The Nickel Nurser

I've seen quite a few Charley Chase films over the last few years and I am firmly convinced that his silent films were almost masterpieces but his sound films were significantly less funny. This isn't to say they are bad--just not "prime" Chase.

Charley, by the way, was actually Charles Parrot--brother of the famed Hal Roach director (who actually directed many of his brother's films). Charley himself also did duty as director and writer in many Roach vehicles, though he is billed as "Charles Parrot".

In this film, Charley is an efficiency expert sent by a rich guy to keep an eye on his daughters and make sure they don't spend him into the poor house while he's out of town. In a not particularly funny twist, they pretend that one of the sisters (Thelma Todd) is the maid and the maid is the sister. This never really materialized into any good laughs and seemed more of a distraction than anything else. Also, there were a few other flat moments, such as when Charley first met them he was very tongue-tied--not one of the brighter comedic moments in cinema history. However, there were also a few good laughs--particularly when you get to see Charley's underwear! Not a bad film, but certainly NOT one to rival the comedy shorts of Laurel and Hardy.