My Little Chickadee.

Review #2530: My Little Chickadee.

Cast: 

Mae West (Flower Belle Lee), W. C. Fields (Cuthbert J. Twillie), Joseph Calleia (Jeff Badger/Masked Bandit), Dick Foran (Wayne Carter), Margaret Hamilton (Mrs. Gideon), Donald Meek (Amos Budge), Ruth Donnelly (Aunt Lou), Willard Robertson (Uncle John), Fuzzy Knight (Cousin Zeb), George Moran (Milton), Anne Nagel (Miss Foster), and William B. Davidson (Sheriff) Directed by Edward F. Cline (#877 - Three Ages, #1354 - The Bank Dick, #2483 - You Can't Cheat an Honest Man)

Review: 

What better way to go through another W. C. Fields movie than one with a bit of a twist? Apparently, one impetus for the film was the relative popularity of 1939's Destry Rides Again, otherwise known as the Western comedy with Marlene Dietrich and James Stewart that happened to deal with a new sheriff in town. Obviously why not go to the wheelbarrow and pair Fields, who had been in the moderately interesting You Can't Cheat an Honest Man the previous year...with West, who was looking for a comeback after her association with Paramount Pictures ended (you might remember that her sexually suggestive humor was made harder with growing censorship) with Every Day's a Holiday (1937). West claimed in later times that she wrote the majority of the film, while Fields was behind the bar scene and select parts of the dialogue, as one does when favoring ad-libbing. Used to being the big stars, they did not warm up to each other and West apparently never wanted to talk to or talk about Fields again. Naturally, there were still lines cut from the final release due, to, well, censors (hey, if you think people sound weird about sex or people, consider the dorks of yesteryear). This was the third of five movies that Fields made with Cline, with the others being Million Dollar Legs (1932), the aforementioned Honest Man, The Bank Dick (made and released the same year), and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941). The movie was a fairly decent hit with audiences. As for West, her next film came with The Heat's On (1943) for Columbia Pictures, which went so well that she promptly didn't make a film again until Myra Breckinridge (1970), instead focusing her time with nightclubs, stage shows, and Broadway revivals* for years on end. 

It is the type of movie that looks great.... on paper. It merrily moves along for 84 minutes with a few good jokes and some interesting ideas of playing around with the Western with a goofy sheriff stumbling onto the scene. And then you realize, good god, this really did need just one big star and not two. Either focus on the zippy charm of West (remember that she was in her late forties doing this film and be astonished) or go along with the flim-flam world of Fields and his type of lines, because it basically feels like an episodic movie in search of more. You get your moments in the bar and with Fields yammering the huckster line, don't get that twisted. The sequence where West holds her own during a Native American attack* (done right before the "marriage" scene) certainly gives off more of an impression than most of what Fields does here, where he isn't even present during a schooling sequence involving shaping the lads up (that goes to West, as one does). Even the love triangle between West, Calleia, and Foran doesn't have the tinge of fire that you might hope for in generating anything other than a casual laugh in the circumstances that West glides along to (i.e. not caring about what one might think and moving to the beat of her own drum). At least folks like Hamilton feel right at home in busybody silliness. By the time the movie lumbers to its conclusion, you almost wish the movie had actually started right where it ended in seeing what life might be for West in the "maybe I'll choose today or tomorrow" phase with men and a town like this. As a whole, even a movie that probably does not live up to all of the potential that you would think would come from such a neat pair up is still a good enough movie to go along with, regardless of how many films you've circled around with Fields or West.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

Song of the day!

*And then there was Sextette (1978), the one loosely based on her own play that saw West, now in her eighties, play a sex symbol with an ensemble cast. She died in 1980 at the age of 87.

*The tiniest bit of gripes not exactly related to the movie. I never understood the discourse about how to refer to Native Americans past, say, the year 1980. What the hell is the argument to call them Indians when there are people from India? I know about the "Indigenous" word but, you know, no.

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 Old Fashioned Way.

Review #1883: The Old Fashioned Way.

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.

It's a Gift.

Review #1858: It's a Gift.

Cast: 

W.C. Fields (Harold Bissonette), Kathleen Howard (Amelia Bissonette), Jean Rouverol (Mildred Bissonette), Julian Madison (John Durston), Tommy Bupp (Norman Bissonette), Tammany Young (Everett Ricks), Baby LeRoy (Baby Elwood Dunk), Morgan Wallace (Jasper Fitchmueller), Charles Sellon (Mr. Muckle), Josephine Whittell (Mrs. Dunk), Diana Lewis (Betty Dunk), and Dell Henderson (Charles Abernathy) Directed by Norman Z. McLeod (#688 - Horse Feathers, #1346 - Topper, and #1829 - Topper Takes a Trip)

Review: 

There are quite a handful of movies one could watch that feature W. C. Fields (silent or sound), whether it features him playing a hard-drinking misanthrope or an everyman. Generally, the characters he played in those movies (starring roles at least) were in the former category, but this is one of his roles in the latter. Jack Cunningham is the credited writer for the movie, although it is the adaptation material that matters most. J.P. McEvoy was the original author of the musical revue that became The Comic Supplement, a 1925 production that had W.C. Fields write his own scenes (incidentally, when he did film scripts, he liked to go under false names like Otis Criblecoblis); you may remember that Fields had done many years of vaudeville and Broadway before he did movies. Fields was a vaudeville star. Fields cribbed routines from the 1910s and 1920s with this film, most notably with the sketch involving a back porch that he had done in It's the Old Army Game (1926). Fields was quite busy in 1934, with this being the sixth feature he appeared in that year, with a sudden decline in health eventually leading him to less roles over the next couple of years.

Fields obviously knows what is best when it comes to light fare that feature select wisecracks for 68 minutes that has the bare minimum in plot for a decent experience. He handles the routines presented here with careful timing and preparation that stages things exactly the way one hopes for, whether that involves a scene where he tries to go to sleep amid a series of inconveniences. Being the hen-pecked man in the middle works out for the most part when paired with Howard in razor-sharp edge more so than the child presences in Rouverol and Bupp that are more in the background with occasional bits to pop in (such as a picnic or a winding sequence with a mirror). This is the third and final feature to feature Baby LeRoy in a Fields movie (he and Fields also made cameo appearances separately with Alice in Wonderland (1933), also directed by McLeod), with the first two being Tillie and Gus (1933) and The Old Fashioned Way (1934). Yes, there was a time when babies were billed like this; Ronald Le Roy Overacker was featured in ten movies from 1933 to 1935. McLeod stated that Fields had a phobia of the baby (and infants in general) to the point where he swore at the baby in front of the camera. Honestly, there isn't much to really say about him, since it's just one scene of a baby doing things that are meant to be wacky like touching a molasses spigot or whatever. Young, Wallace, and Sellon are all featured in one scene with the grocery store: one plays a blind man that Fields tries to make him not suffer mishaps, one who really wants kumquats, and a bumbling fool. This works out for a couple of chuckles in a vignette Fields handles with worthy consistency to the foils presented to him in arrangement. In total, a steady amount of sequences that run for a few minutes at a time make for a decent experience, one that goes pretty much the way you think a movie ostensibly about a man trying to buy an orange grove. The fun is seeing what gets accomplished in generating humor with its key man freewheeling his way through for leisure and laughs that make for a decent experience to breeze through for those with an hour to spare or for those who want to see a Fields movie in his era of effectiveness.

Overall, I give it 7 out of 10 stars.

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.