Cast:
W. C. Fields (The Great McGonigle / Squire Cribbs), Joe Morrison (Wally Livingston / William Dowton), Baby LeRoy (Albert Pepperday), Judith Allen (Betty McGonigle / Agnes Dowton), Jan Duggan (Cleopatra Pepperday), Tammany Young (Marmaduke Gump), Nora Cecil (Mrs. Wendelschaffer), Lew Kelly (Sheriff Walter Jones), Jack Mulhall (Dick Bronson), Oscar Apfel (Mr. Livingston), Samuel Ethridge (Bartley Neuville / Edward Middleton / The Drunkard), Ruth Marion (Agatha Sprague / Mary Wilson), and Richard Carle (Sheriff of Barnesville) Directed by William Beaudine (#463 - Billy the Kid versus Dracula, #535 - Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla, and #1153 - Jesse James Meets Frankenstein's Daughter)
Review:
There was plenty of time for director to have their assignment involve W. C. Fields, who ended up in countless comedies over the 1930s, with varying results. William Beaudine was a director who churned out movies at a rate in quantity and genre distinction like no other, which meant that there is a crop of varying quality with his films, which he directed for decades when he started at the age of 23 in the 1910s (with features in next decade, with plenty of comedies around). Of course, Beaudine was the man for hire with Paramount Pictures in a string of movies that he done on assignment for various recognizable names such as Fox Film (later in the decade, with studios chafing at meeting his salary finances, which meant he eventually had to go with cheaper studios). This film was written by Jack Cunningham based on a story by "Charles Bogle", which was just another name for W. C. Fields that I'm sure you are familiar with him doing the same thing in other movies such as It's a Gift, released the same year as this. This is an interesting presentation: it shows scenes from a play that the characters in the movie play for a crowd with The Drunkard: or, The Fallen Saved, (written primarily by William Henry Smith with unknown collaborators) which was first performed in 1844. The play was a temperance play, which meant that it was a play meant to warn of the dangers of consuming alcohol (remember that the United States did an entire Amendment dedicated to banning it in the early 20th century). It was actually quite popular as something to produce across the States in the 19th century. While it may seem like dated melodrama of its time, there actually is a little theater in Tulsa that has done a production of the play one time a week for nearly seven decades. Even Buster Keaton made fun of the play with his own parody in 1940.
Million Dollar Legs (1932) was his first Paramount appearance (with a few shorts sprinkled in that were done by Mack Sennett), while International House (1933) made him even more popular that would keep on a road to taking the primary lead in films that came out later such as Tillie and Gus and then this film (there were a few little anthologies along the way to go with other films like David Copperfield (1935), of course). Of course, the film shows the play within audiences that would engage with the drama on its own terms (i.e. reaction shots) in emotional involvement, whether that means a woman telling her husband to watch his heart or a couple asking if they think "this" is a good play. The film verges on the huckster played by Fields and not so much on the weirdness of the play, because you think of it for yourself (so can either look on the nostalgia of 19th century audiences enjoying a play or whatever). He approaches things with lofty patience for what he knows will be amusing sequences for himself besides the necessary parts involving would-be romances or other things. He's a misanthrope in the most fun way possible, weaving his way through oddballs of adults and children for general interest…and he also shows his juggling skill to the audience, which he was pretty adept in the old days of vaudeville that is a key highlight. As a whole, the movie works best in his time on screen in general huckster amusement, where he can maneuver select lines and facial expressions without the semblance of tiredness or forcing it in, down to the logical conclusion set at the end. He seems adept at trying to convince folks (read: studio executives) that he can carry his own film without needing to be just part of the ensemble, which seems easy to prove now but obviously needed to be shown for clear enjoyment there, such as when he plays sly in the opening when trying to reach a train looking for his deadbeat self...which he handles adeptly. The stuff with Allen and Morrison is okay, mostly since it isn't just a single-minded pursuit of a girl (because hey, she wants him to get a life in college). Baby LeRoy is a baby, which means if you care for stuff involving him "throwing" stuff, then it works fine. If one prefers to see Fields play a charlatan rather than a family man, then go right ahead. I thought it worked out fine for a serviceable pace that is easygoing enough for most folks to enjoy without losing focus. It isn't exactly his most distinct feature, but it works out in all the useful ways needed to make it worth a watch.
Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.
