**
The first Charley Chase film released after his hilarious cameo appearance in Sons of the Desert, with Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy, was this entry in his series of two reel short subjects for producer Hal Roach. Charley, by the time of this release in January 1934, had long been established as an audience favorite. His ability to bring new ideas and dimension to his films resulted in several unique sequences that would be today considered old hat but in the early years of sound films, let alone short subject presentations, these developments were daring, bold and simply amazing. In The Cracked Iceman, he presents such a moment.
The opening shots of The Cracked Iceman contains a brilliantly choreographed sequence involving Chase, Harry Bowen as the iceman and a T. Marvin Hatley music cue. All the action is timed to the music; Bowen's picking at the ice, Charley's toilette, Bowen's knocking at the Chase front door and the brief exchange of dialogue between the two. The most startling aspect of this sequence is that, unlike a song and dance film that structures its often unrealistic movement for the sake of the music, the action exists regardless of the melody; it's just a coincidental occurrence. In addition, part of the fun in viewing this is that the audience "discovers" the timing, as if it was never meant to actually have been synchronized. By the end of the section, we realize it was the way Chase, who directed the film with Eddie Dunn, planned it.
Charley plays a psychology professor, embarking on his new position at a boy's collegiate school. On the way to work, he meets up with a very tearful Betty Mack, who has accidentally let loose her mother's pet canary. Chase secures the bird for Betty but has to hide it so her mother won't know of her carelessness. Protected in his pants, the bird finds a hole in Charley's right pocket and makes several near escapes to flee any which way it can. After several attempts to retrieve the canary so it can be reunited with its perch, Charley places bird seed in his hand to lure it out.
At work, Charley enters the office of Professor Wm. GILBERT, LLD.FSD.DEAN, a man of infinite and effeminate charms who is as flowery with his manner as he is at cutting out paper daisy chains. He informs Charley that his curriculum has to begin with teaching kindergarten. A job is a job so Chase agrees.
Charley's only mistake was in thinking that the kiddies would be average kindergarten pupils. He certainly got more than he bargained for; his students are members of OUR GANG! This ingenious cameo appearance of Spanky, Stymie, Tommy Bond, "Uhuuuuuuuuh" and the beloved rascals quickly informs the audience of something that Charley could not know; these kids are savvy! His only recourse, a lesson in multiplication, with the help of Betty Mack, who is conveniently employed at the school as well. They sing "One Times One", which tells the short tale of how a wedding ring can add up to three when the previous two are -- ".....you and I". A quick smooch from Charley to Betty in front of the class and the film fades out.
Billy Gilbert gives one of his best performances as the dean, showing traces of his brief appearance as the "light in the loafers" train passenger in A Hasty Marriage. Betty Mack doesn't have as much to do here, like she did in Midsummer Mush. She is rather bland in this picture, which makes it seem silly why Charley goes gaga for her in the first place. This was more of a part for a Muriel Evans or a Thelma Todd, where glamour would have played a bigger part.
Little Spanky McFarland steals the show in the classroom sequence as Charley offers to cut out a paper daisy chain for the class like Professor Gilbert can do. Spanky's close-up consists of a silly expression of forbidden awareness and his two index fingers rubbing against each other, making the "shame-shame" gesture. A shot of a confused Chase then we cut to Spanky saying, "Just, skip it". Sitting next to Spanky is his real brother Tommy. Spanky once told me how much he enjoyed it when Tommy and he were on the set together. Sadly, he had very little memories of Charley Chase. He told me he had met him, indicating that he didn't remember ever appearing in this picture.
Gordon Douglas, one of the Roach studio directors, has a brief cameo as a student. He was directing Our Gang at the time and was probably around during the scenes with the kids to help out. Harry Bernard, a veteran of Laurel and Hardy films can be seen next to Harry Bowen in one shot by the California ice truck. Betty's mother is played by Florence Roberts, best remembered as Bo Peep's mother in the Roach classic, Babes In Toyland. She has little to do here but she's so sweet, you can't not help but like her.
The Cracked Iceman falls short in some places; the canary sequence runs far too long, a running gag about Cuba and the price of sugar doesn't sustain any momentum at all and Charley's decrease in temperature, made evident by the large block of ice next to his feet isn't fully developed into anything other than a shot of him shivering and quite badly. However, the aforementioned opening sequence, the Our Gang classroom scene, Billy Gilbert's performance and Charley's song are all delights that make this a worthy entry in the series and a film to seek out.
"The Cracked Iceman". Directed by Charles Parrott (Charley Chase) and Eddie Dunn. With Charley Chase, Betty Mack, Billy Gilbert, Harry Bowen, Florence Roberts, Harry Bernard, Spanky McFarland. Photographed by Francis Corby. Edited by William Terhune. Produced by Hal Roach. Released on January 27, 1934.
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