Series: Charley Chase Director: Leo McCarey Producer: Hal Roach Titles: H.M. Walker Photography: Editor: Stars: Charley Chase, Fred Kelsey, Katherine Grant Company: Pathé Exchange Released: 15 November 1925 Length: 2 reels Production No.: B-2 Filming dates: August 5-15, 1925 Rating: 5/10

The Uneasy Three

Available on DVD:

The wealthy Mrs. Van Courtland (EVELYN BURNS) has returned home from Europe with an expensive Kadir brooch as a birthday gift for her daughter and has hired a private detective (FRED KELSEY) to guard it with his life. Charley (CHASE) and his moll (KATHERINE GRANT) are keen to relieve the lady of her precious brooch, so they are driven to the house by the moll's brother Willie (BULL MONTANA). They are immediately confronted by the detective. Charley pretends to be deaf, so the detective tests him by dropping a coin onto the ground to see whether Charley reacts. Naturally, Charley falls for the bait and miraculously hears the coin drop! He and Willie make their quick exit (and collect the coin!) but then get themselves involved in a car crash, where the occupants of the other vehicle just happen to be a musical trio called The Metropolitan Trio, who on their way to the Van Courtland house to entertain her guests. Charley gets the idea to assume their identities and show up at the house posing as the trio with his woman and her brother in order for them to rob the host. The fake Trio turn up at the house and are shown to their instruments, whilst the real Trio make their way to the house. Charley fakes playing the pianola, Willie fakes the harp and the moll begins dancing for the guests. Some brat kid then decides to mess about with the electrical chord for the pianola by unplugging - then replugging it, which causes the detective to be suspicious of Charley's playing skills. Willie decides to scare the kid by pulling nasty faces at it. The kid shits himself and runs off to his bed! The real Trio turn up to the house and Charley self-promotes himself into the butler by answering the door and quickly shoving them into the kitchen, where he feeds them cake and plays hide and seek with their violin case.

Charley tells the detective there are crooks in the kitchen but when confronted, the crooks claim they are in fact the real musicians. The detective tells them to prove it by playing their instruments but Charley has filled the violin case with junk and therefore the crooks are apprehended by two policemen who just suddenly happen to turn up, let themselves into the kitchen and leave with the trio. Charley celebrates their removal by offering the detective some of the cake. As the detective scoffs his fill, the dodgy Charley informs the two chefs of what the detective is up to and they take care of business. The hostess asks for the fake Trio to liven up the party, so Charley takes to the living room where the guests are gathered and asks for somebody to assist him. Charley's moll stands behind a curtain and ties a rope to her ankles and then tells the detective to pull on the rope on his command. When the detective pulls the rope, it opens the curtains to reveal the legs are just a prop whilst Charley escapes through a window. The hostess tells the guests she suspected that somebody would attempt to steal the brooch and so she hid it in her bedroom dresser. Willie overhears this and heads upstairs to steal it but he is caught in the act by the hostess and detective. He drops the brooch on the floor and it is picked up by the kid whom he scared shitless earlier. Willie puts the kid in a briefcase and takes him to Charley and the moll. They overhear the policemen are now searching for the 'kidnapped' child and so Charley buys a balloon from a passing salesman to keep the kid quiet and occupied. He also manages to drop a goldfish bowl out of the window too. The kis seems entertained with seeing Charley repeatedly slapping Willie. In the end Charley and his moll decide to do the honorable thing and return the child - and the brooch to their rightful owners and 'go straight'.

Favourite bit Charley's floating hat routine.

Trivia • Copyrighted November 6, 1925. • Minatures filmed by Len Powers between August 12-15, 1925. • The crooks (Charley Chase and Katherine Grant) had read 16,239 detective books before planning to steal the brooch. • Imagine having a young toddler who can just pull plugs in and out of electrical sockets in your house without any supervision whatsoever! • Who in their right minds leaves a goldfish bowl on a first-storey windowsill, with the window wide open? What did you think was going to happen? Idiots. My opinion • Slightly above-average Chase silent 2-reeler. The gag involving the balloon, and later the fish, under the hat was amusing but the rest of the pace was a bit pedestrian.

	Charley Chase Crook
	Fred Kelsey Private detective
	Katherine Grant Crook's moll
	Bull Montana Willie, the moll's brother
	Jerry Mandy Member of the Metropolitan Trio
	Jack Ackroyd Member of the Metropolitan Trio
	Consuelo Dawn Member of the Metropolitan Trio
	Evelyn Burns Mrs. Van Courtland
	William Gillespie Butler
	Lyle Tayo Party guest
	Al Flores Party guest
	L.H. LaLeavitto Party guest
	Jane Shipman Party guest
	Webster La Grange Party guest
	J.H. Wells Party guest
	Roland Ray Party guest
	Earl McCarthy Party guest
	Harold McNulty Party guest
	Jane Sherman Party guest
	Sue O'Neil Van Courtland daughter
	Fred DeSilva Chef
	Robert Finlayson Chef
	Charles Lloyd Balloon salesman
	Chester Bachman Policeman
	Jack Green Policeman
	Walter S. McDunnough Elderly party guest
	Winifred Landis Elderly party guest
	Jackie Hanes Child
	UNIDENTIFIED Party guest #1
	UNIDENTIFIED Party guest #2
	UNIDENTIFIED Party guest #3
	UNIDENTIFIED Party guest #4
	UNIDENTIFIED Policeman #1
	UNIDENTIFIED Policeman #2
	UNIDENTIFIED Policeman #3
	UNIDENTIFIED Policeman #4
	UNIDENTIFIED Policeman #5

The following cast members are listed in the ledgers for the film but their characters portrayed in the film are unknown. List kindly provided by Robert Demoss.

Dorothy Barbour Betty Boyd Marie Dvorak Sally Finney Nell Foltz Jack Marks Billy McCoy Isabel Thomas

CREDITS (click image to enlarge)	INTERTITLES (click image to enlarge)

POSTERS (click any image to enlarge)

LOBBY CARDS (click any image to enlarge)

GLASS SLIDE (click any image to enlarge)

STILLS (click any image to enlarge)

SHOT ON THE BACK LOT (click any image to enlarge)

INTERIOR SHOTS (click any image to enlarge)

RISQUE: KATHERINE GRANT (click any image to enlarge)

Acknowledgements: Smile When The Raindrops Fall by Brian Anthony & Andy Edmonds (book) Steve Wright (identification of Lyle Tayo) Jesse Brisson (identification of Harold McNulty, Consuelo Dawn) Robert Demoss (cast ledgers) Rick Greene (lobby cards) Drina Mohacsi (1 lobby card and still; both used with permission) Jesse Brisson (identification of WS. McDunnough, LH. LaLeavitto, Jane Shipman, Webster La Grange, Winifred Landis, J.H. Wells, Roland Ray, Earl McCarthy, Jack Green, William Gillespie, Harold McNulty, Jane Sherman, Fred DaSilva) Lord Heath (identification of Robert Finlayson, Al Flores, Charles Lloyd) *One source lists Olive Borden in the film. This is a case of mistaken identity. This page was last updated on: 24 May 2026