"Life Hesitates at 40" showcases the sophisticated, dazzling comic writing, timing, and direction that characterized most of Charley Chase's work. The use of sound and stop-motion photography is arresting in its use and far ahead of its time. A delightful romp in which Charley Chase's character can hear what people are thinking is inventive and fun in the playing of the actors and editing. The chemistry between Charley Chase and Joyce Compton is beautiful to watch, a quiet but sexy verbal sparring much like what one could hear in screwball comedies that were just coming out in 1936, when this short was released. Carl "Alfalfa" Switzer (recently joining Our Gang) nearly steals the scenes he plays with Chase.
The photography shows great polish and attention to set design. Charley Chase's work in "Life Hesitates at 40" and other shorts going back to the mid-1920's illustrates a sophistication in scripting and playing that prefigures screwball comedy!