Thundering Tenors (1931) Review - Charley Chase is the King of Social Anxiety

Look, if you have twenty minutes to spare and want to see a guy sweat through his suit while trying to eat soup, Thundering Tenors is actually a lot of fun.

People who love old-school slapstick—specifically the kind where a fancy dining room gets completely wrecked—will have a blast with this one.

But if you can't stand scratchy 1930s audio or people screaming in high-pitched opera voices, you'll probably want to turn it off after five minutes. 🙉

The Dinner Party From Hell

The whole thing is basically about Charley Chase trying to survive a high society dinner.

He plays a radio singer who is incredibly awkward in real life, which is a vibe I think a lot of us can relate to when we're forced to socialize with people we don't know.

There is this one guy, Sidney Bracey, who plays the butler with a face that looks like he just smelled sour milk.

Honestly, the butler stole the whole show for me. He doesn't even say much, he just judges everyone with his eyes and it's hilarious.

The main gag involves Charley trying to hide his terrible coughing fit while trying to look sophisticated, and it just escalates into absolute madness.

It kind of reminded me of that other short, Once Over, where the social anxiety is basically the main villain of the story.

Though this one has way more screaming and people throwing things. It's got that same frantic, slightly desperate energy you see in early talkies like Came the Dawn.

Small details I liked

At one point, there is a dog under the table, because of course there is. I swear, every single movie from this era had to have a pet tripping someone up or eating the food.

The dog eats some spicy food or something and just starts causing a scene, and the way the guests try to ignore it is so funny to me.

There is also a weird edit around the ten-minute mark where the camera cuts so fast I thought my video player glitched.

It's these little rough edges that make these old shorts so fun to watch today. They weren't trying to make high art, they just wanted to make people laugh in the theaters.

• The Good: Charley Chase has amazing physical control and can make his ears look like they are burning just by slouching.
• The Bad: The sound quality is pretty rough, and some of the screaming gets a bit grating on the ears.
• The Weird: A lady in the background seems to be laughing at a joke that hasn't happened yet.

Anyway, if you want something short and silly to watch with your morning coffee, give this a go.

Just don't expect some grand masterpiece. It is just a guy ruining dinner, and sometimes that's all you really need. 🍜