Leonard Maltin, in his book The Great Movie Shorts, stated that compared to efforts by other studios, Chase's Nurse To You is practically a masterpiece. I will attempt to go one step further and declare that Nurse To You is a masterpiece. Maltin also wrote that shorts such as Nurse To You didn't have the best plot, but by his sheer personality, Chase makes them very amusing. Yes, I admit Nurse To You doesn't boast the clever story ideas of such talkies as The Pip From Pittsburgh or Fate's Fathead, but it has a good enough story to have some potential. What is really remarkable in this short, above all, is Charley's acting.
Nurse To You has Charley going to a routine doctor visit on his lunch break. The doctor, played by the wonderful Roach stock player Billy Gilbert, messes up his results with another patient, an old man named Mr. Case. The doctor assumes that Chase is Case and figures that Charley has only six months to live. Hearing this awful news, Charley is shocked. He leaves the doctor's office and sees the world in a new light. After a policeman yells at Charley for not being careful while crossing the street, instead of just apologizing and leaving, Charley gives the cop a piece of his mind. He starts shouting and yelling at him in one of the funniest scenes of the picture. He later takes his anger out against someone who is taking too long at a public telephone and even calls his boss and yells at him! Charley returns home early and tells his wife (Muriel Evans) that he has only six months to live. She calls the doctor, hears about the mix-up, and tells Charley that everything is okay. Charley is happy to hear that it was all a big misunderstanding, but is sure that he would be fired after what he did to his boss. Charley and Muriel go to Charley's workplace and find out that instead of being fired, Charley got a promotion. His boss thought that he had no backbone, but he proved that he did on the phone, so Charley was given a promotion and all is well when this short ends.
The reason I stated that the really remarkable thing about this film is Charley's acting is because he mananges to successfully turn himself into an angered citizen. The way he hilariously yells at the police officer right after he is publicly humiliated by him is great acting and leads to great comedy. The same goes for the scenes where Charley yells at his boss and expresses his anger at a man who is taking too long on the public telephone.
Besides Chase's "transformation", his rapport with Billy Gilbert is also quite wonderful. Chase and Gilbert share a great scene in the doctor's office. As Charley eats his lunch, Dr. Gilbert keeps criticizing Charley for his poor diet. Dr. Gilbert objects to everything that Charley takes out from his lunch box, taking it from him and throwing it away. There is a delightful little moment in this scene, the kind of subtle humor Chase liked include in his comedies. When Dr. Gilbert objects to a banana, instead of throwing it away, he keeps it for himself. Subtle touches like this make Nurse To You one of the most enjoyable Charley Chase talkies.
Nurse To You is the third-to-last film Chase made in 1935. It was followed by two other amusing films, Manhattan Monkey Business and Public Ghost No. 1. In the latter two films, the emphasis is on story and gags, but in Nurse To You, Charley's performance and personality are the highlights. His reactions to death, an angry policeman, his strict boss, and other minor and not-so-minor predicaments are a delight--and watching the worm turn, although admittedly not too original, is a satisfying treat.
"Nurse To You!" (1935) Directed by Charles Parrott and Jefferson Moffitt. With Charley Chase, Muriel Evans, Clarence H. Wilson, Frank Darien, Billy Gilbert, Fred Kelsey, Harry Bowen, Carlton Griffin. Produced by Hal Roach.
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