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directed by Leo McCarey (x14), Ralph Cedar (x1), and James Parrott (x1)
USA 1924
Charles Parrot got his start as a
teenager in vaudeville before moving on at a relatively young
age into film, appearing in small roles in a number of Charlie
Chaplin films for Keystone before moving onto Hal Roach Studios
where he directed a number of OUR GANG and Lloyd Hamilton
shorts. When Harold Lloyd left the studio in 1923, Parrot
started his own series of shorts in front of the camera.
Although he was credited as Charley Chase, the character he
played in front of the camera early on was Jimmy Jump, although
the two Jump entries in this collection suggest that there was
very little character continuity among those shorts. In APRIL
FOOL (1924), junior journalist Jimmy Jump unintentionally
wreaks havoc on the entire office as he tries to avoid being
tricked. In THE FRAIDY CAT (1924), mamma's boy Jimmy Jump
is bullied not only by his girl's other suitors, but also by
"Our Gang" stand-ins. When he misconstrues news from the local
doctor, he gets a bravery boost and faces off against his
tormentors. The former short was directed by Ralph Ceder and the
latter by James Parrott (Charley Chase's younger brother, who
directed over forty shorts either starring or written by Chase)
- both of whom also directed a few LAUREL & HARDY shorts - but
the bulk of this collection and the Chase shorts that are
generally regarded as his strongest are those directed by Leo
McCarey (AN
AFFAIR TO REMEMBER) who either wrote or directed over
seventy shorts starring Chase between 1924 and 1930. Although
McCarey's feature directorial career included few slapstick
comedies, the sampling of McCarey/Chase shorts in this
collection show him well-prepared for his only Marx Brothers
film: the masterful
DUCK SOUP (1933). |
Posters
DVD Review: Oscilloscope Laboratories/Milestone Films and Video (The Milestone Cinematheque) - Region 0 - NTSC
Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!
DVD Box Cover |
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Distribution |
Oscilloscope Laboratories/Milestone Films and Video Region 0 - NTSC |
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Runtime | 333:48 | |
Video |
1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
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Audio | Music-only Dolby Digital 5.1 | |
Subtitles | none | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Oscilloscope Laboratories/Milestone Films and Video Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 8 |
Comments |
Oscilloscope
Laboratories two-disc, dual-layer set features a compilation of
Milestone Film & Video (a company whose previous titles were
distributed on laserdisc and DVD by Image Entertainment)
versions of the Charley Chase films. The new music scores - by
Ben Model, Dave Drazin, Dave Knutsen, Donald Sosin, and Rodney
Sauer - all date from 2005, meaning that the transfers are all
at least that old (the disc menus carry a 2011 Milestone
copyright). The interlaced presentations are all window-boxed at
aspect ratios varying from 1.24:1 to 1.33:1. Quality varies as
expected, but the few 16mm-sourced shorts look the worst
(particularly CHARLEY MY BOY, an exclusive to this
release). On disc 1, only THE CARETAKER'S DAUGHTER is
tinted, and CHARLEY MY BOY is the only one with
replacement title cards (although the credits are original).
THE UNEASY THREE comes from a Museum of Modern Art 35mm
print and is very clean apart apart from the usual white dings
and occasional scratches. ISN'T LIFE TERRIBLE adds an "In
Memorium" credit for Fay Wray (who died in 2004), but it does so
after the added music score credit. Encoding sometimes exhibits
moiring and rainbow artifacts. The music-only audio is encoded
in 5.1 but few of the scores have anything more than traditional
piano accompaniment. |
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CLICK to order from:
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Distribution |
Oscilloscope Laboratories/Milestone Films and Video Region 0 - NTSC |
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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r |