one you have see a few silent comedy you begin to notice that different rule be follow in short a compare to feature length movie . where the feature tend to be carefully construct and more realistic and and slow pace and the short be spontaneous and wilder and weirder and and definitely faster . it in the short comedy that you will find the cartooniest gag and heavy dollop of slapstick violence and nonsensical plot twist and and guy with bizarre facial hair . and this be even more the case in one reel comedy than in two reeler represent the single reel work of charlie chaplin and harold lloyd and stan laurel and and charley chase feature crazy and crude stuff they do not dare put in their later and long movie and thing that often appear to have be improvise while the camera be roll . april fool be an example of what i mean . charley chase make this one reel comedy back when his screen character be still know a jimmie jump and and it not as polish a some of his late work . this be a case where the charm of the lead man carry the day and for the gag be mostly predictable and routine and almost like reflex action . most of the story be set in the office of a newspaper call the morning megaphone while it april 1st and apparently the staff have little else to do but devote the day to play prank on each other . ( i suspect the only reason our setting be a newspaper office instead of and say and an insurance agency and be to justify a couple of title card quip about journalism represent e. g. and the editor have weak circulation like his paper and that sort of thing . ) one of the best gag be the very first one and when the office boy put tack in all the chair and everyone sits simultaneously and then jump up simultaneously . it a cute visual and but it also reflect the level of wit that prevail thereafter . we know that when charley be fool with a rubber hammer that a real one will be mistake for the fake one and that something will get broken ( check . ) and that when cigar be hand out they will ultimately explode ( check . ) and and that when charley receive a phone call report a genuine fire the news will be regard a a prank and thus ignore ( check . ) . actually this last mentioned gag be a little confusing in the way it present . it the editor in chief wife who have accidentally set their house on fire and but for some reason she keep call charley and order him to tell her husband that their house be burn down . why doesn not she call her husband directly . he have a phone on his desk . good yet and why doesn not she call the fire department . it almost like the producer of these short short felt the limited running time justified illogical behavior by the character and a if we wouldn not notice as long a the pace be fast enough . we do notice and but it doesn not matter represent these one reel comedy aren not much long than cartoon so the people in them may as well behave like cartoon character . when his house burn to the ground even the editor himself doesn not react normally he doesn not bother to comfort his wife and who be wander daze in the gutted ruin and but instead swiftly return to the office to punch charley in the nose . april fool be one of several charley chase comedy release on dvd by kino within the last couple of year and a happy and long overdue development . this little comedy be far from the best of chase output to be restore and make available and but some of the others go a long way toward establish his reputation for modern viewer a one of the great unsung talent of silent movie .