CHARLEY CHASE AT HAL ROACH THE TALKIES VOLUME THREE 1934-36 is now on sale

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Richard M Roberts
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CHARLEY CHASE AT HAL ROACH THE TALKIES VOLUME THREE 1934-36 is now on sale

Postby Richard M Roberts » Sat Aug 14, 2021 4:35 am

Okay, since I'm starting to get these really pointless pictures of people's hands holding a copy of the set (like, what folks? I know what it looks like, I produced the damn thing) the message I'm receiving is that Charley Chase Volume Three is getting out to those folk that pre-ordered it. Great, glad to hear it.

For those who haven't yet gotten the message that it's out, here's the Amazon link:

https://www.amazon.com/Charley-Chase-Ha ... 301&sr=8-4

Go get it.

RICHARD M ROBERTS

Richard M Roberts
Godfather
Posts: 2895
Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 6:30 pm

Re: CHARLEY CHASE AT HAL ROACH THE TALKIES VOLUME THREE 1934-36 is now on sale

Postby Richard M Roberts » Sat Aug 14, 2021 8:26 pm

Dennis Campa got his five-star review up on Amazon today, thanks Dennis, and Ed Watz has sent us his:

This is the third volume of Charley Chase's Hal Roach talkies issued by Sprocket Vault, and it's my favorite of the 3 sets issued so far. This set begins with Chase's short comedies of 1934, when Hal Roach Studios increased the series' production values and explored many fresh ideas that lifted these films far above the standard two-reel comedies of the day. Scripts are wittier than ever, while the polished feel makes these two-reelers resemble mini-feature films. For me a number of these shorts are Chase's best talkies since Volume One's THE PIP FROM PITTSBURGH, My favorites here include FATE'S FATHEAD, an altogether brilliant jewel of mistaken identity that includes some stunning depth of field camerawork and the best tracking shots I've ever seen along the Roach Studios' Main Street set. In the film innocent Charley is mistaken by Dorothy Granger to be an aggressive flirt; things become intense when it turns out that Dorothy and Charley's wife are old friends. Brawny Dick Alexander portrays Granger's husband and his deft comedy touch makes me wish he made more appearances in Chase's comedies. Another superb short in the set is POKER AT EIGHT, where Charley believes he can hypnotize his wife into allowing him out of the house on Poker Night. And then there's the delightful NURSE TO YOU! where meek Charley mistakenly believes he has a short time to live and transforms himself into a loud-mouthed tough guy. I've mentioned these three films as personal favorites, but FOUR PARTS, ANOTHER WILD IDEA, VAMP TILL READY, SOMETHING SIMPLE, and so many other titles on this set are equally wonderful. As with the previous volumes, film historian and comedy maven Richard Roberts adds his insightful & entertaining insight; watching the films and then rewatching them with his excellent commentary is a must. In these days of lockdown when other options are watching the often depressing news or what passes for comedy on today's television, Charley Chase at Hal Roach The Talkies Volume 3 is a welcomed - and for me, essential - breath of fresh air.


Thanks Ed for the kind words, we'll see if the weasels at amazon manage to get it up there or not, they seem to think Ed is some sort of dangerous spy (maybe it's that German ISP) and sometimes they won't post his reviews.

Now it's your turn folks, get those five-star reviews up there that keep the amazon algorhythms happy and make them recommend the product to their other customers, it's your responsibility if you want to see more of these goodies, and believe me, there are more goodies in the pipeline if they keep selling enough to be worth doing.


RICHARD M ROBERTS

Richard M Roberts
Godfather
Posts: 2895
Joined: Sun May 31, 2009 6:30 pm

Re: CHARLEY CHASE AT HAL ROACH THE TALKIES VOLUME THREE 1934-36 is now on sale

Postby Richard M Roberts » Tue Sep 07, 2021 3:29 pm

Nice review from Dan Day Jr. over at the Hitless Wonder Blog:

https://dandayjr35.blogspot.com/2021/09 ... lkies.html

RICHARD M ROBERTS


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