You Can't Cheat an Honest Man.

Review #2483: You Can't Cheat an Honest Man.

Cast: 

W. C. Fields (Larsen E. Whipsnade), Edgar Bergen (Himself and the characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd), Constance Moore (Vicky Whipsnade), John Arledge (Phineas Whipsnade), Eddie "Rochester" Anderson (Rochester), James Bush (Roger Bel-Goodie), Mary Forbes (Mrs. Bel-Goodie), Thurston Hall (Mr. Bel-Goodie), and Grady Sutton (Chester) Directed by George Marshall (#650 - The Ghost Breakers and #2228 - How the West Was Won) and Edward F. Cline (#877 - Three Ages and #1354 - The Bank Dick)

Review:

Sure, let's talk about W. C. Fields again. This was the first film Fields made away from Paramount Pictures, which he had made over a dozen movies with before troubles with The Big Broadcast of 1938 led to his departure from the studio. He had done work on radio, most notably having routines with ventriloquist Edgar Bergen and his dummy Charlie McCarthy. Bergen had been a ventriloquist since he was a teenager and had McCarthy as his sidekick created out of a broomstick, rubber bands and cords. In what you might as well call "it was the old times", despite a run from vaudeville to movie shorts, the best notable success for Bergen and McCarthy was on radio, which they did all the way from the late 1930s until 1956 (one suggestion is that is because audiences just believed in the character of McCarthy as a youth they could hear, which probably went just as well for the other dummy in Mortimer Snerd); at any rate, Bergen and company did do a few films together, starting with The Goldwyn Follies (1938)*. So here we are with a Universal Pictures effort that had the efforts of two directors: George Marshall did everything besides working with Fields due to an apparent dislike of him, while Edward F. Cline worked with Fields (incidentally, B. Reeves Eason was the second-unit director doing the chase sequences). Fields starred in three further films: My Little Chickadee, The Bank Dick, and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break prior to his death in 1946.

Admittedly, this works for those who just want a hodgepodge of jokes rather than an involving plot. The screenplay was written by Everett Freeman, Richard Mack, and George Marion Jr, as based on a story written by W. C. Fields (for what totally sounds funny reasons, he was credited as "Charles Bogle"). Really the film just sails on how much you value the misanthropy and huckstering of Fields. It probably works out the best when he is doing an impression of performers by necessity, whether that involves taking on a beard or trying to play ventriloquist (at least when he plays the dummy, there's a mustache trying to hide the movement of one's mouth, unlike a certain person). The 79 minutes come and go with a good deal of amusement at the proceedings with Fields basically trying to play people to a fiddle (blood relation or not) because I'll be damned if Bergen can keep up with him. Sure, there are moments when he can be a decent straight man but he can't really sell anything when it comes to the idea of a love story between him and Moore and when you have two puppets that come and go in...being puppets, you have a film that only works on a basic level. One odd thing for the modern audience: No, I'm not sure exactly why blackface was thought to be so funny that it even creeps up for a sequence midway through where the dummy is shown in makeup. So it goes. The sequence where Fields intrudes on the proceedings of higher-class people is at least pretty funny in seeing the contrast and an elaborate game of ping-pong, particularly since the movie basically just ends with little to show for it (you've got a chase of a chariot and a bike that is closed out by a puppet in a balloon). As a whole, there are a few interesting moments within a film that creaks more than most of its age, which may or may not make for a fine time for those interested in Fields or comedies in general.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

*Right before Bergen died, he filmed a cameo scene for The Muppet Movie - Jim Henson stated that Bergen was his idol. One of the original dummies is now part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of American History.

The Bank Dick.

Review #1354: The Bank Dick.

Cast: 
W.C. Fields (Egbert Sousé), Cora Witherspoon (Agatha Sousé), Una Merkel (Myrtle Sousé), Evelyn Del Rio (Elsie Mae Adele Brunch Sousé), Jessie Ralph (Mrs. Hermisillo Brunch), Grady Sutton (Og Oggilby), Franklin Pangborn (J. Pinkerton Snoopington), Shemp Howard (Joe Guelpe), Dick Purcell (Mackley Q. Greene), Russell Hicks (J. Frothingham Waterbury), Pierre Watkin (Mr. Skinner), and Jack Norton (A. Pismo Clam) Directed by Edward F. Cline (#877 - Three Ages)

Review: 
"You've heard the old legend that it's the little put-upon guy who gets the laughs, but I'm the most belligerent guy on the screen. I'm going to kill everybody. But, at the same time, I'm afraid of everybody—just a great big frightened bully"

Comedians can come in all shapes and sizes. They can deliver laughs on screen through sight gags, verbal puns, or through their comic persona. One can see many kinds of personas play out in film if they watch enough of them, and W. C. Fields is one that isn't easily forgotten. he was characterized for his misanthropic persona alongside a distinct hard-drinking drawl, with his strong presence often being identified with Fields (particularly his supposed hatred of dogs and kids). Fields' first talent was in juggling, entering vaudeville in 1898. He made his Broadway debut seven years later before appearing in the Ziegfeld Follies revue in 1915 to entertain the audience with a billiards skit. That year, he made his appearance in film for the first time with Pool Sharks, a short film. Not until 1924 did he return to film (due to stage-work), and he worked with various directors over the following decade ranging from D. W. Griffith (Sally of the Sawdust, That Royle Girl) to A. Edward Sutherland (It's the Old Army Game and five others). Health troubles led to his career slowing down in his final years, where he starred in just five films from 1938 to 1941, while making appearances in four other films in the following three years (along with continued radio appearances) before his death in 1946. at the age of 66. In any case, this was his penultimate starring role, for which he also contributed the story (under the pun name of Mahatma Kane Jeeves), while Richard A. Carroll helped with dialogue. Cline, who also began his career in vaudeville along with being one of the Keystone Kops, served as director, his fourth of five collaborations with Fields (the first was Million Dollar Legs in 1932). He believed in just letting Fields run with whatever he wanted to do, while editing out any undesired ad-libs (which tended to crack up the crew, including Cline at times).

Fields seems right at home with this film, a drunken crank who still manages to generate amusement alongside sympathy that makes for a entertaining sit at 72 minutes. He has a confidence to him in delivering zippy lines (whether when seeming drunk or not) and interacting with the others, whether that means pretending to be a film director or nearly throwing a urn at his daughter. He is exactly the kind of person we love to see be on screen with his flaws because they are the flaws we can see in ourselves. He may mistreat a kid or a mess with a comic foil, but we find ourselves laughing all the same. The film definitely has an episodic feel to it, particularly whether when seeing him as a director or in the saloon or the bank, but it never loses momentum at any rate. The rest of the cast keep up as useful foils, particularly with Sutton, Pangborn, and Howard. They have different manners of interacting against Fields (whether friendly or not), and they keep up with his antics just fine. The film builds itself up to a frantic chase sequence (complete with a re-used gag from one of Cline's earlier works) that makes for silly charm. One will have a fun time with this feature, a stand-out that represents Fields at the top of his game in making one laugh with entertainment. There should be no doubts about watching this to alleviate their curiosity, that much is for sure.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.

Pigskin Parade.

Review #1345: Pigskin Parade.

Cast: 
Stuart Erwin (Amos), Jack Haley (Slug), Patsy Kelly (Bessie), Arline Judge (Sally), Grady Sutton (Mortimer), Fred Kohler, Jr. (Biff), Johnny Downs (Chip), Tony Martin (Tommy), Dixie Dunbar (Ginger Jones), Betty Grable (Laura), Judy Garland (Sairy), Si Jenks (Baggage Master), and the Yacht Club Boys. Directed by David Butler (#1334 - Just Imagine and #1342 - Bright Eyes)

Review: 
It always seems the lightest entertainment can provide the best debut for a star, no matter how big or small the role is. This was the feature film debut of Judy Garland, a thirteen year old singer and actor who was born to vaudevillian parents and toured with her sisters (under her original name of Gumm at first) before being discovered and soon brought to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. While she would spend 15 years with the company, her debut would be with newly merged 20th Century Fox in this film. MGM didn't know what to do with her at first, so they loaned her to Fox for a few weeks, with her role being a small but notable one, having two songs to herself to sing.

Who better to make a light mix of comedy and song than David Butler. He was the son of an actress and a stage director, and he soon found his way into acting starting in 1910, appearing in various parts directed by people such as John Ford and D.W. Griffith. He made his directorial debut with The High School Hero (1927), and he directed films in five different decades for multiple studios with numerous stars, ranging from Doris Day to Shirley Temple to Walter Brennan, with the latter two being honored by the Academy with awards for acting in a Butler film. This is an ensamble piece, filled with a slim plot that goes by the numbers you can see coming right away (take one guess about if this team will lose to Yale), but there is a charm to it that makes things roll comfortably without seeming dopey. It's a humble movie, full of actors who mostly were just known for small roles or b-movie films (with Garland, Haley, and Grable being exceptions), but they zip the film along through 93 minutes with moderate zingers and decent production value. The songs aren't really anything grandly memorable, but the actors (more so for Garland) sing them adequately enough. Highlights include a fair turn for Erwin (garnering a surprising Oscar nod) as a barefoot college football star, Haley and Kelly as a couple with a few biting wisecracks on and off the field, and a charming Garland (whether singing or not) whenever on screen.  One knows there are better football films or better musical comedies out there than this, but one can't go wrong with a movie like this when it comes to achieving quality escapist entertainment without being too empty inside, serving with a fair cast and fair direction to make an equally fair time. Average isn't a bad place to be with a film like this.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.