At First Sight

Charley Chase starts out the first film in his own series of short comedies -- which would continue in one form or another until his young death sixteen years later -- by setting his hat on fire. It's a great sight gag, and somehow an appropriate beginning for Chase's series of wonderful comedies.

He really hits the ground running here, as "Jimmie Jump" here in a series of one-reelers. In fact, it's astonishing how fully-formed his comedy is. He squeezes a full three-act structure into the scant ten minutes with which he is working, takes a complex, socially embarrassing scenario in which Charley falls in love at first sight with a a maid pretending to be his boss' fiancée.

The comedy in placing the debonair gentleman Charley in ever-more extravagantly humiliating situations is already here. This short is really funny, and gives the sense that Chase was a comedy artist who know just what he wanted to do, and has finally gotten a chance to do it.

There are also some hilarious and wonderfully - executed sight gags, with Charley and his lover (and the audience) slowly realizing they are surrounded by a crowd of onlookers, and a brilliantly over-the top storm scene as Charley/Jimmie helps a woman take shelter in a deluge under her convertible, while his shoeshine boys gets ever more frustrated with his job.

This one-reeler is not only very funny, but historically significant for fans of its star, and full of a sense of understandable energy as Charley has just been given his own starring series by Hal Roach.

I must admit I am a sucker for Charley Chase's short silent comedies. They combine full, three-act stories, fine acting and strong comedy gags that arise out of believable situations. The modern movie goer, used to witty dialogue and color photography -- well, color photography anyway -- may lack the patience to penetrate into the subtleties of silent film acting and a camera that looks at the people instead of indulging in jumpy MTV-style cutting techniques, but Charley Chase cuts right through that. How can you not enjoy a comedy in which a man sets fire to his hat and falls in love in a rainstorm?

Charley is willing to do anything to his character to get a laugh and the girl, but he remains believable and sympathetic throughout. This comedy, although not from his best period, is still crammed full of amusing gags.

This is probably not the movie to use to introduce people to Mr. Chase -- he is better served in silent efforts like LOOKING FOR SALLY and MIGHTY LIKE A MOOSE and sound efforts like THE PIP FROM PITTSBURGH. But once you've got the habit, you'll enjoy this one too.

At First Site (1924)

*** (out of 4)

First film in Charley Chase's "Jimmy Jump" series has him falling in love with a woman (Blanche Mehaffey) but a case of mistaken identity could end up costing him the relationship. In terms of silent history this is a pretty important movie as Hal Roach finally let Chase do his thing and there's no doubt that his magic certainly started to shine here (even though his earlier movies are just as funny). I think this is a pretty good short even if it's nothing ground breaking in terms of story. What works so well here is Chase's performance, which is just wonderful as he's not only very funny but he also comes across very warm and charming. The film has some hilarious gags including the first one where his hat accidentally gets set on fire and another great one involving the roof of a car that won't close during a shower. These two scenes are very funny as is some later stuff when Jimmy's boss thinks that he's about to take his bride out. There are also some nice, quiet and warm moments where Jimmy actually does the falling in love that works very well. The film runs just under 10-minutes so there's not too much plot but what is here makes for a good time.