Copyright 4 April 1934 by Paramount Productions, Inc. New York opening at the Paramount: 6 April 1934. U.K. release: 27 October 1934. Australian release: 30 June 1934. Sydney opening at the Prince Edward as the lower half of a double bill with Death Takes a Holiday: 30 June 1934 (ran 2 weeks). 66 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: The impoverished Bisbees live on the wrong side of the tracks. Dad is an inventor, working on a puncture-proof tyre. Daughter is a charming young lady who falls for the son of the town's leading snob. Dad demonstrates his puncture-proof tyres by shooting bullets into his own tyre-fitted car. Unfortunately, he has parked in a non-parking zone and his own car has been towed away.
NOTES: A re-make of So's Your Old Man (1926), directed by Gregory La Cava from a screenplay by J. Clarkson Miller, based on Julian Leonard Street's 1925 collection of short stories, Mr Bisbee's Princess. In this version, Bisbee is played by W.C. Fields, Princess Lescaboura by Alice Joyce, Kenneth Murchison by Charles Rogers, Mrs Bisbee by Marcia Harris, daughter Bisbee by Kittens Reichert.
COMMENT: Except when playing character or cameo roles such as in Alice in Wonderland and David Copperfield, W.C. Fields was not overly popular outside the USA. It wasn't until his movies began surfacing on TV in the late 1950s that he really became a cult figure, although The Bank Dick did have something of a reputation amongst the corduroy brigade because of a two-reel condensation marketed by Castle Films. Aside from these three titles, Fields' work was unappreciated in Europe and Australia. Neither Paramount nor Universal made any effort to sell his films, let alone keep them in circulation. When they were finally broadcast, however, they quickly became extremely popular, with Fields' fan clubs springing up all over the world.
Although a re-make of one of his most popular (at least in America) silent films, You're Telling Me is not typical Fields. Here he has more a character, even a dramatic role, in which he is required to mix pathos with slapstick. I found the mixture a little hard to take. I thought Fields was not as well served by script and direction as usual. Nonetheless, it's always a joy to see (and hear) Fields in action. W.C. can enliven even the most humdrum scene by his sheer presence. And I liked the support cast too.
SYNOPSIS: The impoverished Bisbees live on the wrong side of the tracks. Dad is an inventor, working on a puncture-proof tyre. Daughter is a charming young lady who falls for the son of the town's leading snob. Dad demonstrates his puncture-proof tyres by shooting bullets into his own tyre-fitted car. Unfortunately, he has parked in a non-parking zone and his own car has been towed away.
NOTES: A re-make of So's Your Old Man (1926), directed by Gregory La Cava from a screenplay by J. Clarkson Miller, based on Julian Leonard Street's 1925 collection of short stories, Mr Bisbee's Princess. In this version, Bisbee is played by W.C. Fields, Princess Lescaboura by Alice Joyce, Kenneth Murchison by Charles Rogers, Mrs Bisbee by Marcia Harris, daughter Bisbee by Kittens Reichert.
COMMENT: Except when playing character or cameo roles such as in Alice in Wonderland and David Copperfield, W.C. Fields was not overly popular outside the USA. It wasn't until his movies began surfacing on TV in the late 1950s that he really became a cult figure, although The Bank Dick did have something of a reputation amongst the corduroy brigade because of a two-reel condensation marketed by Castle Films. Aside from these three titles, Fields' work was unappreciated in Europe and Australia. Neither Paramount nor Universal made any effort to sell his films, let alone keep them in circulation. When they were finally broadcast, however, they quickly became extremely popular, with Fields' fan clubs springing up all over the world.
Although a re-make of one of his most popular (at least in America) silent films, You're Telling Me is not typical Fields. Here he has more a character, even a dramatic role, in which he is required to mix pathos with slapstick. I found the mixture a little hard to take. I thought Fields was not as well served by script and direction as usual. Nonetheless, it's always a joy to see (and hear) Fields in action. W.C. can enliven even the most humdrum scene by his sheer presence. And I liked the support cast too.