''You Can't Cheat an Honest Man'' is a 1939 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by

George Marshall George Catlett Marshall Jr. (31 December 1880 – 16 October 1959) was an American army officer and statesman. He rose through the United States Army to become Chief of Staff of the United States Army, Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army under pres ...

and Edward F. Cline and starring W. C. Fields. Fields also wrote the story on which the film is based under the name Charles Bogle.

Plot

Circus proprietor Larsen E. Whipsnade is struggling to keep a step ahead of foreclosure, and clearly not paying his performers, including

Edgar Bergen Edgar John Bergen (né Berggren; February 16, 1903 – September 30, 1978) was an American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, vaudevillian and radio performer. He was best known for his characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd. Bergen ...

and Charlie McCarthy (Bergen's ventriloquist's dummy/alter-ego, whom Whipsnade hates). Whipsnade's co-ed daughter pays a visit and falls in love with Bergen, but after she sees the financial mess that her father is in, she decides to marry Roger, a tiresome young millionaire. Whipsnade initially approves of the marriage, and just to be sure that the penniless Bergen doesn't win out (and make McCarthy an in-law), he sets the pair adrift in a hot-air balloon. However, Whipsnade creates a scene at the engagement party, and father and daughter escape together in a chariot, with Bergen and McCarthy in pursuit. Every time a performer is taken sick, Whipsnade must unconvincingly disguise himself and go on in the performer's place, This has him subbing for sword swallowers with tonsillitis, female sharpshooters with arthritis, and Bergen himself (with a false mustache to hide moving lips). At the society party, Whipsnade begins a shaggy dog story about his pet rattlesnake, which causes Mrs.Bel Goodie to faint dead away (she hate snakes). Rather than stop the story, Whipsnade continues. It has become a game to him how many times in a row he can make Mrs. Bel Goodie scream and faint.

Cast

* W. C. Fields as Larsen E. Whipsnade *

as Himself and the characters Charlie McCarthy and Mortimer Snerd * Constance Moore as Vicky Whipsnade * John Arledge as Phineas Whipsnade * Eddie Anderson as Rochester (billed as Cheerful) * James Bush as Roger Bel-Goodie *

Mary Forbes Mary Forbes (born Ethel Louise Young; 1 January 1883 – 22 July 1974) was a British-American film actress, based in the United States in her latter years, where she died. She appeared in more than 130 films from 1919 to 1958.Thurston Hall Ernest Thurston Hall (May 10, 1882 – February 20, 1958) was an American film, stage and television actor.Aylesworth, Thomas G. and Bowman, John S. (1987). ''The World Almanac Who's Who of Film''. World Almanac. . Pp. 186-187. Career Stag ...

as Mr. Bel-Goodie *

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 Sutton was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, the son ...

as Chester * Princess Baba as Herself * Charles Coleman as Butler *

Edward Brophy Edward Santree Brophy (February 27, 1895 – May 27, 1960) was an American character actor and comedian, as well as an assistant director and second unit director during the 1920s. Small of build, balding, and raucous-voiced, he frequently portr ...

as Corbett * Arthur Hohl as Burr * Blacaman as Himself * Ferris Taylor as Deputy Sheriff *

Ivan Lebedeff Ivan Lebedeff (born Ivan Vasilyevich Lebedev (), 18 June 1894 – 31 March 1953) was a Russian film actor, lecturer and writer. He appeared in 66 films between 1926 and 1953. In 1940, his novel, ''Legion of Dishonor'', was published. Biography ...

as Ronnie Introduction by Arthur Knight

Production background

The film's whimsical title comes from a line spoken by Fields about ten minutes into the film. Whipsnade says that his grandfather Litvak's last words, spoken "just before they sprung the trap", were: "You can't cheat an honest man; never give a sucker an even break, or smarten up a chump." The line expands on his character's comment to his daughter in the musical ''

Poppy A poppy is a flowering plant in the subfamily Papaveroideae of the family Papaveraceae. Poppies are herbaceous plants, often grown for their colourful flowers. One species of poppy, '' Papaver somniferum'', is the source of the narcotic drug ...

'' (1923): "Let me give you just one bit of fatherly advice: ''Never give a sucker an even break.''" (This is the title of a subsequent Fields film, made in 1941.) The character name is obviously a play on "

larceny Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Eng ...

", a point which Fields reinforces at one point when someone calls him "Larceny Whipsnake". The film features Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, capitalizing on the popularity of their ongoing radio "feud" with Fields. According to historian William K. Everson, the film has three directors.

, the credited director, did not get along with Fields, so he worked mostly with the other cast members, while Eddie Cline was brought in to work with Fields, who had worked previously with Cline and liked him. (Cline in fact went on to direct Fields' next three films.) B. Reeves Eason was the second-unit director, helming the chase scenes and other action-oriented material.

In popular culture

* Fields' character in this film would inspire the authors of the comic strip ''

The Wizard of Id ''The Wizard of Id'' is a daily newspaper comic strip created by American cartoonists Brant Parker and Johnny Hart. Beginning November 9, 1964, the strip follows the antics of a large cast of characters in a shabby medieval kingdom called "Id ...

'' to create a shady lawyer character, a Fields caricature named "Larsen E. Pettifogger". * Fields' character in this film also inspired the authors of the

Lucky Luke ''Lucky Luke'' is a Western (genre), Western bande dessinée, comic album series created by Belgian cartoonist Morris (cartoonist), Morris in 1946. Morris wrote and drew the series single-handedly until 1955, after which he started collaborati ...

comic strip, in the album Western Circus. * A scene from the film is featured in the opening to '' Dummy'' (2002).

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:You Can't Cheat An Honest Man 1939 films 1939 comedy films American comedy films American black-and-white films Circus films Films directed by Edward F. Cline Films directed by George Marshall Films scored by Frank Skinner Universal Pictures films 1930s American films 1930s English-language films English-language comedy films