''The Dentist'' is a 1932

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was the brief era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry between the widespread adoption of sound in film in 1929LaSalle (2002), p. 1. and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorshi ...

comedy Comedy is a genre of fiction that consists of discourses or works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. The term o ...

short Short may refer to: Places * Short (crater), a lunar impact crater on the near side of the Moon * Short, Mississippi, an unincorporated community * Short, Oklahoma, a census-designated place People * Short (surname) * List of people known as ...

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 ...

. The film is one of four shorts Fields made with the "king of comedy,"

Mack Sennett Mack Sennett (born Michael Sinnott; January 17, 1880 – November 5, 1960) was a Canadian-American film actor, director, and producer, and studio head, known as the 'King of Comedy'. Born in Danville, Quebec, in 1880, he started in films in the ...

, at

Paramount Paramount (from the word ''paramount'' meaning "above all others") may refer to: Entertainment and music companies * Paramount Global, also known simply as Paramount, an American mass media company formerly known as ViacomCBS. The following busin ...

. Although Sennett was near the end of his career, he found good use of the new medium of talking pictures for

, as the film demonstrates. It was directed by Leslie Pearce from a script by Fields himself. The film has been released on VHS and

DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...

Plot

Fields plays a hot-tempered dentist who terrorizes his patients, who verbally/physically abuses his assistants and golfing-caddies alike, and whose daughter desires to marry an ice-delivery man. Fields disapproves of this match, especially after the starry-eyed daughter attempts to elope with her lover. Fields locks his daughter in her upstairs bedroom which is located above his dental office, where she proceeds to stamp her feet, causing plaster chunks to fall as he attempts to treat his patients. Various patients with unusual physical traits (a tall "horse"-faced woman, a tiny, heavily-bearded man ields is obliged to use a stethoscope to locate the man's mouth arrive at the office, and he attempts to use his dental drill on them without any apparent pain killer. With one of his patients (

Elise Cavanna Elise Alyse Cavanna (January 30, 1902 – May 12, 1963) was an American film actress, stage comedian, dancer, and fine artist. She went by the following names: Elise Seeds, Alyse Seeds, Elise Armitage, Elise Cavanna, and Elise Welton. Stage an ...

), he engages in an intimate wrestling match as he attempts to extract a painful tooth. Eventually the ice-delivery man procures a tall ladder and aids the dentist's daughter to escape from her dormitory window. Fields observes the lovers just as they are prepared to run off, and – under pressure from the sizable crowd that has gathered at the foot of the ladder – grudgingly withdraws his opposition to the match. The film ends with Fields – who had previously threatened to purchase an electric refrigerator instead of ordering ice each day – contemptuously ordering his now-future-son-in-law to deliver "fifty pounds of ice, and make it snappy", prompting the daughter to joyfully embrace her fiance.

Cast

as The Dentist *

Marjorie Kane Marjorie Kane (April 28, 1909 – January 8, 1992) was an American film and stage actress born in Chicago. She appeared in more than 60 films between 1929 and 1951, occasionally under the name Babe Kane. Career Kane appeared on stage for 11 ...

as Mary, the Dentist's Daughter (as 'Babe' Kane) *Arnold Gray as Arthur, the iceman *

Dorothy Granger Dorothy Karolyn Granger (November 21, 1911 – January 4, 1995) was an American actress best known for her roles in short subject comedies in Hollywood. Career Granger, with her parents, two brothers, Richard and James, and their grandmot ...

as Miss Peppitone, patient *

as Miss Mason, patient *Zedna Farley as Dental Assistant *

Billy Bletcher William Bletcher (September 24, 1894 – January 5, 1979) was an American actor. He was known for voice roles for various classic animated characters, most notably Pete in Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse short films and the Big Bad Wolf in Disney' ...

as Bearded patient (uncredited) *

Joe Bordeaux Joe Bordeaux (March 9, 1886 – September 10, 1950) was an American film actor. He appeared in more than 70 films between 1914 and 1940. He was born in Colorado, and died in Los Angeles, California. Selected filmography * ''Mabel at the ...

as Benford's Caddy (uncredited) * Harry Bowen as Joe (uncredited) *

Bud Jamison William Edward "Bud" Jamison (February 15, 1894 – September 30, 1944)Okuda, Ted, and Edward Watz. 1999. The Columbia Comedy Shorts: Two-reel Hollywood Film Comedies 1933–1958'. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. . was an American film actor. ...

as Charley Frobisher, golf partner (uncredited) *

Bobby Dunn Robert P. Dunn (August 28, 1890 – March 24, 1937) was a comic actor who was one of the original Keystone Kops in '' Hoffmeyer's Legacy''. Early years Dunn was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Richard P. and Melissa Dunn, and attended S ...

as Dentist's Caddy (uncredited) *

Grady Sutton Grady Harwell Sutton (April 5, 1906 – September 17, 1995) was an American film and television character actor from the 1920s to the 1970s. He appeared in more than 180 films. Early years Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Sutton was raised ...

as golf partner (uncredited)

Notes

*Some of Fields' comments are salty; it is clear that the studio deleted some of it because there are pauses in the soundtrack. *Early in the short, Fields utilizes elements of the golf routine he developed for the

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

, filmed on location at Lakeside Country Club (Toluca Lake, CA), and ending with Fields, after repeated failure to achieve a very difficult hole, throws the golf club, the golf bag and the caddy into the lake. * ''The Dentist'' is one of three W. C. Fields short films that fell into the

public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work A creative work is a manifestation of creative effort including fine artwork (sculpture, paintings, drawing, sketching, performance art), dance, writing (literature), filmmaking, ...

after the copyright lapsed in the 1960s (the other two being ''

The Golf Specialist ''The Golf Specialist'' is a 1930 pre-Code comedy short subject from RKO Pictures, starring W. C. Fields. It was his first talkie. The film was shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey when many early film studios in America's first motion picture industry ...

'', 1930, and '' The Fatal Glass of Beer'', 1933). As such, these three films frequently appear on inexpensive video or DVD compilations.DVD writeup
/ref>

Bibliography

*Deschner, Donald, ''The Films of W. C. Fields'' (New York: The Citadel Press, 1966)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dentist, The 1932 films 1932 comedy films 1932 short films American comedy short films American black-and-white films Mack Sennett Comedies short films Films with screenplays by W. C. Fields Films about dentistry Films directed by Leslie Pearce 1930s English-language films 1930s American films