W.C. Fields

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Narshty · #1 Post by **Narshty** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 2:27 pm

The car chase at the end of Sucker is also one of the greatest ever committed to film. I saw it on the big screen (as part of a 'Hollywood Surrealism' season at the NFT) just over a year ago and the audience (myself included) were gasping at some of the stunts.

Plus Fields sitting in a milk bar then turning to the camera and lamenting "There was meant to be a saloon here, but the censor cut it out" is worth the price of admission alone.

unclehulot · #2 Post by **unclehulot** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 3:25 pm

Funniest line ever: "We'll have to take the boat from here"!

tryavna · #3 Post by **tryavna** » Thu Jan 05, 2006 6:53 pm

unclehulot wrote:Funniest line ever: "We'll have to take the boat from here"!

Or perhaps: "The resale value on this car is going to be nil."

Narshty · #4 Post by **Narshty** » Thu Mar 29, 2007 2:21 pm

I've just finished watching You Can't Cheat an Honest Man and though all the Great Edgar/Charlie McCarthy is predictably dire, I think this film (or at least the last 15 minutes) might be Fields' high point as writer/performer. The line "Luckily two boa constrictors I had previously befriended wrapped themselves round my naked rims and off we went again!" made me laugh for about 20 minutes and there are other moments, both of dialogue and physical comedy, so sublime I can't think of anything else in Fields' oeuvre to match them.

Narshty · #5 Post by **Narshty** » Sat May 05, 2007 6:16 pm

The complete Man on the Flying Trapeze.

Michael Kerpan · #6 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Sat May 05, 2007 8:01 pm

I highly recommend the new box set. The films (including "Man on a Flying Trapeze") look a lot better than they did when I first encountered around 40 years ago.

Quot · #7 Post by **Quot** » Sun May 06, 2007 12:07 am

Michael Kerpan wrote:I highly recommend the new box set. The films (including "Man on a Flying Trapeze") look a lot better than they did when I first encountered around 40 years ago.

I can't recommend this set enough -- I think overall it surpasses the first volume -- and it is so good, it not only helps solidify Fields' legacy, it makes a great case for his standing amongst the works of Keaton and Chaplin (I'm inclined to put Fields first, or at least a very close second behind Keaton). Yep, he's really that good.

Narshty · #8 Post by **Narshty** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 8:13 am

Apparently coming for the UK on October 1st (with a hefty Ã‚Â£99.99 price tag) is a W.C. Fields Collection from Universal that will include:

Big Broadcast Of 1938
The Bank Dick
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man
My Little Chickadee
Man on the Flying Trapeze
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
The Old Fashioned Way
You're Telling Me!
Six of a Kind
International House
Million Dollar Legs
If I Had A Million
Mississippi
Poppy
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
It's A Gift
Alice in Wonderland
Tillie and Gus

Michael Kerpan · #9 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 9:33 am

I wonder if this might mean a US vol. 3 with the remaining films not yet released here?

And I wonder if we will ever get to see the more important silent films on DVD?

tryavna · #10 Post by **tryavna** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 10:51 am

Michael Kerpan wrote:I wonder if this might mean a US vol. 3 with the remaining films not yet released here?

And I wonder if we will ever get to see the more important silent films on DVD?

I've heard some rumors that Universal were pleasantly surprised by the success of the first volume. I suspect that the greater rarity of the titles in Vol. 2 (some of which were never even released on VHS) will equate to even higher sales. I'd be surprised if we didn't see a Vol. 3. There's certainly several first-rate Fields films left to be released, as the UK will demonstrate: Mississippi, Six of a Kind, and Tillie and Gus in particular. I just hope we don't have to wait another two and a half years for the next volume.

BTW, does Universal actually own any of the silents? I thought Fields didn't join Paramount until 1932.

Michael Kerpan · #11 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 10:57 am

Paramount - Famous Lasky (?) made "It's the Old Army Game" and "Running Wild"..

orlik · #12 Post by **orlik** » Mon Jul 02, 2007 11:45 am

tryavna wrote:
unclehulot wrote:Funniest line ever: "We'll have to take the boat from here"!
Or perhaps: "The resale value on this car is going to be nil."

Or (from The Old-Fashioned Way) 'All dressed up like a well-kept grave.'

unclehulot · #13 Post by **unclehulot** » Tue Jul 03, 2007 12:33 am

Well, that's the first sighting of Mississippi in quite a while, by my calculations since "The Movie Channel" showed over 10 years ago. I guess the rights issues have been resolved finally? Hopefully that's true for the US as well.

ByMarkClark.com · #14 Post by **ByMarkClark.com** » Tue Jul 03, 2007 9:32 am

SIX OF A KIND is available stateside on a Burns & Allen triple bill.

I'll be shocked if MISSISSIPPI ever sees an American release.

Michael Kerpan · #15 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Tue Jul 03, 2007 9:41 am

ByMarkClark.com wrote:I'll be shocked if MISSISSIPPI ever sees an American release.

Why?

starmanof51 · #16 Post by **starmanof51** » Tue Jul 03, 2007 1:11 pm

tryavna wrote:I'd be surprised if we didn't see a Vol. 3. There's certainly several first-rate Fields films left to be released, as the UK will demonstrate

Million Dollar Legs for me!

Michael Kerpan · #17 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Tue Jul 03, 2007 1:16 pm

starmanof51 wrote:
tryavna wrote:I'd be surprised if we didn't see a Vol. 3. There's certainly several first-rate Fields films left to be released, as the UK will demonstrate
Million Dollar Legs for me!

Have you seen it?

A few nice moments here and there -- but as a whole very inferior to the works that Fields himself (largely) created.

portnoy · #18 Post by **portnoy** » Tue Jul 03, 2007 1:58 pm

I've got a serious sentimental attachment to Million Dollar Legs. I used to be the director of the Dartmouth Film Society, and Million Dollar Legs was the first film the DFS ever showed (Buck Henry, then an undergraduate, wrote the program notes).

But yeah, it's pretty weak sauce compared to a lot of Fields's collabs with Edward Cline (and even a lot of Cline's better non-Fields work, like Crazy House)

starmanof51 · #19 Post by **starmanof51** » Tue Jul 03, 2007 3:56 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote:Have you seen it?

A few nice moments here and there -- but as a whole very inferior to the works that Fields himself (largely) created.

Yes, I've certainly seen it and would not attempt to compare it too seriously to the Fields Usual Suspects of favored films. "Very inferior" makes it sound bad. It's funny, for heavens sake! A snappy hour of fun.

Like Portnoy, I have sentimental attachments to it as one of the earliest 30s comedies I have memories of. Revisiting it 9-10 years ago I still found it charming and rewarding. It's not really a Fields show of course, but he's great as usual here and it's at the very least a kindred spirit to his longer, more famous showcases. Among the previously unreleased DVDs in this box, this is the one I'm most pleased to see listed. Sue me.

Michael Kerpan · #20 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Tue Jul 03, 2007 4:10 pm

starmanof51 wrote:Revisiting it 9-10 years ago I still found it charming and rewarding. It's not really a Fields show of course, but he's great as usual here and it's at the very least a kindred spirit to his longer, more famous showcases. Among the previously unreleased DVDs in this box, this is the one I'm most pleased to see listed. Sue me.

Hey -- the more Fields the better. but I didn't find much more than 20 minutes of real fun in this. Perhaps if some folks hadn't claimed this was one of the best Fields films ever, I would have enjoyed it more.

Jackie Oakie did nothing for me -- but it was interesting to see Lyda Roberti (of Gershwin musical fame).

ByMarkClark.com · #21 Post by **ByMarkClark.com** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:46 am

>>Why?<<

Even if they can disentangle the legal issues, MISSISSIPPI seems like a long-shot to me, for the same reasons that have kept SONG OF THE SOUTH off the U.S. market. Have you seen this movie?

Then again, Universal doesn't seem as concerned about potential backlash as some other labels, so maybe I'm wrong about this.

Michael Kerpan · #22 Post by **Michael Kerpan** » Thu Jul 05, 2007 10:49 am

ByMarkClark.com wrote:>>Why?<<

Even if they can disentangle the legal issues, MISSISSIPPI seems like a long-shot to me, for the same reasons that have kept SONG OF THE SOUTH off the U.S. market. Have you seen this movie?

Nope -- never seen it. How big a role does Fields have in this?

ByMarkClark.com · #23 Post by **ByMarkClark.com** » Fri Jul 06, 2007 10:04 am

Bing Crosby, Joan Bennett and Gail Patrick are the stars, but Fields has a prominent supporting role, and lots of business, as a shifty riverboat captain. The film is actually pretty amusing, at least when Fields is on screen, but it's also about as un-PC as imaginable. (I finally saw this film last year at Cinevent, btw.)

tryavna · #24 Post by **tryavna** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 1:39 pm

Michael Kerpan wrote:Jackie Oakie did nothing for me

Oakie is very much an acquired taste -- and one that I have never acquired either. The only performance of his that I really like is as Benzini Napaloni in The Great Dictator, where Chaplin wisely uses Oakie's already overbearing/overwhelming presence to great effect. Otherwise, he has a nasty habit of nearly ruining potentially fine films, like King Vidor's Texas Rangers.

As for Mississippi, I haven't seen it for years, but I don't recall its un-PC-ness as being any worse than many other Hollywood films of the 30s that are set in the South (like the Will Rogers movies Stepin Fetchit appeared in). I'm not familiar with the rights issues, but I can't see Universal turning their backs on this one, what with Crosby's and Bennett's presence in it and the high reputation it has among Fields fans (though I don't know how much its lack of availability contributes to its reputation).