Series: Charley Chase @ Columbia Director: Del Lord Producer: Jules White Screenplay: Searle Kramer, Victor Travers Photography: Allen G. Siegler Editor: Charles Nelson Stars: Charley Chase, Ann Doran, Dick Curtis Company: Columbia Pictures Released: 18 March 1938 Length: 2 reels Production No.: Filming dates: Rating: 6/10

Time Out For Trouble

Available on DVD:

Charley and his bride Edith are in a bakery where they have just ordered a cake for their wedding. After she leaves the store, Charley accidentally hooks a pile of fresh donuts with the end of his cane. He doesn't notice until he speaks with the sales clerk before offering her them. When a clumsy store employee drops some boxes from above Charley springs into action and saves them from falling on a young woman's head. She thanks him but her gangster boyfriend isn't too happy. Worse still, a news reporter just happens to be there and snaps a photograph of Charley and Maisie together. Charley's fiancée sees the article in the newspaper and immediately calls the wedding off. A half-dressed Charley chases Edith down the street pleading with her as she is driven away by her chauffeur. When she refuses to listen to him, Charley threatens to commit suicide. The first thing Charley tries is hanging himself but this fails when the light fitting gets ripped out of the ceiling. His second attempt is with a gun but Charley can't hold it still long enough on account of his nerves. He rigs the gun to the door and calls room service up to his room so that when the door is opened it should set the gun off, but this only ends up blowing the servant's hat off and sending him screaming down the corridor. Charley's next idea is to throw himself out of the window but again, that fails too when the blind suddenly comes down preventing him from leaving the room! The hotel detective comes up to Charley's room and boots down the door, sending Charley flying out of the window with his failed noose hooked around his ankle. He ends up re-entering the building upside down from outside into the apartment below.

As Charley untangles himself from the rope he realizes that he has landed in the apartment owned by Maisie, the lady he saved from the bakery store. After explaining what has happened Charley turns to Louie (her gangster boyfriend) and begs him to shoot him. Louie eventually agrees to help Charley out and instructs his goon to take care of Charley, but Charley insists on his end being by surprise and not face-to-face. Louie enquires as to the brand of tobacco Charley is smoking in his pipe, little realising a bullet has got lodged inside it and when he takes a puff, the pipe explodes in Louie's face. Charley makes a quick exit and finds Edith in his apartment where she embraces Charley as a hero after another newspaper article claims he saved Maisie's life in the store earlier. The couple kiss and make up and Edith leaves. Charley snaps out of his suicidal thoughts but when he hears a car misfiring down below he thinks it is Louie after him with a gun and so he runs back out of his apartment. In the corridor a young boy lets off a box of firecrackers, adding to Charley's strained nerves. Charley knocks on Louie's door to call off the killing request but Maisie tells him Louie is not at home. He asks Maisie to return the wedding ring he gave to her earlier but when she refuses the two of them end up rolling around on the floor for it just as Louie returns home. Louie tries to attack Charley but is unsuccessful. His goon also enters the room and he too gets outsmarted by Charley, who climbs back out of the window, up into his apartment, grabs Edith and leaves for China!

Favourite bit Maisie trying to retrieve the ring from Charley, who rolls around and squirms like a donkey. Think Stan Laurel and Mae Busch in "Come Clean".

Trivia • The seventh film made by Charley Chase with Columbia Pictures to be released. • Charley's apartment number is 813. Louie and Maisie live directly below in apartment 713. • This movie was later remade in 1945 as "Off Again, On Again", starring Shemp Howard, who at the time was starring in his own series of two-reelers at Columbia, before he replaced Curly Howard. The footage of Bud Jamison (the hotel detective), Fred Toones (the room service waiter), and Victor Travers (the desk clerk) was later used as stock footage for the 1945 film. My opinion • Above average comedy from Charley Chase which has a good plot and some interesting situation gags.

	Charley Chase Charley
	Ann Doran Maisie
	Dick Curtis Louie Derringer
	Louise Stanley Edith
	Bud Jamison Hotel detective
	Cy Schindell Percival
	Vernon Dent Bakery man
	Eddie Fetherston Williams, the chauffeur/ Husband in hallway
	Bess Flowers Sales clerk
	Betty Mack Sales clerk
	Sidney Kibrick Kid with firecrackers
	Bobby Burns Customer
	Sammy Blum Customer
	Jack Cooper Customer
	Ethelreda Leopold Customer
	Elaine Waters Customer
	Victor Travers Desk clerk
	Fred Toones Room service waiter
	Al Thompson Baker's assistant
	Ron Wilson Clumsy store employee
	Jack Hill Stunts
	UNIDENTIFIED Customer #1

CREDITS (click image to enlarge)

STILLS (click any image to enlarge)

SHOT ON LOCATION (click any image to enlarge)

Acknowledgements: Smile When The Raindrops Fall by Brian Anthony & Andy Edmonds (book) The Charley Chase Talkies 1929-1940 by James L. Neibaur (book) Jesse Brisson (identification of Betty Mack, Sammy Blum, Jack Cooper, Eddie Fetherston (as husband), Ethelreda Leopold, Elaine Waters, Ron Wilson) Robert Demoss (identification of Sidney Kibrick) Harry C. Matthews (trivia) This page was last updated on: 28 September 2025