W.C. Feilds and Mack Sennett

Hello fellow film lovers, today we are going to look at some shorts staring the great man himself, W.C. Fields and produced by the legendary Mack Sennett. W.C. Felids had a very off and on film career in the silent era. While he had been In some big films (he played a major role in Sally of the Sawdust, directed by no less than D.W. Griffith), but he did not become a major film star in that era. His career as a movie star really took off in the sound era. One of his first big breaks in sound pictures was his teaming with Mack Sennett. For any of you who may not know Mack Sennett was one of the major producers of comedy shorts during the silent era, forming the famous Keystone Studios. He helped begin the careers of such film legends as Charlie Chaplin, Mabel Normand, Harry Langdon, Andy Clyde and in the early sound era Bing Crosby.

W.C. Fields only made four short films for Sennett and today we are going to look at all of them. Legend has it that Fields signed on as a writer for Mack Sennett than became an actor for the producer by chance. I do not know if this story is true but Fields did write all the films he starred in for the producer. The first of these was 1932's The Dentist. This film used a plot as a very loose thread, mainly there to connect gags. Luckily the gags are really funny here. This was made during the pre-code era (Hollywood would from 1934 until 1968 police its own films and make sure none of them were too obscene for younger audiences) and there are plenty of scenes that would not fly later. In fact after the film would be heavily cut when rereleased later. In this film Fields played a character quite different than audiences were used to seeing as the protagonist. His character here had little to no redeeming qualities, but man was he funny.


The next short is one of Fields' best, 1933's The Fatal Glass of Beer. This film was directed by Clyde Bruckman, one of the most prolific comedy directors and writers of this era. Over his career Bruckman had worked with such greats as Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Laurel and Hardy, Harry Langdon and the Three Stooges. He would later work with Fields again directing the 1935 feature film The Man on the Flying Trapeze.  This is a very interesting short that seems completely different from any other short subject being released around this time. This is a parody of old fashioned melodramas, and takes many of the ideas used in those stories to ridiculous extremes. Because this short was so different from anything else being released around this time, it was not very popular. In the 1930's often times small theater owners would write about films that were being shown there and audiences' reactions to them for various magazines. In these comments this film was referred to as one of the worst comedies made. Despite this though the film is very funny and an absolute delight to watch, so enjoy and don't listen to 1930's theater owners. Sorry this isn't the best video.

Next up comes 1933's The Pharmacist. This short is not only very funny, but quite fascinating to watch today. It in many ways looks forward to one of the great man's best feature films, 1934's It's a Gift. The Pharmacist was directed by Arthur Ripley, who many of my fellow silent film enthusiasts might recognize as one of the main writers for Harry Langdon's films.

    

The fourth and last short Fields made for Sennett was 1933's The Barber Shop. Again directed by Arthur Ripley, this is a very funny short even if it is more conventional than the other three here. Sorry I couldn't find a complete video.


  

















-Michael J. Ruhland

Resources UsedThe Great Movie Shorts by Leonard Maltin