A Ten-Minute Egg

This ten-minute (as revealed right in the title) one-reeler from Charley Chase's earlier Jimmy Jump series, and it's a funny little example of the kind of unlikely and embarrassing situation that Charley's comedy character could get himself into. The main premise for the comedy is the Jimmy discovers he can convince people he is a tough figure to be reckoned with merely by giving them a business card identifying him as the bouncer of the "Bucket of Blood Cafe." This and the encounter that leads to it are played out and timed well -- especially the moments when his business cards run out. Chase's reactions really make the scenes in which he marvels at his ability to transform into a tough guy with a mere business card. His characters don't always do the most moral things -- and he doesn't here -- but they always remain likable, partially, I think, because's he's doing things that in some sense we'd like to do but don't.

After he's forced to live up to the new toughness that he's created for himself the short turns into some very wacky and well-executed but also less characteristic chase and stunt-based material. The end doesn't really put the most memorable cap on it, but it's still a funny comedy. The best gag, I think, is the very macabre one in the very beginning. It hardly relates to the rest of the short but funny enough to be memorable highlight in itself.