Rattling Romeo

Towards the end of his career, Hal Roach decided that his small studio should stop making comedy shorts and concentrate on B-movies. Soon, all the studio regulars like Laurel & Hardy, Our Gang and Charley Chase were out looking for jobs with other studios. In the case of Laurel & Hardy, their post-Roach films weren't very good but they made them a lot of money. The Our Gang kids found a home with MGM and Charley Chase made some relatively benign but mediocre shorts for Columbia. "Rattling Romeo" is one of these Columbia shorts and it's now available in volume one of a two-part DVD series.

This film finds Charley's girlfriend nagging him to buy a car. However, he needs a raise to do this. Just then, out of the blue, he learns he's won a contest--and has enough for a used car. Some slick car salesmen convince Charley to buy a horrible car and soon the thing is falling to pieces. Then, when he refuses to keep making payments, they try to repossess the pile of junk.

Apart from an ending that seemed contrived, this is an amiable little short. No belly laughs and the falling apart gags could have been better, but you will enjoy it and the film is worth seeing as an example of one of the better Columbia shorts he made.

Amazingly, only a year later, Charley would be dead--due to a heart attack brought on, most likely, from his very heavy drinking. He was only 46--and he was, unfortunately, soon forgotten.