One of Fields' best (is there anything that's not?), Never Give a Sucker an Even Break is basically his swan song. Never again would he star in a motion picture. And it is a glorious swan song, nearly as funny as his greatest film, The Bank Dick. It may even be his second best film, although several fight for that position: The Old-Fashioned Way, It's a Gift, You're Telling Me, The Man on the Flying Trapeze, etc.
In a somewhat mournful way, the plot revolves around Fields, playing himself, trying to sell a script to a producer played by Franklin Pangborn (a bit confusing, seeing he retains his real name; Franklin Pangborn was an actor, though, not a producer). The film Fields wants to make is a lot like many other classic comedies: a bunch of gags strung together in a haphazard fashion. Part of the joke is that the plot doesn't exist as such. Tastes were changing at the time, and Pangborn is flabberghasted at the nonsensical plot. The funniest moments of Never Give a Sucker an Even Break take place as Fields' own screenplay plays out.
Like a lot of classic comedies, this one is also part musical, but unlike those same comedies, the music in this film isn't painful to sit through (I'm lookin' at you, Marx Brothers!). It's actually quite marvelous. The songs are sung by Gloria Jean, a teenager playing Fields' niece. She is beautiful and a wonderful singer. She's also quite funny when the film gives her that chance (her audition for Pangborn is gold). Also joining the cast is the Marx Brothers' favorite foil, Margaret Dumont, playing a woman who hates men so much she brought her daughter up on top of a steep precipice to raise her without the impediment of that gender.
In a somewhat mournful way, the plot revolves around Fields, playing himself, trying to sell a script to a producer played by Franklin Pangborn (a bit confusing, seeing he retains his real name; Franklin Pangborn was an actor, though, not a producer). The film Fields wants to make is a lot like many other classic comedies: a bunch of gags strung together in a haphazard fashion. Part of the joke is that the plot doesn't exist as such. Tastes were changing at the time, and Pangborn is flabberghasted at the nonsensical plot. The funniest moments of Never Give a Sucker an Even Break take place as Fields' own screenplay plays out.
Like a lot of classic comedies, this one is also part musical, but unlike those same comedies, the music in this film isn't painful to sit through (I'm lookin' at you, Marx Brothers!). It's actually quite marvelous. The songs are sung by Gloria Jean, a teenager playing Fields' niece. She is beautiful and a wonderful singer. She's also quite funny when the film gives her that chance (her audition for Pangborn is gold). Also joining the cast is the Marx Brothers' favorite foil, Margaret Dumont, playing a woman who hates men so much she brought her daughter up on top of a steep precipice to raise her without the impediment of that gender.