User Reviews

The first thing I noticed while watching this short was that, to me, Chase's character is not very likable. He plays a scheming thief, a wise guy prankster, and I'm not used to that. If the same script was used with a different lead actor, I'd perhaps rate the film higher. I just have "issues" with this version of a Chase character.

Personal feelings aside, be aware there isn't a whole lot familiar with the namesake Lon Chaney film "The Unholy Three", other than the theft of jewelry, so don't expect Charley to dress like a woman. Instead he looks handsome and dapper in a full dress suit.

Bull Montana is good as the ugly muscle of the group, forced to smile while pretending to play a harp. The scenes where a baby keeps unplugging Charley's player piano are good, as are the ones later in the film involving his top hat, which made me chuckle out loud.

If you are more open minded about the type of characters Charley Chase played, then you will be just fine with this film. Perhaps I will enjoy it more with a second viewing.

I love Charley Chase films and have probably seen more than 99.99% of the people out there, so don't get the idea that I hate his films--just this one in particular. The main problem with THE UNEASY THREE is that it has very few laughs--almost none. And for a comedy, that's a serious problem! The second problem is that the title would suggest that this film is a parody of the famous Lon Chaney film, THE UNHOLY THREE. Unfortunately, there just aren't enough parallels to make this so. Other than the fact that Charley is one of three thieves and one of the gang looks somewhat like Chaney, the similarities between the two films ends there. There just aren't enough similarities to consider this a burlesque of the much more famous film.

Charley, a blonde and an ugly guy are a gang of crooks. Having Charley play such a role is a radical departure--usually he plays more of a decent "every man" character. Regardless, the three go to a fancy party and pretend to be the musical entertainment so that they can steal a priceless brooch. Charely and the ugly guy pretend to play their instruments in a non-funny and non-convincing manner as the blonde dances. Eventually, they succeed in not only stealing the brooch but the child of the lady who threw the party. And, throughout all this, no laughs....none. The closest to a laugh was when Charley and the ugly guy began hitting each other because the kid laughed and thought this was funny. That's really reaching.

By the way, Bull Montana plays the ugly guy. If you do see the film, get a load of his cauliflower ears--it's obvious Mr. Montana had been a professional wrestler and for a very long time.