Our Sons of the Desert chapter, the A-Haunting We Will Go Tent, gathered together last Saturday, October 21 (one day after his actual birthday in 1893) to celebrate the unsung genius of Charley Chase. Charley was yet another talented performer that came into being at the Hal Roach Studios, along with Laurel and Hardy, Our Gang, Thelma Todd, Harold Lloyd, and so many others. While our tent is primarily devoted to the preservation of the memory of Laurel and Hardy, most of our members agree that there is a need to celebrate Charley as well, so we have held an annual tribute to him every year for the past four years.
We typically have rather large turnouts for the Chase tribute meetings, but this year seemed to be an exception. That’s what we get trying to compete with the World Series! We had just over a dozen participants as we convened at the Habitat Party House in Miamisburg, as we have at each one of our Chase tributes. Larry and Jenny Smith hosted and Larry and George contributed the bulk of the films and ran the projectors. Larry and Jenny also always create a small Chase memorabilia display in the kitchen area, where we also find a wide array of snacks and beverages.
A.J., Jenny, and me guarding the door
Adam Alonzo and friends
Since George and Larry will most likely be moving out of state next year, we thought this could be our last Chase meeting, so we chose to screen some of the highlight films of his career along with a video presentation of a rare color film that Chase made in 1934 called Hollywood Party. The films we chose were Chases of Pimple Street, His Wooden Wedding, Hasty Marriage, Dog Shy, The Pip From Pittsburgh, Mighty Like a Moose, and On the Wrong Trek (which featured a cameo appearance from Laurel and Hardy). This was a blend of four talkies and three silent films.
Jenny tempts Ron with her candy corn
The Sextons
I was amazed, as I always am, by the comic genius of Charley Chase. He was a typical everyman who was somehow thurst into one bizarre circumstance after another. Most of his humor derived from the situation and his flustered reaction to it, although he occasionally would enter the realm of slapstick comedy. It would be nice at some point to be able to own the talkies in DVD format for more convenient viewing (many silents are available – and for that, we are grateful), but until then, glorious film is our only alternative. So we’ll keep showing ’em…
Robin is comfortable on her bean bag chair
Peace and Charley Chase be with you
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