The Pip from Pittsburg

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.

Pip from Pittsburg, The (1931)

*** (out of 4)

A simple story made hilarious due to the talents of Charley Chase and Thelma Todd. In the film Chase plays a man forced by his buddy to go on a blind date. Chase is a little worried since the last blind date he went on led to him being stalked so he decides to dress, smell and act like a bum so that the girl won't have anything to do with him. It turns out the girl (Todd) is beautiful so Chase must then try and find a way to appeal to her. While this isn't a classic it's still a very pleasant little gem that has the two stars at the top of their game and delivering some very big laughs. There are countless funny moments but one of the best happens early on when Chase is trying to shave but warning his friend that he doesn't want to go on the date. Chase is then forced on the phone to talk with the girl and everything that happens in these few minutes are very funny. Another excellent scene happens during a dance where the lights go off and each time they do Chase tries to change into a different outfit. Chase and Todd made quite a few shorts together and it's a real shame they didn't do some sort of comic team where they both had equal billing. There's no doubt that Chase is the star of this thing but each time he and Todd are together real magic happens. The two certainly knew how to work off the other and in the end it's their charm that makes this a winner.

"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.

This is just classic timeless comedy. A man (Charlie Chase) is set up on a blind date by his roommate for a dance. Charlie is leery because his roommate set him up with "the pip from Pittsburgh" who Charlie did not find very attractive. So he wears an old dirty suit, does not shave, and eats garlic to repel the girl. Unfortunately, the girl is the charming Thelma Todd. So on the way to and at the dance Charlie has to come up with clever ways to shave without a razor, freshen his breath, and change into his new suit, which his roommate happens to be wearing. Also at the dance is "The Pip" who still has quite a crush on Charlie. It's not like Charlie and Thelma had long meaningful conversations in these shorts, but the chemistry between them is undeniable. The whole thing ends rather abruptly and predictably, but it is the hilarious journey in this one, not the destination, that is so alluring.

'The Pip from Pittsburg' serves as a valuable record of the late lamented Charlie Chase at his absolute best, making a complete fool of himself trying to undo at very short notice various ploys initially intended to discourage a blind date about whom he had serious reservations but swiftly changes his mind upon discovering that she is turn out to be the gorgeous Thelma Todd and spends the rest of the film attempting with little success to reverse the original bad impression.

The plot anticipates Neil Simon's later comedy of embarrassment 'The Goodbye Girl'. Curiously I always recall this as a silent, since for early talkie the humour is surprisingly visual.