I love W.C. Fields. W.C. Fields is a comic after my own heart: he tells it like it is, isn't afraid to make himself the butt of the joke, doesn't care what people think. He didn't care for kids and didn't care who knew it. After starting out on the vaudeville circuit with people like Chaplin and the Marx Brothers, Fields moved into short silent comedies where he displayed his gift for physical comedy. But when talking pictures took over, Fields was able to show his gift for verbal comedy and made some of the funniest shorts and feature length films ever made. Here's a clip from the 1934 film where Fields, who consumed more booze than a French village, shows off his skills as a juggler.
3 comments:
Here's a thought: perhaps Hugh McF could promise that if he's elected he'll bring back W.C. Fields. Back when I actually went to the Winnipeg Arena to see the Jets play, when they were still in the WHA, there was a real spirit in the city for them, and there was a political side to creating a new league to combat the NHL's monopoly. That's why it still might sell in Winnipeg.
But Fields is more interesting than the Jets, a good example of someone who made movies that were wonderfully funny, but should probably annoy a film scholar. You Can't Cheat an Honest Man is an awful mess, but I think it's as funny a movie as there is. The sheer anarchy of it is a lot like the early Woody Allen films: of course Annie Hall is a better movie than Bananas, but the latter is funnier. The best Marx Brothers pictures are also like that (pardon me while I have a Strange Interlude), and that's part of the reason great comedies don't usually win Oscars. But I'd rather watch YCCanHM repeatedly than any other film made in 1939, including the two films comprising the wunderjahr of Victor Fleming (The Wizard of Oz and Gone with the Wind). And in Bananas even the music is funnier than most of Annie Hall. I'm like the aliens in Stardust Memories (the Woodman's best picture since Manhattan, maybe since Love and Death), who love the early, funny ones. And I do have an I.Q. of 1600.
I think McF has a better chance of bringing back Fields. THAT might actually convince me to vote Conversative.
Couldn't agree more about Fields and the Marx Brothers: they are great despite lack of coherent plot, characterization... all the things that are supposed to make a film great. And you're right about comedies and awards. It's rare for one to be recognized. Duck Soup is great because it's utter madness start to finish.
While I like Allen's early stuff -Take the Money and Run is so funny, but enjoy his more mature period more - Annie Hall, Crimes and Misdemeanors, Manhattan. Haven't seen an Allen film since Small Time Crooks though. Though I would rather listen to his stand up albums.
my juggling skills are seriously lacking...
sigh...
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