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5.9/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.9/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. What a Bozo! remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you have about twenty minutes and want to see a guy try way too hard to impress the wrong person, What a Bozo! is worth a look. It is a Charley Chase short from 1931, back when movies were still figuring out how to talk without sounding like they were in a hollow box.
It is mostly for people who like that specific brand of 1930s embarrassment comedy. If you hate seeing a guy make a fool of himself for a woman who clearly finds him repulsive, you will probably want to turn this off after five minutes.
Charley is a bandleader. He’s got the tuxedo, the mustache, and that nervous energy that makes you think he might vibrate right off the screen. He is obsessed with this high-society dame who is, frankly, kind of a pill.
Meanwhile, there is this dancer, played by Kay Deslys, who is actually nice and clearly into him. But Charley is a bozo. Hence the title.
It is a classic trope, but Chase makes it feel more frantic than usual. He doesn't just miss the signals; he actively runs away from them. It reminded me a bit of the energy in Going Wild, but maybe a bit more grounded in a living room rather than a plane.
Early sound movies have this very specific silence. When no one is talking, you just hear this low hiss of the film reel. It makes the jokes land a bit differently. Sometimes a gag happens and there is no music to tell you it was funny, so you just sit there in the quiet with Charley's failure.
There is a scene where he is trying to be sophisticated at a party. The extras in the background look like they were told to stand perfectly still or they would be fired. It gives the whole thing a slightly ghostly feeling, like a haunted ballroom where everyone is wearing too much hair wax.
I noticed a moment where Charley is trying to handle a radio broadcast. It is chaos. People are tripping over wires and the timing is all wrong. It felt very real, actually. Like anyone who has ever tried to do a live stream and had their internet cut out.
It’s funny in a "oh no, please stop doing that" kind of way. It isn't the kind of movie where you are going to be rolling on the floor. It is more of a constant smirk type of experience. Charley Chase was the king of the polite man in a bad situation.
He tries to be so dignified while everything is falling apart. There is a bit with a phone that goes on a little too long, but his facial expressions save it. He has these eyes that just scream "help me" while his mouth is smiling.
I think I liked it more than Too Many Mammas, mostly because the stakes feel a bit more personal here. You actually want him to notice the nice girl, even though you know he won't until the very last second.
Kay Deslys is really the MVP here. She has to play the "ignored girl" which can be a boring role, but she has a lot of spark. You kind of wonder why she likes this guy at all, but I guess that’s just how these movies work. She’s got much more personality than the socialite he’s chasing.
The high-society types are all played by the usual Hal Roach studio regulars. You see a lot of these faces in things like The Big House or other shorts from the era. They are very good at looking down their noses at people.
"You can tell a movie is from 1931 just by the way people hold their cigarettes. It’s like they are holding a tiny, fragile bird."
There is a specific reaction shot of an older woman at the party that lingered for way too long. It became funny because she just looked genuinely confused about why the camera was still on her. Those are the little human mistakes I love in these old films.
The pacing is a bit uneven. It starts fast, drags in the middle at the party, and then finishes in a big rush. It’s like they realized they only had two minutes of film left and had to wrap up the entire plot. It’s messy, but it works.
I don't think this is a masterpiece. It isn't something that changed the history of cinema. But it is a very solid example of why Charley Chase was a star. He could take a very thin premise and make it watchable just by being awkward.
If you enjoy seeing the transition from silent films to talkies, this is a great case study. You can see Chase still using some silent film acting—big gestures, wide eyes—while trying to deliver dialogue. It’s a weird mix that shouldn't work, but somehow does.
Anyway, it’s short. If you don't like it, you only lost twenty minutes. But you'll probably like it if you have a soft spot for guys in bowties making mistakes.
Also, the music. The band scenes are actually pretty charming. It makes you wish you could have actually been at a club in 1931, even if the food was probably terrible and everyone was smoking way too much.
Final note: The ending is a bit abrupt. It just... stops. But that's 1930s comedy for you. No need for a big emotional resolution, just a quick gag and then the curtains.
IMDb 5.7
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