What Price Goofy?

A previous IMDb commentator noted that though this film was very funny (agreed!) the title was a little strange. I believe it's one of those times Hal Roach put out a named not after what happens in it but as a parody of something else -- in this case there was a feature that came out the same year called "What Price Beauty?" In any case this is a hilarious two-reeler, worthy of standing with the best entries in the great Charley Chase series.

The old maxim is to be wary of sharing the screen with children or animals, but Charley Chase was wise enough to know that if he used a cute dog in a funny way, it would only make his film -- and him -- the funnier. Here "Buddy" the dog begins Charley's predicament by being rescued, then precipitates a progressively more hilarious running gag (carefully set up beforehand) by continuing to play hide-and-seek with his master when he very much wants that embarrassing piece of ladies' underwear hidden.

The comedy in this one comes not so much from Charley's mounting embarrassment, as it often does, but instead from the gradually increasing dramatic tension around whether an embarrassing situation will explode around him -- specifically being caused by a clingy little dog and an inconveniently female surprise houseguest to look like a philanderer to his suspicious wife.

The balance and escalation of the tension with laughs and coincidences is a joy to behold, and the moment when Charley decides to use the burgler he catches breaking in to impersonate a male professor is inspired.

The prolific, expressive-faced character actor Lucien Littlefield has a great supporting turn here as Charley's loyal and tricky butler, and Katherine Grant is as always a great and hilariously dangerous leading lady. Charley Chase's series of two-reel comedies kept up an astonishing level of consistent originality and quality; this one again had me laughing out loud numerous times.