"Isn't Life Terrible?" is a delightful early Chase two-reeler (released in 1925)
with a simple story: Charley Chase enters a fountain pen
selling contest to win a 'pleasure cruise' for his family. After a few mishaps
selling the pen, Charley miraculously wins and goes on a cruise with his wife, daughter, as well as his lazy brother-in-law (played by Oliver Hardy).
Aboard the ship, many more mishaps and accidents occur, mainly the destruction
of the ship.
This film has many highlights and hilarious moments which make it a great Chase silent. During Charley's fountain pen campaign, he is assigned to "the Hill View District" which is none other than those famous steps used in Laurel and Hardy's 1932 short, "The Music Box". It would be interesting to know if Stan Laurel got the idea for that short after viewing this film. Charley also tries to sell a pen to a lady all the while getting the ink splattered on himself and the customer as well.
On the ship, the film really starts off with poor Charley seeing the slow destruction of the not-so-mighty water vessel. The ship is leaking, has a big whole in it (left after Charley accidently pushes a drawer compartment against the wall), the captain doesn't know what he's doing...all this and Charley loses his daughter! He finally finds her, but the trouble isn't over (how could it be? This is a Charley Chase short.) After Charley mistakes a call for dinner for an evacuation, he accidently wrecks a life boat.
Somehow the ship reaches port and everything seems fine until we learn that
they had to shoot Remington (Charley's brother-in-law) for some reason, which is
the only totally out of context gag in this short. Remington, played by Oliver
Hardy as stated previously, is a terrific character in this film and he is
played superbly. It is actually Remington who decides to go to the ocean, saying
that he needs the "salt sea air". Every time work is mentioned, Remington has a ready excuse. In an instance from the beginning of the short, Remington says he can't do
any work because "my heart starting beating again". The moments with Hardy are
indeed some of the best in this film.
"Isn't Life Terrible?", Chase's fourth two-reeler, has many "firsts". This is Oliver Hardy's first Roach appearance with Chase, which in turn led to a few others in the years 1925 and 1926. "Isn't Life Terrible?" is also one of the first times Chase played a henpecked family man, a character he would use on and off for the rest of his career. The title itself is a spoof of D.W. Griffith's "Isn't Life Wonderful", a trend of parodying the titles of popular films of the time that would continue well into the talkies. A little known fact about this film is that the ocean liner used is the S.S. Buford, the same ship Buster Keaton had purchased for use in "The Navigator", his classic feature film released the previous year.
The abrupt ending is perhaps this short's major weakness, as the finale of the comedy leaves something to be desired. As it is, the ending is reminiscent of the kind of way-out, wacky gag or line that would be at home in a Jimmy Jump one-reeler. Within Chase's initial two-reelers, there could occasionally be lapses in tone that reverted back to his earlier, more freewheeling work. Very soon, though, Chase would mature beyond this, mastering the two-reel form and becoming its most brilliant practitioner of the period.
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