This is my favorite W.C. Fields movie, and that is not meant to diminish any of his others. But this one really hits the spot, for me.
This is one of Fields' "the worm turns" movies, where the put-upon, harried head of household finally becomes a hero and gains the respect and admiration of his family.
It has multitudes of little comic touches along the way -- like Fields first calling the neighborhood patrol to kick out the "burglars singing in the cellar," then getting into a drinking and singing session with them. It has droll touches like Fields growling, "Get your filthy hands off!" as the crook turns the applejack tap for him.
Fields is VERY put-upon in this movie. His wife nags and berates him unmercifully. His hatchet-faced mother-in-law is one of the most hateable examples of the type I've seen. You should see the looks she gives Fields and his daughter at the breakfast table (where she's stuffing her son with every cooked morsel, while Fields manages to get a couple of pieces of cold toast, and his daughter has to struggle to get the sugar bowl). That Medusa could turn people to stone with her hatchet-faced, baleful stare.
The son-in-law is also very hateable -- spoiled, lazy, ungrateful, loafing on the couch, disdainful of Fields and laughing at him when he gets thrown in jail for making applejack. It's really satisfying when this lout gets his comeuppance! (He's played by Grady Sutton, who's always fun to watch, even when cast as a no-goodnik as he is here.) The officious brown-noser at Fields' place of employment, who gets Fields fired for skipping work to see the wrestling match with Hookalakah Meshobbab (Cockalocka Mishabobb?), is also somewhat hateable, and it's nice to see him put in his place.
But the scene where "the worm turns," where Fields finally decks his son-in-law and takes a roundhouse swing at the old battleaxe, is priceless. Very satisfying! Mary Brian is lovely and endearing as the loving daughter, and Carlotta Monti is brave, loyal and quite fiery, when she defends Fields' behavior at the wrestling match: "What did you expect me to do -- stand there like a dummy while my boss was dying in the gutter?" (Or words to that effect.)
A good time will be had by all who watch this movie. It's satisfying and droll, and as I said, it's my Favorite Fields Film.
This is one of Fields' "the worm turns" movies, where the put-upon, harried head of household finally becomes a hero and gains the respect and admiration of his family.
It has multitudes of little comic touches along the way -- like Fields first calling the neighborhood patrol to kick out the "burglars singing in the cellar," then getting into a drinking and singing session with them. It has droll touches like Fields growling, "Get your filthy hands off!" as the crook turns the applejack tap for him.
Fields is VERY put-upon in this movie. His wife nags and berates him unmercifully. His hatchet-faced mother-in-law is one of the most hateable examples of the type I've seen. You should see the looks she gives Fields and his daughter at the breakfast table (where she's stuffing her son with every cooked morsel, while Fields manages to get a couple of pieces of cold toast, and his daughter has to struggle to get the sugar bowl). That Medusa could turn people to stone with her hatchet-faced, baleful stare.
The son-in-law is also very hateable -- spoiled, lazy, ungrateful, loafing on the couch, disdainful of Fields and laughing at him when he gets thrown in jail for making applejack. It's really satisfying when this lout gets his comeuppance! (He's played by Grady Sutton, who's always fun to watch, even when cast as a no-goodnik as he is here.) The officious brown-noser at Fields' place of employment, who gets Fields fired for skipping work to see the wrestling match with Hookalakah Meshobbab (Cockalocka Mishabobb?), is also somewhat hateable, and it's nice to see him put in his place.
But the scene where "the worm turns," where Fields finally decks his son-in-law and takes a roundhouse swing at the old battleaxe, is priceless. Very satisfying! Mary Brian is lovely and endearing as the loving daughter, and Carlotta Monti is brave, loyal and quite fiery, when she defends Fields' behavior at the wrestling match: "What did you expect me to do -- stand there like a dummy while my boss was dying in the gutter?" (Or words to that effect.)
A good time will be had by all who watch this movie. It's satisfying and droll, and as I said, it's my Favorite Fields Film.