The Chief (1933)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

Charles Reisner

Writers:

Arthur Caesar (writer)
Robert E. Hopkins (writer)

Release Date:

3 November 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

A timid man (Ed Wynn) is thrust into the spotlight when his father is honored as a hero. He blunders...

Plot Keywords:

Radio Show | Bear | Alderman | 1890s | Radio Broadcasting

Cast

Ed Wynn	...	Henry Summers aka The Perfect Fool
Charles 'Chic' Sale	...	Uncle Joe
Dorothy Mackaill	...	Dixie Dean
William 'Stage' Boyd	...	Dan 'Danny' O'Rourke (as William Boyd)
Effie Ellsler	...	Ma Summers
C. Henry Gordon	...	Paul Clayton
Mickey Rooney	...	Willie, Boy Throwing Firecracker
Bradley Page	...	Dapper Dan
Purnell Pratt	...	Al Morgan (as Purnell B. Pratt)
George Givot	...	Greek Clothing Merchant
Tom Wilson	...	Blink, a Henchman
Nat Pendleton	...	Big Mike, a Henchman
Bob Perry	...	Frank, a Henchman

Also Known As:

My Old Man's a Fireman

Runtime:

65 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

USA:Approved

Company:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM)

Trivia:

Ed Wynn basically recreated his popular radio character "The Fire Chief" in this movie. The original opening of the movie had Wynn describing a three-act opera on his radio show, but that sequence was cut from the final release print. But the ending, in which he describes on his radio show the fate of the characters in the opera, is in the movie.

Soundtrack:

Sidewalks of New York

For nostalgic fans of Ed Wynn only

Ed Wynn is listed in the cast as Ed Wynn "The Perfect Fool" and that's because he first gained fame on stage from a show with that title. In 1932 he became an overnight sensation with his radio show 'The Fire Chief' and this film is an attempt by MGM to make some money off Wynn's success. But taking his show to film was not a success, either at the box office or as a movie. It's all wheezy stuff now. Wynn does his dithery, silly shtick as the turn-of-the-century doofus "hero" of a local fire department who is co-opted by political wheeler dealers trying to make him an alderman. Oddly, the film ends with Wynn dropping any pretense of playing his character and instead doing his radio show: explaining into a microphone what happens with the remainder of the story and characters. The film has shades of a Harold Lloyd feature, but without the laughs. And Wynn is an acquired taste, seeing as he's both physically repulsive and cartoonish in voice and manner. But fans of Wynn and/or Golden Age of Radio buffs may find it of interest.