comedy film
A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...
starring
W. C. Fields
William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathe ...
and
Rochelle Hudson
Rochelle Hudson (born Rachael Elizabeth Hudson; March 6, 1916 – January 17, 1972) was an American film actress from the 1930s through the 1960s.stage revue of the same name starring Fields and
Madge Kennedy
Madge Kennedy (April 19, 1891 – June 9, 1987) was a stage, film and TV actress whose career began as a stage actress in 1912 and flourished in motion pictures during the silent film era. In 1921, journalist Heywood Broun described her as "the ...
. This was the second film version of the revue featuring Fields, following '' Sally of the Sawdust'' in 1925 with
Carol Dempster
Carol Dempster (December 9, 1901 – February 1, 1991) was an American film actress of the silent film era. She appeared in films from 1916 to 1926, working with D. W. Griffith extensively.
Early years
Born in Duluth, Minnesota, Dempster was ...
in the title role.
Plot
Eustace McGargle , a con artist,
snake oil
Snake oil is a term used to describe deceptive marketing, health care fraud, or a scam. Similarly, "snake oil salesman" is a common expression used to describe someone who sells, promotes, or is a general proponent of some valueless or fraud ...
salesman and
shell game
The shell game (also known as thimblerig, three shells and a pea, the old army game) is often portrayed as a gambling game, but in reality, when a wager for money is made, it is almost always a confidence trick used to perpetrate fraud. In conf ...
trickster, tries to escape the sheriff while taking care of his beloved adopted daughter Poppy, who, after pretending to be an heiress to win an inheritance, is found to be an actual heiress.
Cast
*
W. C. Fields
William Claude Dukenfield (January 29, 1880 – December 25, 1946), better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer. Fields's comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist who remained a sympathe ...
as Professor Eustace McGargle
*
Rochelle Hudson
Rochelle Hudson (born Rachael Elizabeth Hudson; March 6, 1916 – January 17, 1972) was an American film actress from the 1930s through the 1960s.Richard Cromwell
Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell.
On his father's death ...
as Billy Farnsworth
*
Catherine Doucet
Catherine Doucet (born Catherine Green; June 20, 1875 – June 24, 1958) was an American actress. She appeared in more than 30 films between 1915 and 1954. Her film debut came in ''As Husbands Go''.
Doucet's work on Broadway began with ''B ...
as Countess Maggi Tubbs DePuizzi
*
Lynne Overman Lynne may refer to:
*Lynne (surname)
*Lynne (given name)
*Lynne, Florida, an unincorporated community
*Lynne, Wisconsin
Lynne is a town in Oneida County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 210 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated comm ...
as Attorney Whiffen
*
Granville Bates
Granville Bates (January 7, 1882 – July 8, 1940) was an American character actor and bit player, appearing in over ninety films.
Biography
Bates was born in Chicago in 1882 to Granville Bates, Sr., a developer and builder, and Adaline Bates ...
as Mayor Farnsworth
*
Maude Eburne
Maude Eburne (born Maud Eburne Riggs, November 10, 1875 – October 15, 1960) was a Canadian character actress of stage and screen, known for playing eccentric roles.
Early years
Eburne was born the daughter of John and Mary Riggs, in Bronte-o ...
as Sarah Tucker
*Bill Wolfe as Egmont
*
Adrian Morris
Adrian Grant Morris (18 May 1929 – 6 December 2004) was an England, English painter.
Early life
Morris was born in London, England. He spent his childhood in rural Somerset before the family moved to the United States, where he attended the ...
as Constable Bowman
*Rosalind Keith as Frances Parker
*Ralph Remley as Carnival Manager
Production
Fields was suffering the effects of his heavy drinking and he injured his back during the making of the film. As a result, his performance may have suffered. Fields was ill during the production, and a fairly obvious double was used in several scenes requiring physical exertion.
Reception
In a contemporary review for ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', critic
Frank Nugent
Frank Stanley Nugent (May 27, 1908 – December 29, 1965) was an American screenwriter, journalist, and film reviewer, who wrote 21 film scripts, 11 for director John Ford. He wrote almost a thousand reviews for ''The New York Times'' before lea ...
called ''Poppy'' a "glorious victory" for Fields and for comedy while conceding that the scenes without Fields were "painfully frail" and would provoke some squirming and eye-rolling.
Writing for ''
The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'' in 1936,
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading English novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquir ...
offered a positive review, commenting that "Mr. Fields has never acted better." Comparing Fields' characterization to those of
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...
, Greene noted that Fields "wins our hearts not by a display of Chaplin sentiment, not by class solidarity (he robs the poor as promptly as the rich), but simply by the completeness of his dishonesty."
Awards
"Never give a sucker an even break" was nominated for the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Leade ...