'Be Your Age' is fun, but falters at the end

Be Your Age (1926)
Starring: Charley Chase, Lillian Leighton, Frank Brownlee, Gladys Hulette, and Oliver Hardy
Director: Leo McCarey
Rating: Six of Ten Stars

A corrupt attorney (Brownlee) wants control of money inherited by a recently widowed woman (Leighton), so he forces his mild-mannered and financially desperate clerk (Chase) to romance her.

"Be Your Age" is one of those films that, although I found it funny, I felt so sorry and/or embarrassed for the characters that I was hoping for a level of justice that I suspected wouldn't be possible in a comedy. Although the film glosses over it, the attorney played by Frank Brownlee's character is a vile human being who preys on his employee's family and financial troubles, and forces that employee to play with an older woman's affections. It's hinted that the attorney has romantic feelings for the widow beyond just his love her money, but I think every action he takes indicates that the money is what he loves over everything else.

As the film unfolded, I felt sorry for Charley, because he was a good guy being forced into doing horrible things because he needed to help his family; he was being made to trick an affection-starved recently widowed woman that he loved and wanted to marry her (even though it was obvious to everyone that it was her social secretary with whom he shared a mutual attraction). Meanwhile, I felt embarrassed and very sorry for the widow whose affections were being toyed with, just so a money-hungry lawyer could gain control of her wealth; she so wanted to believe Charley was in love with her that she even ignored the obvious interest that Charley and the secretary had shown in each other at the attorney's offices.

All that said, it was amusing to watch Charley Chase play a bashful character who is forced into being a gigolo and the series of misfiring romantic gestures he tried, his final desperate attempt to avoid the target of his "affections", and his cartoonish expressions of shyness were all hilarious. It was also very emotionally satisfying to see him "man-up" and come clean with the widow about why he had been romancing her--even if was actually confessing to the wrong person. All around, Chase gives an excellent performance in this film.

The supporting cast are also great in their various parts. Frank Brownlee portrays a character the viewers will love to hate--he's nasty, but he avoids the melodramatic over-the-top emoting that even at this late date in the silent period could still be seen in the portrayal of villains. Lillian Leighton plays the role of the widow with equal parts credulousness and sympathy-evoking charm, while Gladys Hulette is cute as Chase's true love interest. Oliver Hardy rounds out the main characters as the widow's adult son, Oswald, who spends the film either confused or irritated, but he's a nice addition to the cast. It was also interesting to see Hardy doing something other than the character that soon would become his signature and one-half of his pairing with Stan Laurel.

My only problem with the film--and one that caused me to knock it down at least one full star on my ten-star rating--is the ending. It's a "happy ending" for every character in the film, even the one who, from my vantage point, deserved to be beaten senseless by the rest of the cast (or someone) and left by the side of the road. Maybe I misinterpreted the attorney's motivation and desires, but I really doubt it. I hate it when villains come out ahead in films--especially comedies--because I see enough of that in real life, so I really wish "Be Your Age" had turned out a little differently.

But why don't you watch the film yourself, and perhaps even share your take on it? I've embedded it below, via YouTube, as well as provided a link to a DVD that contains the flick and 11 other short films. (Including a modern-day silent movie pastiche directed by and starring film preservationist and historian John K. Carpenter.)