The Bargain of the Century

As this film began, I was surprised to see comedian Charley Chase billed as the director. Now it did NOT surprise me that he directed this comedy short, but I was surprised because he did so using his stage name and not his given name (Charles Parrott)--like he did in many other films.

The girls head to a department store where they are having a big sale. As the shop opens, an army of crazed customers storm the place and the place is in chaos. In a rare change from the norm for a Pitts-Todd film, there are actually quite a few laughs during this scene. Perhaps Chase at the helm was the difference, as there were more laughs in that scene than in four or five of their other films--put together! After causing an innocent cop to get fired, the ladies let him move in and set up house (remember, this is a Pre-Code film, so such goings on were allowed). When Zasu meets the police Captain by chance, she and Thelma contrive to get him to give their new friend his old job. However, ex-Officer Butterworth and the ladies manages to make more a nuisance of themselves than anything else. Can they somehow, in spite of this, manage to impress the Captain and get Butterworth his job? Well, tune in and see for yourself.

Aside from the department store scene, it was also fun seeing Gilbert go crazy towards the end. While there were a few flat moments, however, they were few and the film managed to do something few of the team's other films did---made me laugh and was entertaining! Well worth seeing.