W.C. Fields Comedy Collection, Vol. 2 (The Man on the Flying Trapeze / Never Give A Sucker An Even Break / You're Telling Me! / The Old Fashioned Way / Poppy)

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What took so long?

W.C.Fields collection Vol. 2

Fields gets "an even break" in Volume 2

wc fields. about time on dvd.

W.C. Legend

W.C. Fields Comedy Collection, Vol. 2 (The Man on the Flying Trapeze / Never Give A Sucker An Even Break / You're Telling Me! / The Old Fashioned Way / Poppy)
Starring: W.C. Fields , and June Preston
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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W.C. Fields Comedy Collection (The Bank Dick / My Little Chickadee / You Can't Cheat an Honest Man / It's a Gift / International House)

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ASIN: B000LC4C0Q
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Amazon.com

It's a sobering thought that iconoclastic clowns such as W.C. Fields have fallen off the pop-culture radar (as evidenced by the fact that the studio felt compelled to insert the word comedy into the title of this collection). With his penchant for smoke and drink and dim view of such institutions as marriage and small-town America, Fields is just the jolting rebuke for these PC times. This bracing boxed set contains five potent films that are 100-proof Fields with a bonus documentary chaser. Two films capture Fields at his disreputable best. In The Old Fashioned Way (1934), Fields stars as the Great McGonigle, who heads a ragtag traveling repertory troupe that is always just one step ahead of the sheriff. Fields displays his mad juggling skills as well as his antipathy toward children in the classic scene with Baby LeRoy, which climaxes with McGonigle giving the bratty tot a swift kick in the diapers (try getting away with that today). In Poppy (1936), Fields reprises his famed stage role as con man supreme Professor McGargle, who joins a traveling circus and schemes to pass off his daughter as the heir to a fortune. Two other films present Fields as the Rodney Dangerfield of his day, getting absolutely no respect from shrewish wives, monstrous in-laws, and others who bedevil his so-called life, like the succession of four policemen in The Man on the Flying Trapeze, who near simultaneously issue him traffic tickets as Fields tries to attend a wrestling match. You're Telling Me (1934) reveals a somewhat softer side of Fields, who portrays a failed inventor driven to the brink of suicide.

This set also contains the essential Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941), in which Fields, as himself, attempts to sell an "impossible, inconceivable, incomprehensible" screenplay to the studio. Fields films are more deliberately paced than the Marx Brothers' manic romps, all the better to savor Fields' way with words ("what fulgent sunshine," "this mundane sphere"). To quote Slim Pickens in Blazing Saddles, he uses his tongue prettier than a $2, um, woman of ill-repute. This set's bonus is a 1965 television special that, despite its sweetened soundtrack and lame antics by hosts Wayne and Schuster, offers a cornucopia of classic clips and some genuine insights into Fields' comedy. A toast in anticipation of a Volume Three: May the next round contain Million Dollar Legs and Mississippi. --Donald Liebenson

Description

Legendary actor and entertainer W.C. Fields is an American comedy treasure - a headliner who always left audiences laughing for more of his sharp-tongued one-liners, slapstick shenanigans and notoriously caustic wit. Now you can catch more of his unique comedic style in five of his most uproarious films: You're Telling Me!, The Old Fashioned Way, Man on the Flying Trapeze, Poppy and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break. Loaded with classic comedy routines, the W.C. Fields Comedy Collection: Volume Two is more of Fields at his finest, proving that the master of the one-liner can still keep fans laughing out loud!

Customer Reviews:

What took so long?.......2007-09-14

I grew up in Southern California. WC Fields was on the late movie a lot. I missed schoolkid sleep to stay up and watch. In those days, there was only one TV in the house, in the living room. I would awaken my parents laughing and get a good scolding. To me, any Fields movie was a riot, worth repeated viewings.

For years, only the Bank Dick and It's A Gift were available on VHS. Suddenly, these collections appeared at Costco. I was shaking with excitement.

My old friends Franklin Pangborn and Grady Sutton, in addition to Fields. I'll be the first to admit that some of the material is weak. I really don't care much for Poppy. But I'd still rather watch "bad" Fields. The one with Edgar Bergen & Charlie McCarthy tries your patience, exept when Fields is on camera. The ping-pong game!

Fans of Fields will buy the collections regardless of what anyone thinks, so reviews are beside the point. Let me assure you Fields fans, your life is not complete without these.

W.C.Fields collection Vol. 2.......2007-09-01

Very well presented boxed set of these classic movies...highly recommended for Fields lovers.
Service and delivery was also excellent.

Fields gets "an even break" in Volume 2.......2007-08-24

Let me begin by saying this: Thank God for DVD! It has given us fans the opportunity to see (and own) these great films (some for the very first time), instead of allowing them to languish forever in some musty vault.
After viewing & enjoying Volume 1, I didn't think it was possible to top that initial collection; I'm happy to say, I was wrong. Volume 2 unearths such rarely-seen gems as "You're Telling Me", "Poppy", "The Old-Fashioned Way", "Man On The Flying Trapeze" and of course, Fields' starring swan song, "Never Give A Sucker An Even Break".
Do I have a favorite among this collection? It's tough choosing one, considering I really like all of them, so I won't. "You're Telling Me" starts off hilariously with Fields drunkenly stumbling through his front door--and having the nerve to try to hide his inebriation from his shrewish, disapproving wife. An ambitious inventor, he tries to get patented by demonstrating his "puncture-proof" car tires by shooting out his own tires--but accidentally shoots out a police car's tires instead. The movie climaxes with a classic old Fields bit, the "golf routine".
"The Old-Fashioned Way" is a grand 1800's-style vehicle which puts Fields in his element as the leader of a theatrical troupe, always one step ahead of the law & one step behind in financial obligations. The film is packed with great comedy moments: Another hilarious encounter with Fields' child nemesis, Baby LeRoy; Fields listening to an audition by the shrill song stylings of a stage-struck rich dowager (Fields only wants her around to plunder her bankroll); and the play itself, "The Drunkard", with performances so hokey & over the top that it's hysterical to watch.
"Man On The Flying Trapeze" relies more on situational comedy than broad slapstick. But the story is a beauty: Fields, after 25 years of service, asks his boss for the afternoon off; however, he makes the mistake of saying he's attending his mother-in-law's funeral, when actually, he's sneaking off to see a wrestling exhibition. The "little lie" snowballs into a preposterous disaster as Fields loses his job, finally tells off his irritating in-laws & defends his devoted daughter (Fields tended to portray families as mean & nasty in his films, a reflection of an unhappy childhood at the hands of an abusive father). To our surprise, the situation rights itself: Fields gets re-hired (with better pay & benefits), and he puts his shrewish wife & clinging in-laws in their place. The intricate workings of the story are simply amazing.
"Poppy" is the film adaptation of a Fields stage play. Balancing a dramatic storyline (the title character, Fields' daughter, seeking a better life, love & acceptance into society) with a more comical one (Fields as her finagling medicine-show father), it's another classic Fields vehicle.
Fields reached his zany zenith with the dizzy "Never Give A Sucker An Even Break", a mis-shapen comedy confection where Fields tries to sell the most ridiculous, preposterous movie script to a movie studio head (played with wonderful exasperation by Franklin Pangborn). As the script story unfolds, logic is completely thrown out the window. We don't believe it, the studio chief doesn't believe it. But who cares? This, after all, is a comedy to enjoy, and we delight in Fields introducing such crazy things as gorillas, planes with an open observation deck, reclusive & wealthy women (played here by the Marx Brothers' favorite dowager, Margaret Dumont), and silly kissing games.
Even middle-aged, Fields' hands are as nimble & quick as ever. Just watch him do his juggling routine at the end of "The Old-Fashioned Way" or use various props to accentuate the laughs in any of these films. His physical bits are simply astounding to watch.
Another interesting thing about Fields is his screen character: He might be dishonest & loutish at times, but no matter what happens, we are with him all the way, proving that underdogs can come out on top.
The DVD extras include a 60's documentary about Fields, hosted by Wayne & Shuster (?).
If Universal is smart, they will release a Volume 3 to round things out. After all, we still need to see other gems such as "Six Of A Kind", "Mississippi", "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch", "If I Had A Million" and "David Copperfield".

wc fields. about time on dvd........2007-07-12

all great films just like volume one.let,s hope it wont be to long before volume three is released on dvd.

W.C. Legend.......2007-07-12

These W. C. Fields collections are a real treasure for all who have enjoyed his work throughout the years. This recent collection finally has some of my favorite movies on them, such as The Old Fashioned Way. I hope that this is not the only other series to be produced and that all his movies will be remastered and available for purchase. He truly was the Great Man

W.C. Fields Comedy Collection (The Bank Dick / My Little Chickadee / You Can't Cheat an Honest Man / It's a Gift / International House)

Average customer rating:

My two faves are in different collections!
W.C. Fileds Volume 1
Fantastic elaboration of some gems from the celluloid vistas!
You'd like to have a nose like that full of nickels, wouldn't you?
Two gems, two OK, one incidental.

W.C. Fields Comedy Collection (The Bank Dick / My Little Chickadee / You Can't Cheat an Honest Man / It's a Gift / International House)
Starring: W.C. Fields , Cora Witherspoon , Una Merkel , Evelyn Del Rio , and Jessie Ralph
Director: Edward F. Cline
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B0002MHDY2
Release Date: 2004-11-09

Amazon.com

For anyone who loves classic comedy, the W.C. Fields Comedy Collection is absolutely essential. Film for film, this may be the best DVD showcase ever devoted to a single comedian, including all five of Fields's acknowledged classics in a sturdy, beautifully designed library-quality slipcase. One could easily lament the relative lack of bonus features (it would have been nice to have some vintage Fields radio shows and newsreel footage), but the inclusion of A&E's 1994 Biography documentary W.C. Fields: Behind the Laughter is sufficiently informative about Fields's life, career, irascible personality, and tragic alcoholism. That's all that's really needed when the films themselves are so timelessly entertaining, and they're all remarkably pristine in sound and image quality. The best way to appreciate Fields's evolving screen persona is to view these films in chronological order: In International House (1933), Fields was merely one of many Paramount stars of screen and radio (including Rudy Vallee, Burns & Allen, Bela Lugosi, Sterling Holloway, and manic bandleader Cab Calloway), but he handily steals the show, invading a Shanghai hotel in his airplane/helicopter and delivering the classic line (to Franklin Pangborn), "Don't let the posy fool ya!" It's one of Paramount's best all-star revues.

It's a Gift (1934) is a remake of Fields's 1926 silent It's the Old Army Game, and was the first sound feature devoted to Fields's inimitable talent. As beleaguered husband and would-be orange farmer, Fields revives vintage routines from Vaudeville and Broadway, and his first encounter with Baby LeRoy is comedy gold. You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939) features Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy and Fields's classic, still-hilarious ping-pong routine, while 1940's My Little Chickadee matches Fields (as "Guthbert J. Twillie") with Mae West, whose unforgettable on-screen banter with Fields shows no sign of their notorious off-screen animosity. In his raucous masterpiece The Bank Dick (also 1940), Fields is "Egbert Souse," lowly bank guard, unlikely hero, and manic driver in perhaps the greatest slapstick car-chase scene ever filmed. Despite the regrettable absence of Fields's final starring feature Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, this classy five-disc set is a veritable cornucopia of comedy, offering ample proof of Fields's comic genius through classic one-liners, physical routines, memorable costars, and perfect bits of business that never grow old. --Jeff Shannon

Description

W.C. Fields is an American original, the curmudgeonly master of wit and good, mean fun. In this collection of madcap classics, the famously top-hatted Fields unleashes his unique comic zing, proving himself the king of the one-liner. This special DVD collection includes The Bank Dick, My Little Chickadee, You Can't Cheat an Honest Man, It's a Gift and International House. The W.C. Fields Comedy Collection is Fields at his finest, and a must-have for anyone who loves to laugh!

Customer Reviews:

My two faves are in different collections!.......2007-07-15

Both IT'S A GIFT and POPPY are my absolute faves, so how in the world can I get both in one of these godsend collections without having to spend a fortune on both? I was a junior high/middle school librarian for 27 years and as a reward for good behavior I would show the students IT'S A GIFT to prove to them that one can be a comedian without resorting to vulgarity such as their faves like Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock, Dave Chappelle, etc. I made a believer out of each of them, and in fact they'd tell their teachers to let them watch it again when it was their library day, so I'd surprise them with another Fields opus from my video cassette collection. However, after viewing other Fields opera, they would never be satisfied until viewing GIFT again which was fine with me since I'd always enjoy sitting with them and seeing it through their eyes for the first or second time. I do believe that I made some Fields fans over those years I miss so much now that I'm retired.

W.C. Fileds Volume 1.......2007-06-21

W.C. Fields, equal parts tragedy and triumph, was at once totally unique and an everyman. He used both his finely honed comedic and physical talents (refined in earlier days as one of vaudeville's most skilled jugglers and sleight-of-hand men) to create a cranky, crafty, crooked ne'er-do-well you couldn't help but love. His lifelong struggle with alcoholism was fearlessly portrayed on-screen as well, as in my favorite scenes in "Bank Dick" where Egbert gleefully presides at a watering hole called "The Black Pussycat Café" (with stooge Shemp Howard as bartender no less)! Though "Gift" and "Bank Dick" are my personal favorites, there is much to admire in all five of these vehicles- to wit, the great man himself. For fellow devotees of vintage comedy, and especially Fields' fanatics, this memorable box set is very much worth owning- and sharing.

Fantastic elaboration of some gems from the celluloid vistas!.......2007-04-01

Ah, yes... Wonderful collection, extremley well remastered. The bonus material is also great, though short I think. I enjoyed the biography piece as much as the DVD W.C. bio: Straight Up, which is also reccommended. Thanks to all who made this possible. As a card carrying member of the W.C Fields fan club, I can attest to this items value. Comedy at its finest from a true genius at his craft.

You'd like to have a nose like that full of nickels, wouldn't you?.......2007-04-01

I bought this box set for one reason only, it seems that's the only way to get "It's a Gift" on DVD. I have already written about "It's a Gift" elsewhere, but suffice it to say I think it is the best of W.C. Fields full-length features as it is all-Fields, all-the-time, and has some of his best bits. Although Fields mostly wrote his own material, only this and "The Bank Dick" in this set are all his; in the other films he has to share time with other performers and other writers and the films suffer for it as a result.

"It's a Gift" is a classic. "The Bank Dick" has a lot of good stuff and many consider it a classic as well. I am especially fond of the "hearty hand clasp"; the bit referred to in my title above; and the interaction between Fields, Shemp Howard, Franklin Pangborn and "Michael Finn" in the Cafe. It is a true Fields foray, complete with non-sequiters, side-trips, and throw-away-lines.

"You Can't Cheat an Honest Man" has too many diversions for Edgar Bergen/Charlie McCarthy and a silly romance, but there are some good bits with Fields in the Circus ("Give Queenie! Cease Queenie!") and badgering apprentice Grady Sutton ("There's too much of the tomboy in you...") and customers alike ("Count yer change before leaving the window! No mistakes rectified!"). And the finale at the Upper Class Snobs party is a gas with a slew of his patented acerbic asides ("Quite a little wikiup! Where's the mob?") while Fields tells snake stories ("he sank his teeth into the Marauder's fetlock...and rattled for a Constable") causing pandemonium and fainting spells for his daughter's future mother-in-law ("pay no attention, she's been drinking too much!").

"My Little Chickadee" with Mae West is very disappointing. Fields has some good bits, especially describing a fight with a bar patron named Chicago Molly ("Ever kick a woman wearing a corset? Why I almost broke my great toe!" She came back next week and beat us both up. "Yeah, but she had another woman with her! Gray haired lady...") But too much of the film is inane Mae West flirtations with the good and bad guy of the town. Only fast-forwarding to Fields made it bearable for me.

Finally, "International House" is one of those curious 1930's mish-mashes that are really variety shows, this time with a mix of comedians and actors (Burns & Allen, Stu Irwin), musical groups including Cab Calloway, and a dopey plot. Fields brings in some needed comedy and some of that a bit risque, especially toward the end with the car, the girl, and the cat. It is more a curiosity than a fully realized film.

So this box set is a mixed bag including one for-sure (to my mind) classic (It's a Gift), one many consider a classic (The Bank Dick), one flawed but good film (You Can't Cheat an Honest Man), one flawed and mostly a dud film (My Little Chickadee), and one curio (International House). You can see that the first two films in which Fields had overall authorship and control, are the best. Worth it for those.

Two gems, two OK, one incidental. .......2007-02-12

To learn about the set, you need go no further than Amazon's own detailed and excellent review so here are a few additional comments:

- "It's A Gift" and "The Bank Dick" have a lot of similarities. The production values of the latter are much better than the former. In both films, Fields is surrounded by awful families, in the former openly antagonistic and in the latter slovenly and disinterested. The films are arguably his very best because his humour appears in its purest form. There are endless one liners and excellent supporting casts. Fields is likeable in both because he is vulnerable, a victim and a relentless optimist who sails through each situation oblivious to the mayhem he may create around him. In both films, he is sympathetic, comes out on top and you cheer.
- In both "My Little Chickadee" and "You can't Cheat an Honest Man", he is not a very nice person and accordingly audience sympathy is significantly reduced. He occupies equal screen time with Mae West in the former and Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy in the latter. Both teamings were famous. His quips with McCarthy are a continuation of his radio feud with the dummy and are quite funny. The encounter with West, however, is disappointing. The anticipation is greater than the reality. Censorship had removed the sting from her "act" and the film grinds to a halt almost everytime she appears as she swaggers across the screen, raises her eyebrows and delivers her quips. The second film, also, is not very well made and suspiciously like a series of gags linked together. It becomes tedious.
- "International House" is a screwy all star film, very typical of Paramount in 1933. It is full of radio performers like Burns and Allen and Fields steals the film. His encounter with Gracie Allen is hilarious.

The prints of the films are excellent and the DVD contains a very informative Biography Program of Fields which adds a lot to the package. The set is good value.

Motion Picture Masterpieces Collection (David Copperfield 1935 / Marie Antoinette 1938 / Pride and Prejudice 1940 / A Tale of Two Cities 1935 / Treasure Island 1934)

Average customer rating:

History and literature put together in a pleasant picture
The movie summit! As good as movies get!
A Tale of Two Cities
Motion Picture Masterpieces
Excellent collection

Motion Picture Masterpieces Collection (David Copperfield 1935 / Marie Antoinette 1938 / Pride and Prejudice 1940 / A Tale of Two Cities 1935 / Treasure Island 1934)
Starring: Edna May Oliver , Elizabeth Allan , Jessie Ralph , Harry Beresford , and Freddie Bartholomew
Director: George Cukor , W.S. Van Dyke , and Robert Z. Leonard
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000GRUQLK
Release Date: 2006-10-10

Amazon.com

For an accurate look at how things were at MGM in the glory days, go directly to Motion Picture Masterpieces, a DVD box with five literary-minded A-list productions. MGM liked to think of itself as the studio of class, and its highbrow aspirations (mixed with plenty of old-fashioned hokum) are on lavish display in this collection.

Louis B. Mayer ran the studio, and boy wonder Irving Thalberg supervised production. However, another strong-willed producer, future Gone with the Wind CEO David O. Selznick, was responsible for guiding a pair of highly enjoyable Dickens adaptations, both released in 1935. David Copperfield is a wonderful condensation of the sprawling novel, crammed with memorable evocations of Dickens' roster of eccentrics. Freddie Bartholomew, who became a star with this role, plays the young David; equally indelible are W.C. Fields as Mr. Micawber, Basil Rathbone as Murdstone, and especially Edna May Oliver as Besty Trotwood. Director George Cukor's empathy and craftsmanship keep the movie humming with Dickensian wit. A Tale of Two Cities followed shortly thereafter, with Ronald Colman in one of his signature roles as the drunken romantic Sydney Carton, whose throttled love for the beautiful Lucie Manette leads to the French Revolution's guillotine. Jack Conway directs in tight, brisk fashion, and once again the supporting cast (Oliver and Rathbone return from Copperfield) is flavorful.

The French Revolution also figures in the rather preposterous Marie Antoinette (1938), an eye-popping production about the bride of Louis XVI. The project was a pet of Thalberg and his wife Norma Shearer, and MGM proceeded with the overstuffed production even after Thalberg's early death. Marie gets an extramarital affair (with the young Tyrone Power) and an incredible parade of gowns and wigs, but not too much blame for the peasants starving. Robert Morley steals the show as Louis XVI, with John Barrymore in rascally form as his grandfather. Shearer's ordinariness somehow fits her out-of-it character.

Treasure Island (1934) casts Jackie Cooper as young Jim Hawkins and Wallace Beery as that one-legged seadog, Long John Silver (the pair had scored a huge hit in The Champ three years earlier). This is a lot of people's favorite adaptation of the marvelous Robert Louis Stevenson novel, and Victor Fleming's manly directing approach manages to take some of the sheen off the MGM house style (by the way, art director Cedric Gibbons, credited on all these films, is one of the stars of the box set).

Pride and Prejudice (1940) is a respectable take on Jane Austen's oft-filmed novel, with Greer Garson as the headstrong Elizabeth Bennet and Laurence Olivier as the difficult Mr. Darcy. MGM liked to corset Garson in fine-lady roles, but here she lets some of Elizabeth's sauciness come through; actually, Olivier's elaborate performance is the movie's too-theatrical weak spot. But boy, does this movie tell a good story--and that's rather the point of these (Marie excepted) solid literary adaptations. --Robert Horton

Description

MARIE ANTOINETTE The woman who was France! Norma Shearer and Tyrone Power headline an opulent saga of royalty and revolution. DAVID COPPERFIELD Based on the best-selling book by Charles Dickens. W.C. Fields is Micawber, and Freddie Bartholomew is young David in a splendid version of Dickens' most autobiographical work. A TALE OF TWO CITIES From the famed author Charles Dickens. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." Ronald Colman stars in the lavish story of the French Revolution...and one man's redemption. PRIDE AND PREJUDICE Based on the best-selling book by Jane Austen. Mr. Darcy (Laurence Olivier) sets maiden hearts aflutter - except for that of unimpressed Elizabeth Bennett (Greer Garson). Austen's masterwork! TREASURE ISLAND Based on the unforgettable book of the same title by Robert Louis Stevenson. Avast, me hearties, for the swashbuckler about a boy with a treasure map - and a pirate (Long John Silver) with a scheme. The Champ's Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper reunite!

Customer Reviews:

History and literature put together in a pleasant picture.......2007-05-07

Although the content of some of the movies in this box has a very tragic ending there are qualities that are common to all the dvds of the box.
First of all, the ability and amazing acting skills of the actors, whether leading roles or supporting ones, it is really a pleasure to see the superb performances they can give to a large variety of characters.
The witty dialogues, the scenery and the good restoration of the film are more than added values.
You can enjoy a journey through history with Marie Antoinette or amuse yourself with the intricated plots from Jane Austen and the classic literature from Dickens and Stevenson.
You really get your money's worth with this collection.

The movie summit! As good as movies get!.......2007-03-18

The title tells the truth. Even by 1930's golden age of Hollywood standards, these five movies are literary masterpieces and true film classics. I remember all five fondly as a teenager in the late 1960's and early 1970's in long-gone San Francisco art theaters, and cut to threads on morning prize movie TV shows. It is an honor to watch them now in a comfortable bedroom, uncut and non-commercial. They are, of course, MGM studio print editions that in one instance, MARIE ANTOINETTE, even contains roadshow music and an intermission never seen on television.

TREASURE ISLAND (1934) stars Wallace Beery and Jackie Cooper, was directed by Victor Fleming (CAPTAINS COURAGEOUS, GONE WITH THE WIND), and is based on a Robert Louis Stevenson novel about pirates and buried treasure. In gorgeous B&W, it reunites Beery and Cooper from THE CHAMP (1931) and also features Lionel Barrymore and Lewis Stone. Come to think about it, this is a reunion for half the cast of GRAND HOTEL (1932).

DAVID COPPERFIELD and A TALE OF TWO CITIES (both 1935) are towering masterpieces based on Charles Dickens novels; both are impeccably produced by David O. Selznick. Painstakingly faithful to very long books, they both have gorgeous art direction and are cast to perfection down to the bit roles: W.C. Fields as Micawber, Freddie Bartholomew and Frank Lawton as David, Basil Rathbone as Mr. Murdstone, and Edna May Oliver as Aunt Betsey in DAVID; and Ronald Colman in maybe his greatest performance in TALE, which also features Oliver and Rathbone. At about 130 minutes each, they are long enough to do justice to the Dickens novels; I am sure he would have loved both immensely.

MARIE ANTOINETTE (1938), presented in a never-seen 157 minute roadshow edition, has an Oscar-nominated Norma Shearer in a wonderful role. If someone wanted to know who Shearer was, I would show this incredibly opulent and literate costume romance to them. It is the underrated masterpiece of this box set and also stars Tyrone Power and an Oscar-nominated Robert Morley as a shy, child-like King Louis XVI. The magnificent art direction and regal music were also Oscar-nominated. W.S. Van Dyke (THE THIN MAN, SAN FRANCISCO) directed.

Finally, we have a splendidly cast and written adaptation of Jane Austen's PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (1940), starring Greer Garson as Elizabeth Bennet and Laurence Oliver as Mr. Darcy. Aldous Huxley and Jane Murfin scripted this lovely and witty romantic comedy of manners that won an Oscar for B&W Interior Set Decoration.

But you don't just get five great movies in this Warner Home Video boxed set. TREASURE ISLAND also comes with two shorts, a cartoon, and a theatrical trailer. DAVID COPPERFIELD has the marvelous Technicolor short PIRATE PARTY AT CATALINA ISLE, along with a second Technicolor short, a cartoon, and a theatrical trailer. A TALE OF TWO CITIES has a memorable 60 minute Lux Radio Theater adaptation of TALE from 1942, starring Ronald Colman, along with two vintage cartoons and the theatrical trailer. MARIE ANTOINETTE has two shorts and a theatrical trailer, all tied in to the 1938 movie. And PRIDE AND PREJUDICE has an Oscar-nominated patriotic short on Navy training during World War Two, plus a color cartoon and theatrical trailer. It is one hell of a DVD boxed set, a labor of love and an absolute must-see on a slow TV week.

A Tale of Two Cities.......2007-01-16

We acquired this collection because we wanted to own the 1935 version of A Tale of Two Cities. We just watched it and had a wonderful experience. The movie is very close to the plot, the performances are superb. Charles Dickens' book will forever be a testament to the struggle of humanity between the have and have nots.

The performance of Blanche Yurka, as Madame DeFarge is outstanding. The citizens of France, seeking to put an end to the tyranny they experience from the oppressing aristrocracy, presents the never ending example that when rights are stepped on, it always ends in revolution and change. The Marquis St. Evremonde, played by Basil Rathbone, provides a view to the horror it represents for anyone to show they do not care about those who suffer. Especially when it comes to children; for the horror committed against this family, sparks the fire that leads to events that put an end to the ruling society.

Dr. Manette's performance as the innocent man who was a prisoner at the Bastille for over 18 years is superb. His daughter, played by Elizabeth Allen, represents the person that inspires great love in two men, one Charles Darnay, and Sydney Carton, superbly played by Ronald Colman.

The character of Miss Pross, played by Edna May Oliver, is awesome. We go from disliking her, to admiring and then loving her for her sacrifice that saves the life of Ms. Manette. In the end, the sacrifice made by Sydney for the love of Lucie is one of the most sensitive and touching of all love stories. He finds purpose for his life, knowing full well that his actions shall forever live in the hearts of those he sacrifices for. Would highly recommend owning this DVD. The other movies shall be reviewed as we see them.

Motion Picture Masterpieces.......2007-01-14

A set of classic movies.

The collection includes several of my favourite movies - now in excellent video and sound quality.

I particularly enjoyed Prode and Prejudice - this is the version that all following copies are judged against. The acting is superb, and the cast is amazing!

This is a collection worthy of keeping ( and enjoying) for years to come.
An excellent example of Hollywoos at it's prime.

Excellent collection.......2007-01-12

This DVD set is a great example of the golden age of the movie studios. There is a little something for everyone in this set. The length of each of the DVD's hovers around 90 minutes and the time really zips by. For my money, this is the best version of David Copperfield with a top rate cast including WC Fields as Macawber and little Freddie Bartholomew as David. Marie Antoinette with Norma Shearer is heads and tails above that awful recent Marie misfire. This Pride and Prejudice is quick, to the point and completely enjoyable with Lawrence Olivier as Darcy and Greer Garson as Elizabeth (not to mention the amazing Mary Boland as Mrs. Bennett). A Tale of Two Cities is the best adaptation of Dickens ever on the screen. Ronald Coleman is perfect as the doomed hero. And finally the original pirate movie Treasure Island with the fantastic Wallace Beery as Long John Silver. Force your kids (and yourself) to watch all or at least some of these great classics. You won't be sorry.

Rich Little's Christmas Carol and Robin Hood

Average customer rating:

Rich Little's Christmas Carol and Robin Hood
Starring: Rich Little; Charles Dickens; W.C. Field; Richard Nixon; Edith Bunker; John Wayne; Humphrey Bogart
Director: Trevor Evans
Manufacturer: Passion River
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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ASIN: B000M7FSSA
Release Date: 2006-12-19

Product Description

Rich Little s Christmas Carol and Robin Hood: T was the night before Christmas...And Rich Little is in the house! The master impresario is at it again with a little bit of Christmas Cheer. Rich comically retells this holiday classic by Charles Dickens, replacing Scrooge with W.C. Fields, Richard Nixon as Jacob Marely, Edith Bunker as Mrs. Cratchit and many more. All of Rich s hilarious characters are sure to become a holiday tradition! Rich Little s Robin Hood: Rich Little retells the story of Robin Hood and his merry men who rob from the rich and give to the poor. But what s this, our hero is Groucho Marx? That s right! Sherwood Forest has a new twist! John Wayne becomes Little John, Humphrey Bogart is Prince John and the Sheriffs of Nottingham turn out to be Laurel & Hardy. The whole family will gaze in wonderment as Little weaves his magic of mimicry throughout a colorful and hilarious rendition of this storybook classic.

Customer Reviews:

DVD.......2007-07-07

I have been looking for this for a long, long time. Thanks for making it available.

W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films - Criterion Collection

Average customer rating:

W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films - Criterion Collection
The City ain't no place for Women-Gals, but Pretty Men go Thar.....
"The Dentist" censorship
Criterion Collection Stunk!
Fields is an acquired taste

W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films - Criterion Collection
Starring: W.C. Fields , Marjorie Kane , Arnold Gray , Dorothy Granger , and Elise Cavanna
Director: Leslie Pearce , Arthur Ripley , and Monte Brice
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 1559409053
Release Date: 2000-08-22

Amazon.com

Ten years elapsed between W.C. Fields's debut in the 1915 short "The Pool Sharks" and his role in D.W. Griffith's Sally of the Sawdust, but it didn't take long for Fields to become one of the all-time great screen comedians. This essential collection--the silent "The Pool Sharks" plus the five "two-reeler" sound shorts that established Fields's acerbic style--provides a comprehensive document of the comedian's work in progress. "The Pool Sharks" develops a routine that Fields created in vaudeville and later perfected on film, with stop-motion animation used here to realize the comedian's wacky luck at billiards. It's a clever appetizer, but Fields was a verbal comic, so the two-reelers are the full-course meal.

Like the Marx brothers' The Cocoanuts a year earlier, 1930's "The Golf Specialist" mines humor from high jinks in sunny Florida, where Fields is nearly upstaged by a stone-faced golf caddy. The classic "The Dentist," despite the later addition of strident musical cues, is presented in its entirety, including an oft-censored bit in which Fields tugs a molar from a woman who's wrapped around him in a highly suggestive position. "The Pharmacist" and "The Barbershop" are variations on the theme, allowing Fields to toss off bons mots and scathing sarcasm, but it's the anomalous "The Fatal Glass of Beer"--a hilarious send-up of Yukon gold-rush adventures--that proves an unlikely highlight. It's typically sour-pussed in its agenda, with a running gag (involving the line "It ain't a fit night out for man nor beast") that just grows funnier with each repetition. Fields's comedy wasn't fully developed here--he became masterful in later features--but 6 Short Films is crucial in demonstrating his rapid refinement of the vintage Fields persona. --Jeff Shannon

Description

W. C. Fields' prolific career placed him at the forefront of slapstick comedy. Gathered here are six gems that feature the comic genius at his peak: The Golf Specialist, Pool Sharks (silent), The Pharmacist, The Fatal Glass of Beer, The Barber Shop, and, of course, the notorious The Dentist. This unique collection will delight new generations of viewers with Fields' hilariously sardonic routines.

Customer Reviews:

W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films - Criterion Collection.......2007-08-15

I purchased this DVD for my wheel-chair bound older brother who by the way has become increasingly pickier about everything in his older age. He has seen all 6 shorts on VHS but as noted previously the quality wasn't up to his standards. Well, he loved the DVD, couldn't thank me enough. He tried to find W.C. Fields DVD at the local library and video rental firms, no luck. So not only did he like the quality, I really enjoyed the convenience of Amazon.com as he and I live about 100 miles apart and I only get to see him every month or so. Thanks for a quality service.

The City ain't no place for Women-Gals, but Pretty Men go Thar............2007-03-29

To look at W.C.Fields in the context of his contemporaries is to be amazed at the fame and popularity of a character that was really quite subversive: he smoked, drank, cursed, avoided hard work, lied, scammed, detested marriage and family life, abused underlings, and held every politically incorrect attitude imaginable. The Fields persona was irrascible, blustery, grandiose, and prone to wrong assumptions; all the while being harrassed by nagging wives, bratty children, an obnoxious public, disparaging neighbors, ungrateful employers, and a world of troublesome machinery. He found solace in alcohol, pretty assistants, and usually an adoring older daughter. And he was damn funny doing it.

At first glance, hard to imagine such a character being widely popular in America of the 1920's, 30's, and 40's, but only if one falls into the periodic tendency of a large segment of American culture (perhaps all cultures!) to view the past through rose-colored glasses, finding a piety and propriety that never really existed. There has always been a anarchic and revolutionary spirit in American life that contradicts that propriety and more often than not found its best expression in humor. From the earliest pamphleteers, through newspaper columns and the comics page, on to Mark Twain, Will Rogers and the great pantheon of comics, commentators and comedians this lively antidote to stuffiness, self-importance and conventional wisdom has thrived.

In short, W.C. Fields while completely unique and unorthodox, was one of a company of Masters (that includes the Marx Brothers and Mae West at their best) adept at mocking the notions of propriety and what we would call "political correctness".

Others have provided the outlines of these short films, and I agree that two or three are minor, but to my mind there are 3 classics here that shouldn't be missed: The Fatal Glass of Beer, The Barber, and The Dentist.

What can you say about the completely nonsensical, nearly surreal first film? Well, as a verse from Fields dulcimer-accompanied song explains after his son takes the Fatal Glass:

"He met a Salvation Army girl, and wickedly he broke her tambourine,
All she said was 'Heaven Loves You' and placed a mark upon his brow,
With a kick she'd learned before she had been Saved!"

That and the curiously well aimed "Pop!" of snow in the face that accompanies the phrase "Tain't a fit night out for man nor beast!". You either find that funny or you don't.

And so on for The Barber, with the most excruciating shave imaginable and the begging dog waiting for more "scraps". And The Dentist with Fields daringly suggestive struggle to pull Elise Cavanna's tooth, the blonde bitten by the Dachsund ("You're lucky it wasn't a Newfoundland dog!") and the bearded gent with the elusive mouth ("And a very pretty thing too!") and fleeing birds.

There are several golf routines, one naturally in the Golf Specialist ("Never mind where I told you to stand! You stand where I tell you!") and in the Dentist, that are classic as well.

I have read the criticism of the DVD presentation, but even if extraneous music is present on The Dentist, these are the best transfers I've seen to date.

The great thing about humor is you can't fake it. It's either funny to you or it isn't. That is what makes recommending comedy so futile. What slays me may leave you cold. I find Fields irresistible, and his wonderfully anti-social persona not only hilarious but timeless. For that, this collection is treasured.

"The Dentist" censorship.......2007-01-10

As has already been noted, "The Dentist" is largely sourced from some later reissue with added, completely unnecessary music and sound effects. While the notoriously naughty tooth-pulling scene has been put back in, at least two other more subtle bits of censorship remain:

1. When the female patient is moaning in the waiting room and the Fields' assistant is trying to get his attention, Fields originally says "Oh, the hell with her!" In this version, that outburst is covered (rather sloppily) with an additional patient moan.

2. When Fields walks off the golf course in disgust, he originally said "They can take this golf course and st..." (he doesn't actually finish). In this version, the line is simply blanked out.

Criterion Collection Stunk!.......2005-08-03

The above entitled collection was a real disappointment. Not at all what I expected and definitely not worth the money. Quite frankly, I was so disappointed I threw them in the trash. I know there has to be good W.C. Fields films out there, however W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films-Criterion Collection is not one of them

Bill Williams

Fields is an acquired taste.......2005-02-05

These short films starring W.C. Fields are, in their own right, classic comedies. Uneven, as some have pointed out, but classic in their own right. I believe that the problem some people have with Fields' sense of humor is that it is too dark and/or too adult for them. Fields was a spokesman for the common man, especially during the Depression. His comedy is subversive and sneaky. His complaining voice was recognized as the voice of the ordinary guy under the thumb of everyone and everything from his wife and mother-in-law, to dogs and children, to the rulers of the land and the very business he was in.

As a kid I did not "get" Fields at all. I didn't understand what he was doing, and I didn't think he was funny. I much preferred Laurel & Hardy (whom I still adore) and Charlie Chase whose humor was more obvious and accessible to me. I was annoyed by Fields' whining and complaining, didn't get the sarcastic asides, just did not like him at all.

As I grew older I began to understand what it was that Fields was doing. He was an original, a pioneer. From the late Sam Kinnison to Larry David and Seinfeld, there isn't a comic writer or performer who doesn't owe something to W.C. Fields. All the bitching and moaning you hear, especially from stand-ups, is nothing more than Fields brought into the modern era. He (and Mark Twain before him) spawned the sly and sarcastic wit of American comic dialogue long before it was commonly accepted or widely appreciated.

Make no mistake: Fields' humor masks real pain. What we hear in his whiny voice is the suffering of a man who can't catch a break to save himself. He is championing all the losers, the little guys, the nobodies, and if it sounds bitter at times, well...it is. I agree with some other reviewers here when they say that one must grow up and go through a certain amount of real-life experiences before Fields can truly be grasped and ultimately - if you're lucky - embraced. Otherwise you are better off with the Three Stooges and the Marx Brothers. Their worlds are completely unreal whereas Fields' world is all too real. It's a place to escape *from* not into, and what you hear from Fields' beaten-down characters is the sound of a man being dragged through a knothole backwards.

ekw

Average customer rating:

David Copperfield
At last, a sparkling gem has been brought to DVD!
Charles Dickens would turn over in his grave
A mediocre classic
David Copperfield

David Copperfield (1935)
Starring: Edna May Oliver , Elizabeth Allan , Jessie Ralph , Harry Beresford , and Freddie Bartholomew
Director: George Cukor , Gene Burdette , and Hugh Harman
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000GRUQK6
Release Date: 2006-10-10

Amazon.com

The rich beauties of Dickens come to flavorful life in David Copperfield, a scrupulous example of a sprawling novel distilled into manageable movie form. The saga of young master Copperfield moves quickly through Dickens' marvelous gallery of eccentrics, with David played as a youth by the exceptionally good Freddie Bartholomew (you'll see why he became a star) and as an adult by Frank Lawton. The remainder of the cast is an almost unbelievable feast of acting, most famously with W.C. Fields stepping out of character--but not too far--as the grandiloquent Mr. Micawber ("You perceive before you the shattered fragments of a temple that was once called Man"). Basil Rathbone is David's stepfather, the ice-cold Murdstone; Lionel Barrymore is warm-hearted Dan Peggoty; Maureen O'Sullivan the adorable Dora; and Roland Young a creepy-crawly Uriah Heep. But best of all is Edna May Oliver, whose Betsy Trotwood bustles through the movie like a no-nonsense field general (if Oscars for supporting acting had been invented in 1935 instead of 1936, Oliver surely would have bagged the first award). The film is a shining example of producer David O. Selznick's Tradition of Quality approach, given all the sheen MGM could apply. Director George Cukor brings empathy and an unfailing sense of dramatic craftsmanship to the episodic material, which throbs with genuinely Dickensian wit and heart. --Robert Horton

Description

"We are friends for life." The man speaking: Micawber, played by W.C. Fields with great comedic charm and human warmth. The child addressed: David, played by Freddie Bartholomew in his Hollywood debut. The movie: David Copperfield, still one of the best-ever screen adaptations of a Charles Dickens novel. "To call the casting inspired is to underrate it," historian David Shipman wrote in his The Story of Cinema. Lionel Barrymore, Edna May Oliver, Maureen O'Sullivan, Basil Rathbone and more joined Fields and Bartholomew in portraying the eccentrics, cads and loving family of this film directed by George Cukor. David O. Selznick produced, insisting on an attention to Dickensian detail that included matching the sets to the first edition's illustrations. The result: one of the greatest page-to-screen adaptations ever.

DVD Features:
Other
Theatrical Trailer

Customer Reviews:

David Copperfield.......2007-06-20

Cukor's sensitive, ennobling version of this Dickens classic was sumptuously produced for the big screen by producing titan David O. Selznick. A box-office smash when it was released in 1935, "Copperfield" is eminently faithful to the spirit of the Victorian-era novel, tracing the hardships of Bartholomew's orphan hero as he bounces from home to home in search of a real family. Oliver, Rathbone, Maureen O'Sullivan, and Lionel Barrymore are all superb in their respective roles, while Fields musters up an unforgettably charming mix of eccentricity and warmth as Micawber, a role he seemed born to play. Roll out the welcome mat for "David Copperfield."

At last, a sparkling gem has been brought to DVD!.......2007-04-16

1939 has often been touted as the peak of Hollywood's Golden Era. While I would not argue with that (Ted Sennett wrote a whole book about it), 1935 was a Sterling year for American movies also. All the studios turned out fine films that year: "The Little Colonel" and "The Littlest Rebel" at 20th Century-Fox, "Top Hat" and "The Informer" at RKO, "The Ruggles of Red Gap" and "Lives of a Bengal Lancer" at Paramount, "Bride of Frankenstein" at Universal, "The Whole Town's Talking" at Columbia, "Call of the Wild" at United Artists, "Gold Diggers of 1935" and "Captain Blood" at Warner Brothers, and at MGM, "A Night at the Opera", "Naughty Marietta", "Anna Karenina", "Mutiny on the Bounty", "A Tale of Two Cities" and "David Copperfield" (whew!)

David Copperfield is deservedly one of the outstanding pictures of 1935 or any other year! I definitely have to agree with Charles Dickens himself, when he said "Of all my books, I like this the best". And of all the Dickens' books adapted to the screen, I like this one the best, and I bet he would have been pleased, too.

The film has many pleasures: the outstanding cast (of whom Freddie Bartholomew as young David, Edna May Oliver as Aunt Betsy Trotwood, and W.C. Fields as Mr. Micawber, stand out), the well-written screenplay by Howard Estabrook and Hugh Walpole (why drag a story out for five or six hours and multiple parts, when you can tell it well in two or three hours?), the expert direction of George Cukor, and the period flavor.

But perhaps the reason it is SO good is the genius that was David O. Selznick. He pulled all the parts together to make a thoroughly satisfying whole with a brillent skill that would reach it peak four years later with "Gone with the Wind". The production has "class" stamped all over it, and this was due to Mr. Selznick. We will never see his like in Hollywood again. What a shame.

I highly recommend this film. The use of the English language (have your dictionary ready) by WC Field as Mr. Micawber is worth the price of DVD in and of itself. Buy it to-day! While I'm at it, you'd be wise to watch and/or buy most any movie produced by David O. Selznick (Google his name, you will find a list). He knew how to draw you into a film and entertain you with a great story!

Charles Dickens would turn over in his grave.......2007-03-09

The "classic" 1935 version with W.C. Fields is horrible--I returned it for a refund and purchased a later BBC version. The 1935 version looks as if it was filmed in 1935--poor directing, poor acting--a travesty for anyone who loves Dickens. I would never recommend this version of the classic David Copperfield.

A mediocre classic.......2007-02-17

One of the old classics that, sad to say, has not outlived its fame well. Melodramatic to the bone. It has ups & downs, but the pace is generally slow and tedious. I loved the film when a kid. Now it irritated me. I was thinking that it would have made an excellent silent film. Actually there's no need to hear the ridiculous lines (no comparison with the book) that are in this script. A nice soundtrack instead of all the babbling would have made a great difference. Why? Because the faces tell it all. Mind you that George Cukor was a great director, only this one wasn't his best work.

The adult Copperfield is annoying to the utmost. And the film is 30 minutes too long. Aside from all these faults, it's still viewable.

David Copperfield.......2007-02-08

This is a great story.

For you old timers, this cast is the best ever.
They don't make them like this anymore.

I am very happy to have this one for my collection.

The Big Broadcast of 1938 / College Swing Double Feature

Average customer rating:

Pure Talent
Nostalgia
Good fun
"Well, you go ahead and sing...I'll stand over here so they won't think I'm beating you."
thanks for a plethora of great entertainers in a pair of minor memories

The Big Broadcast of 1938 / College Swing Double Feature
Starring: W.C. Fields , Martha Raye , Dorothy Lamour , Shirley Ross , and Lynne Overman
Director: Mitchell Leisen , and Raoul Walsh
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005UMFC
Release Date: 2002-03-05

Customer Reviews:

Pure Talent.......2007-07-20

These are by far two of the great classics. It takes you back to a time when comedy and dance were really something special this is a not to miss and getting two for the price of one is incredible. Don't miss the clean humor and Martha Raye as her big mouth character of course the laughs you'll get with Bob Hope are always great. Sit back relax and enjoy this is better than anything you'll see in theatres today!!

Nostalgia.......2007-06-27

Both of these movies have very enjoyable moments. Neither is strong on plot. College Swing has some fun Burns and Allen. The Big Broadcast is a dogs dinner of a movie, with a preposterous W.C.Fields plot moving haphazardly along parallel to a shipboard entertainment/romance plot. Fields does not wear well. This movie is memorable for the introduction of Thanks for the Memories by an impossibly young and dashing Bob Hope and Shirley Ross, which is worth the price of the DVD. Tremendously charming.

Good fun.......2007-06-18

These films, while packaged as Bob Hope vehicles, are typical all star programmers from Paramount in the late thirties, populated by numerous performers of which Hope is but one. These were his first 2 feature films although he had appeared in shorts for some years. Both are screwy and absurd in the Paramount fashion and accordingly good fun.

"College Swing" showcases Gracie Allan doing her thing but Martha Raye, as a French Professor of Love, steals the show, partcularly in a funny number with Hope "Howdya like to love me"? "The Big Broadcast" stars an obnoxious W C Fields and when he is unsympathetic, he is not very funny. His golf routine is amusing. The famous highlight of the film is Hope's song with the charming and easygoing Shirley Ross "Thanks for the Memory". The film also benefits from some stylish camera angles and deco set design, typical of the director Mitchell Liesen. Look also for some famous stars before their peak - a perky and spirited Betty Grable as a co-ed, handsome John Payne as the male ingenue and Robert Cummings as a radio announcer in "College Swing" and an insipid Dorothy Lamour in "Broadcast" long before she developed any sense of self parody which became her attractive trademark.

The prints are in excellent condition and the photography in both elevates the films above their routine status. The DVD extras are minor except for a few liner notes about each of the films and a trailer for "College Swing".

"Well, you go ahead and sing...I'll stand over here so they won't think I'm beating you.".......2006-09-17

The Big Broadcast of 1938 was the final entry in the Big Broadcast film series. Although Bob Hope only got fifth billing in the opening credits (W.C. Fields had star billing above the movie title), this musical comedy is a landmark film because it boasts Old Ski-Nose's debut in full length features. The flimsy plot involves an ocean liner race between the SS Gigantic and the SS Colossal, but that storyline serves merely as a staging area for the stale vaudevillian routines, the throwaway gags, the mostly forgettable songs, the dull specialty numbers, and one dubious cartoon sequence. Already with Fields and Hope's famous schnozzes on board, this movie only needed Jimmy Durante in it to achieve some kind of nasal trifecta. But, you know what? The routines and songs may be old and creaky, but this musical still has enough charm and the funny in it to be worth a look.

W.C. Fields may have headlined, but his star power does not overwhelm here. It's Bob Hope who carries this movie - as much as an ensemble cast member can carry a movie. As radio broadcaster Buzz Fielding, Hope tries to put on a radio show while contending with three ex-wives and his new girl, Dorothy (Dorothy Lamour), who is on the verge of straying with the hunky inventor. This film offers other romantic entanglements, but the subplot that tugs best at the heartstrings is Buzz's amiable relationship with ex-wife Cleo (winsomely played by Shirley Ross). It's pretty obvious that sparks still may fly between the two. Hope and Ross have great chemistry together, and they make a fun couple as they joust verbally. The highlight of the film comes an hour into it when Buzz and Cleo reminisce at a bar and segue smoothly into a riveting, bittersweet rendition of "Thanks for the Memories." This number was carried out by Hope and Ross with conversational, off-the-cuff flair that was still very personal and emotional. Apparently, Damon Runyon was so taken with the performance of that song that he chose to review only that portion of the film. And, while I don't consider it to be a showstopper, Dorothy Lamour does sweetly croon "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth."

W.C. Fields had little moments here and there, most notably in the outrageous golf and pool sequences (hey, the man cheats!). Throughout the movie, he resorts to his patented mumbled insults and putdowns, although one lady does get one back when she impertinently asks, "Is that a tomato he's eating? Or is that his nose?" But I had a bigger chuckle over Martha Raye's bit where she raucously sings, "Oh, Mama," whilst being tossed and flipped around by sailors.

Other negligible subplots revolve around a $50,000 bet, a bad luck daughter who cracks any mirror she gazes at, and an inventor unable to make his invention function. But all that is fluff. This film is mindless spools of fun that would otherwise be relegated to the back closets of Hollywood if not for its two saving graces: the debut of Hope as a feature film player and the introduction of his signature song "Thanks for the Memories." On a lesser note, this is also the first time Hope teams up on-screen with Martha Raye and, more importantly, with Dorothy Lamour. For those things, The Big Broadcast of 1938 becomes a key cinematic event.

Lastly, for those interested, the SS Gigantic wins the race. Sorry for the spoiler.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The second offering in this Bob Hope tribute collection dvd is College Swing. In his second feature film, Bob Hope inches up in the world, as this time, he receives fourth billing in the credits, one name up from his debut movie. The plot is silly and has to do with a wager placed in 1738 between Gracie Alden's ancestor and the college head. The wager is if, in 200 years, no descendant of the grandfather's graduates, then all his fortunes will go to the college. If someone passes, the college will be ceded to the Alden family. So, now, cut to 1938, 200 years later, where dimbulb Gracie Alden (Allen), after 9 years of attending college, has one last shot at passing the exam. Bob Hope's sly character gets himself contracted to tutor Gracie in exchange for money and other benefits. Gracie passes the exam with flying colors, inherits the university, and begins to make sweeping changes, some of which are fairly dubious.

Huh. That film synopsis took longer than it really should have. Basically, this film boils down to swing music and college silliness. College Swing stars Gracie Allen, who shows off more of her goofy, addled humor. I swear some of that woman's hare-brained comments would make Yogi Berra wince. The film also features her husband/straight man George Burns, a blithely dancing Betty Grable, a brassy Martha Raye, a discombobulated Edward Everett Horton, and, of course, Bob Hope.

College Swing offers up the energetic film title number, which showcases cute Betty Grable, and an amusing duet by Hope and Raye, "How'd You Like to Love Me?" Also mildly entertaining is the opening scene set in a 1738 school as the students stuffily sing a school psalm, only to have a student turn it to scat. An outraged elder asks him, "What is thy name?" - to which the lad replies, "Benny Goodman." College Swing is not a movie I would have purchased by itself, but as the second feature in this package, it'll do.

thanks for a plethora of great entertainers in a pair of minor memories.......2006-08-03

a fun double feature. the latter is most notable for the work of george burns & gracie allen, doing what they did so well; the former, starring w. c. fields, is best remembered for the brilliant sequence wherein bob hope (in a duet w the sadly forgotten shirley ross) introduces "thanks for the memory". not a must-see, but a good enough way to while away an evening.

Average customer rating:

A wonderful documentary about a time long past
A STAR-FILLED VARIETY SHOW. OR A FIELDS DAY!
Great Fun!
VAUDEVILLE DVD
VAUDEVILLE DVD

Vaudeville
Starring: Ben Vereen , Billy Barty , Blossom Seeley , Ginger Rogers , and John Lahr
Manufacturer: Winstar
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000034DDM
Release Date: 2000-01-04

Amazon.com

A priceless document of archival footage and precious oral history, Vaudeville offers a comprehensive survey of American family entertainment in the decades before radio, movies, and television. From its origins in British comedy, Yiddish theater, and burlesque, vaudeville is explored in all of its immigrant diversity. Astonishing film clips are a constant marvel, featuring such vintage but still-entertaining crowd-pleasers as Fannie Brice, Bert Lahr, Chaz Chase ("Eater of Strange Things"), Little Tich and his oversized shoes, and Hadji Ali, the greatest of all "regurgitators." Anecdotes and history, with a focus on the inherent racism of minstrel shows, are shared by such luminaries as Rose Marie, Billy Barty, Gerald Marks, Bobby Short, the Nicholas Brothers, and many others (several interviewed shortly before they died). Their stories, along with Studs Terkel's fond reminiscence and Ben Vereen's informative narration, preserve a form of entertainment that has vanished forever, its spirit lingering in our habitual channel-surfing of television. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

A wonderful documentary about a time long past.......2007-01-10

This documentary is one of my favorites. It explains the history and origin of the old art. There is wonderful footage of old acts from the days gone by mostly the 20's and some pricless intervies of old vaudevillians before they died. There is also an interesting segment on race too. It is just too bad that there are not more films of the old acts available.

A STAR-FILLED VARIETY SHOW. OR A FIELDS DAY!.......2003-05-30

Before TV, before radio, even before silent films came vaudeville --- an art form of traveling variety shows in which performers sang, danced, acted, juggled and joked and did just about anything else to make crowds laugh. The golden age of vaudeville was, indeed, the launching pad for many a star, including George Burns and Gracie Allen, Bert Williams, James Cagney, W. C. Fields, Bob Hope and Eddie Cantor, all of whom appear, in rare performances, in this "American Masters" documentary hoisted by Ben Vereen. Say hello, Gracie. Now say good-night.

Great Fun!.......2002-03-20

A terrific documentary, that provides an energetic look backward at America in the late 1800s to through the first few decades of the 1900s. The footage of the old acts are worth the price of admission, but there's also some wonderful interviews with people who lived it. Best of all, the narrative is intelligent and insightful.

VAUDEVILLE DVD.......2000-08-08

This is a case of documentarians thinking that you'd rather hear them pontificate that actually see what they're talking about. The packaging for this DVD claims you'll see 80 vaudeville acts. And you will, for about 12 seconds each... not one performance is complete. Which is a big shame, given the wealth of footage the filmmakers apparently had access to. The writer of this presentation should have stepped well out of the way, and let the performances speak. To make it that much more frustrating , much of the running time goes to interviews with non-vaudevillians such as present-day filmaker Robert Townsend, and clips of vaudeville-influenced stuff like the Muppet Show. It kills you sit through this stuff knowing that the filmmakers are holding back rare footage of performances by houdini, w.c. fields, you name it. Buy this if you know nothing about vaudeville... and want to hear some old-timers doing a remember-when. If you want to see some old routines, get some of the variety films (international house, stand up and cheer, (this list is huge) from the early thirties and you'll be much better off.

VAUDEVILLE DVD.......2000-08-08

Average customer rating:

Sweet Old Fashioned movie
Great Entertainment
The Best from the Past
Don't by the DVD it has important missing scenes
DVD version is magnificent and seems complete

Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936) (B&W)
Starring: Freddie Bartholomew , Dolores Costello , C. Aubrey Smith , Guy Kibbee , and Henry Stephenson
Director: John Cromwell
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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