lorraine Eddy is present to see what she can vamp out of the old man. Buddy the Dog is also around to create chaos in this Christie comedy.

I looked at a 10-minute cutdown of this two-reel movie, and it's filled with the usual typical Christie slapstick of the era. Duffy's persona of an elderly bearded man - he did his own make-up - was at odds with the hearty pratfalls he took.

Although I am not overly fond of the Christie comedies - they often seem mechanical to me - if you have a taste for them, you'll find this one up to par.

"Loose Change" is a short from Al Christie that was released through Paramount Pictures. It features Jack Duffy playing an old Scotsman...and he's dressed up to look much older than his actual 46 years.

It seems that Uncle Jack (Duffy) has come to town to visit his nephew. And, per the old stereotype, he's a very cheap man....and manages to fenagle a free ride to the nephew's home. Once he arrives, a friend of the family vamps him and tricks him into proposing to her. Why?? Because she wants to extort money out of him when he refuses. But she already is married and complications no doubt arise.

While I wouldn't say this was a brilliant comedy, it was pleasant and had a few nice moments...mostly involving the ambulance. However, notice in the first scene with the ambulance that Duffy's luggage is not in the vehicle...but it magically is when he arrives at his nephew's!