Fluttering Hearts

Charley Chase combines his gift for pantomime and slapstick in this solid entry in his series for Hal Roach. His brand of humor was based on the "comedy of Embarrassment"; a simple situation compounds itself into almost absolute chaos with Chase left in the dust. As this film is generally unavailable unless you are a 16mm film collector, it is a prime example of just how clever and funny Charley Chase could be AND without words! The sequence in a department store during a white sale begins innocently enough but builds into a free for all that includes Martha Sleeper as the spoiled rich girl and Eugene Pallette as a willing policeman. The brilliant Oliver Hardy, at this time on the threshold of his pairing with Stan Laurel, appears as BIG BILL, the man who can make or break Martha Sleeper's rich father, played to perfection by William Burress. The meeting of Chase and Hardy is priceless; one of the best sequences Charley ever had on screen. This film is just one example of the wonderful screen comedy of a great yet forgotten star, Charley Chase.

Martha Sleeper runs over self-made millionaire Charley Chase and motorcycle cop Eugene Pallette. She then persuades them to help her score more sheets as a one-to-a-customer sale. But the men are no match for for bargain-hungry women. Miss Sleeper next persuades Charley to pose as a working stiff. Her father hires him as a chauffeur, and then gets his help in recovering compromising letters from Oliver Hardy.

It's a typically well executed Charley Chase comedy two-reeler, with a nicely composed three-act farce in twenty minutes. I think the gags and situations are a bit stronger in the first part, but it's always good to see Oliver Hardy.

This uneven Charley Chase short feature is still well worth seeing for the parts that do work well, because there are a handful of very good gags that make up for the slower stretches. With Eugene Palette, Oliver Hardy, and Martha Sleeper in the supporting cast, there is also no shortage of talent on hand.

The first part of the movie has only a few good moments, although Palette tries to help out in this part. The sequence inside the department store just doesn't work well enough to justify all the time spent on it. The sequences in the club work better, especially with the various costumes that are used creatively. Hardy's character allows him some good moments, and it is pretty interesting to see him use a couple of the same mannerisms that are more familiar from pictures with Stan Laurel, even though here he plays a much different kind of character.

Once it hits its stride, it moves pretty well, and there is enough good material here to make "Fluttering Hearts" worthwhile.