At First Sight (1924) User Reviews

Brilliance at first try

[hte-trasme · 8/10 · 11 October 2009]

Charley Chase starts out the first film in his own series of short comedies -- which would continue in one form or another until his young death sixteen years later -- by setting his hat on fire. It's a great sight gag, and somehow an appropriate beginning for Chase's series of wonderful comedies.

He really hits the ground running here, as "Jimmie Jump" here in a series of one-reelers. In fact, it's astonishing how fully-formed his comedy is. He squeezes a full three-act structure into the scant ten minutes with which he is working, takes a complex, socially embarrassing scenario in which Charley falls in love at first sight with a a maid pretending to be his boss' fiancée.

The comedy in placing the debonair gentleman Charley in ever-more extravagantly humiliating situations is already here. This short is really funny, and gives the sense that Chase was a comedy artist who know just what he wanted to do, and has finally gotten a chance to do it.

There are also some hilarious and wonderfully - executed sight gags, with Charley and his lover (and the audience) slowly realizing they are surrounded by a crowd of onlookers, and a brilliantly over-the top storm scene as Charley/Jimmie helps a woman take shelter in a deluge under her convertible, while his shoeshine boys gets ever more frustrated with his job.

This one-reeler is not only very funny, but historically significant for fans of its star, and full of a sense of understandable energy as Charley has just been given his own starring series by Hal Roach.

Love and Laughs

[boblipton · 7/10 · 11 February 2005]

I must admit I am a sucker for Charley Chase's short silent comedies. They combine full, three-act stories, fine acting and strong comedy gags that arise out of believable situations. The modern movie goer, used to witty dialogue and color photography -- well, color photography anyway -- may lack the patience to penetrate into the subtleties of silent film acting and a camera that looks at the people instead of indulging in jumpy MTV-style cutting techniques, but Charley Chase cuts right through that. How can you not enjoy a comedy in which a man sets fire to his hat and falls in love in a rainstorm?

Charley is willing to do anything to his character to get a laugh and the girl, but he remains believable and sympathetic throughout. This comedy, although not from his best period, is still crammed full of amusing gags.

This is probably not the movie to use to introduce people to Mr. Chase -- he is better served in silent efforts like LOOKING FOR SALLY and MIGHTY LIKE A MOOSE and sound efforts like THE PIP FROM PITTSBURGH. But once you've got the habit, you'll enjoy this one too.

Chase to the Rescue!

[JohnHowardReid · 8/10 · 23 August 2016]

One of Charley Chase's best films, this was the first in a new series in which Hal Roach finally gave Charley a chance to develop his own style without management interference and "suggestions". Already Charley's screen character is well developed. He's a nice guy! He has a pleasant appearance and he looks reasonably successful. He isn't, but he's well dressed anyway, and puts on a good act. He is not a clumsy clot like other comedians. His manner is pleasant, helpful and agreeable. His problem is that the elements always seem to rage against him. A terrific rain storm, for example, spoils his best efforts to make a hit with the girl, but she likes him anyway. And despite his best efforts, he is consistently accident prone. His boss even tries to fire him, but Charley is such a pleasant, well-dressed and well- meaning fellow that the boss relents. A very good copy of this movie is available on the Alpha DVD, "Hal Roach presents Early Pathe Comedies".

Now Charley has hit his stride...

[planktonrules · 9/10 · 22 August 2011]

Recently I bought the "Becoming Charley Chase" DVD collection. It consists of lots of early Chase shorts--many of them well before he became famous--when he was only a bit player. Through the first disk, I kept hoping to see a film that looked like a Charley Chase-style film but didn't. Although the films I saw weren't bad and they were important for historical reasons, I didn't love any of them. And then, I went to disk two...and was thrill at the first movie, "At First Sight"--it was everything I'd been waiting for...and then some.

The film began with a very nice gag involving Charley's hat. However, I soon noticed that this short was not gag-driven but story-driven--something that had been missing in previous films. As a result of a lot of restraint (gags were not drug out as long as they might have been in a more slapstick sort of film), the story captured by attention--a nice romantic-comedy.

While Charley is getting his shoes shined, he sees a pretty girl in a fancy car pull up to the curb. He assumes, incorrectly, that she's a rich lady--but in fact she's a rich lady's maid. She doesn't try to correct this mistake and lets him ask her out on a date. In the meantime, Charley is beside himself--how can he impress a rich society lady when he's just an ordinary Joe?! So, taking pity, his boss lets him borrow some of his fancy clothes. I could tell you where it goes next, but I don't want to spoil the fun. This short is funny but more importantly it has depth and heart--and I really enjoyed it. Thank goodness I bought those DVDs. hat gag romantic comedy restraint--story mattered

Becoming Charley Chase

[Michael_Elliott · 14 March 2010]

At First Site (1924)

*** (out of 4)

First film in Charley Chase's "Jimmy Jump" series has him falling in love with a woman (Blanche Mehaffey) but a case of mistaken identity could end up costing him the relationship. In terms of silent history this is a pretty important movie as Hal Roach finally let Chase do his thing and there's no doubt that his magic certainly started to shine here (even though his earlier movies are just as funny). I think this is a pretty good short even if it's nothing ground breaking in terms of story. What works so well here is Chase's performance, which is just wonderful as he's not only very funny but he also comes across very warm and charming. The film has some hilarious gags including the first one where his hat accidentally gets set on fire and another great one involving the roof of a car that won't close during a shower. These two scenes are very funny as is some later stuff when Jimmy's boss thinks that he's about to take his bride out. There are also some nice, quiet and warm moments where Jimmy actually does the falling in love that works very well. The film runs just under 10-minutes so there's not too much plot but what is here makes for a good time.