By Rob Farr
It is a little known fact that one of the first roles Charles Parrott (later
known as Charley Chase) essayed for Hal Roach Studios was not a comedy part, but
a straight supporting role in the feature, "The King of Wild Horses" (1924,
sometimes misidentified as "Rex, King of the Wild Horses").
Parrott had been successfully directing Snub Pollard's and brother Paul Parrott's series for Roach since 1920. Snub and Paul were moderately competent physical comedians totally dependent on their material. Without the firm hand of a comedy craftsman like Parrott, both comedians' series quickly sank.
By early 1924 Parrott had launched his own starring series of one reelers (as Jimmy Jump). It had been six years since he appeared on the screen in a leading role. Perhaps wanting to stretch his acting muscles while embarking on the Jump series, Parrott (the name Chase had not yet been born) undertook the role of a sniveling weakling in Roach's western.
The plot centers around "The Black" (Rex, the Wonder Horse), a wild stallion
who defies all attempts capture and break him. Parrott is the ne'er-do-well son
of rancher John Fielding. His character is summed up nicely by an intertitle:
"Boyd Fielding was an only son - for which his father sometimes gave thanks --".
Boyd is forced into a life of crime to work off bad debts, but has a conversion
by the end of the film and saves the hero's life. Boyd is the only interesting
person in a cast of standard-issue western stereotypes. He's the only character
who changes, and thus the only character we are interested in.
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Parrott's performance is that it confirms the comedian's talents were not limited to slapstick and situation comedies; he could have carved out a career as a character actor if he chose to. One keeps expecting "Charley Chase" to break out of the character and perform a snappy comedy bit, and but for one exception, it never happens. Parrott plays it straight throughout and serves the demands of the script nicely. As in all his comedy work, Parrott uses his body to convey character. Boyd is first seen slouching in a chair...as if spineless. When the demands of the plot require him to transform from a mouse into a lion, Parrott's nimble body flies into action.
Anyone who admires Charley Chase should see "The King of Wild Horses" (available from Grapevine Video) . It stands as a fascinating anomaly in the actor's career, and gives us just a hint of what might have been.
Released 3/29/24 pro./author. Hal Roach; dir. Fred Jackman; scen. Carl Himm; pho. Floyd Jackman; cast. Rex the Wonder Horse, Edna Murphy, Leon Bary, Charles Parrott, Sidney DeGray, Pat Hartigan, Frank Butler, Sidney D'Albrook.
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