"The Old Fashioned Way" is a valuable piece of Fieldsian history. Filmed in 1934, it portrays the "Flim Flam" side of Fields as he leads his little theatrical troupe past sheriff and the general public in order to perform melodramas, and other feats of vaudeville. Always on a shoestring, this time McGonigle (Fields) enlists a local (Cleopatra Pepperday) to assist him in the play to keep it afloat. Her funds are enough to keep it running another time. WC is at his best in this comedy, and it is especially valuable, because Fields gets to do his old vaudeville juggling act at the end of the movie. Those of us who were aware of Fields' prowess as a juggler gets this only movie to show just how good he was, and a few years before his drinking would start to take its toll on him. This movie has never been released by Universal as a video, which owns the rights to it. Perhaps they are saving the release for an in-house party, for except for the occasional television viewing, there is no other way to see it. Come on, Universal, let's start releasing all of your Fields movies out of your dark and dingy vault! We promise to buy all of them if you do!
Review of The Old Fashioned Way
