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Special Features
- Five films: "The Bank Dick," "My Little Chickadee," "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man," "It's a Gift," "International House"
- "W.C. Fields: Behind the Laughter" A&E channel documentary
Editorial Reviews
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
Product 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
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
124 of 132 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I purchased this set last week without having read any reviews previously. I only knew that I was a fan of Mae West and that I wanted a nice collection of her films. However, before I even put in the first DVD I sporadically decided to read some of the reviews for this set on Amazon just for kicks. One reviewer here claims that the sound is horrible, that the picture is garbage, and that Warner Bros. is putting out "trash" sets. Well first of all, this is not a Warner Home Video release. This set is from Universal Studios despite the fact every film contained within originated from Paramount Studios... I digress. Expecting the worst, I popped in the first disc. The movie begins. The sound is clear. The picture is clear. It doesn't shake and there seems to be very little grain on the image aside from the usual specs that grace older films. Personally, I find a bit of grain/debris to be somewhat charming and enjoy products looking "of their time" so to speak. Why, even mono sound is very clear. After viewing all 5 films, the only one with any real noticeable grain or scratches was "Going To Town" but even then not to a distracting level. However I do have one complaint. The films are divided up rather strangely over the two disc. The division is as follows:
Disc one Side A : Night After Night & I'm No Angel
Side B: Going To Town
Disc two: Side A: Go West Young Man & My Little Chick-a-dee
Side B: Nothing
I haven no idea why side B is completely empty when two films are crammed onto Side A. The only extras are trailers for three of the films and the menu designs are identical for each film. Sadly, it seems to be a trend for most catalog classic releases to be treated as such. The Greta Garbo DVDs released earlier last year had picture quality that was not only about the same, it was worse in some places. Those were apparently "digitally restored" (I'm talking about her talkies, not the silents which had more scratches on them than a cat post) and cost about $20 A PIECE.
As for the films themselves, they are screen gems indeed. Mae West exhibits both a strong and amusing presence on film. She was an actress who was ahead of, as well as one of the most controversial, of her time. Each film shows off her perfectly timed comic abilities as well as her vocal talents which aren't too shabby either. After comparing the quality and price of these DVDs to previous releases of older films that belong in this genre, I've decided that this is really an excellent deal. So please, don't pay attention to angry reviewers who are bitter about lack of extras, this set is certainly worth it!
Disc one Side A : Night After Night & I'm No Angel
Side B: Going To Town
Disc two: Side A: Go West Young Man & My Little Chick-a-dee
Side B: Nothing
I haven no idea why side B is completely empty when two films are crammed onto Side A. The only extras are trailers for three of the films and the menu designs are identical for each film. Sadly, it seems to be a trend for most catalog classic releases to be treated as such. The Greta Garbo DVDs released earlier last year had picture quality that was not only about the same, it was worse in some places. Those were apparently "digitally restored" (I'm talking about her talkies, not the silents which had more scratches on them than a cat post) and cost about $20 A PIECE.
As for the films themselves, they are screen gems indeed. Mae West exhibits both a strong and amusing presence on film. She was an actress who was ahead of, as well as one of the most controversial, of her time. Each film shows off her perfectly timed comic abilities as well as her vocal talents which aren't too shabby either. After comparing the quality and price of these DVDs to previous releases of older films that belong in this genre, I've decided that this is really an excellent deal. So please, don't pay attention to angry reviewers who are bitter about lack of extras, this set is certainly worth it!
114 of 126 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I have been waiting years for "It's a Gift" to make it onto DVD, and it would appear that my wish will finally come true with the release of this set. I will undoubtedly buy the collection, but I already have the Criterion version of "The Bank Dick" (and also their great release of the collection of 6 short films), and "Chickadee" and "Honest Man", while crowd-pleasers, never made it onto my list of must-see Fields films. I, like many others, am baffled by the choice of "International House" for inclusion, as Fields probably only spends about 1/30th of the time on screen, but if owning it is the price I must pay to see a great copy of "It's a Gift", then so be it!
I also hope that enough people buy this to prompt additional releases of some of the other pure Fields vehicles like "Man on the Flying Trapeze", "The Old Fashioned Way", "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break", and "Poppy". (Now that would make for a nice boxed-set!)
For me, Fields's comedy is still remarkably fresh, usually bitingly funny, always a treat for the ears, and sometimes even touching. 10 quick quotes from "Bank Dick" and "It's a Gift":
1) "Caught him on the first bounce!" (After gently bringing the ailing bank examiner through the hotel lobby up to his room, running back downstairs to the lobby out the front door, and again walking the bank examiner back through the hotel lobby)
2) Egbert: "Was I in here last night, and did I spend a twenty-dollar bill?" Bartender: "Why yes!" Egbert: "What a load that is off my mind! I thought I'd lost it!"
3) "See you got that door closed again" (Mr. Muckle the blind man after sticking his cane through Bissonette's glass door)
4) "Capital L, small a, capital F, small o, small n, small g; LaFong; Carl LaFong"
5) "I'll be sober tomorrow; you'll be crazy the rest of your life"
6) "You'd like to have a nose like that full of nickels, wouldn't you?" (Mother, to a young brat pointing at Fields's prominent proboscis)
7) "The resale value of this car is going to be nil after this ride."
8) "I'm very fond of children. Girl children, around eighteen, twenty"
9) Mrs. Sousé: "Don't you dare strike that child!" Egbert Sousé: "She's not gonna tell ME I don't love her."
10) Customer: "What do you have in the way of steaks"? Sousé: "Not a thing, I can get right to 'em".
"It's a Gift" and "The Bank Dick" are great mainly because of Fields, but they have great supporting casts (the great Franklin Pangborn as Bank Examiner J. Pinkerton Snoopington; Kathleen Howard as Amelia Bissonette; Tammany Young as the store clerk in "Gift"; Shemp Howard as bartender Joe Guelpe; Grady Sutton as Og Oggilby; Una Merkel as Egbert's mother-in-law; and Russell Hicks as the lugubrious J. Frothingham Waterbury.
"Chickadee" is famous for the pairing of Fields and Mae West, but it always irked me that (no offense to you Mae fans out there) valuable screen time was taken away from Fields so that we could see the venerable Ms. West show off her ample assets. "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man" is much closer to my heart, especially for the banter between Fields and Charlie McCarthy and some of the circus scenes, but overall my preference is for all Fields, all the time. (OK, I'll admit that a little Mortimer Snerd is never a bad thing).
In a perfect world, we would be able to pick and choose which W.C. Fields DVD to watch on any given day. Since they are so few and far between, I have to laud the upcoming release of these films, regardless of whether all 5 really show of the Great Man's talents to their best. And who knows, maybe if there is enough interest, the other great Fields films will hit the market soon. Anyway, the few minutes of Fields in "International House" is much much better than 2+ hours of the latest action adventure extravaganza taking up screen space at the gigaplex.
"As my dear old grandfather Litvak said (just before they swung the trap), he said 'You can't cheat an honest man. Never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump.'"
I also hope that enough people buy this to prompt additional releases of some of the other pure Fields vehicles like "Man on the Flying Trapeze", "The Old Fashioned Way", "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break", and "Poppy". (Now that would make for a nice boxed-set!)
For me, Fields's comedy is still remarkably fresh, usually bitingly funny, always a treat for the ears, and sometimes even touching. 10 quick quotes from "Bank Dick" and "It's a Gift":
1) "Caught him on the first bounce!" (After gently bringing the ailing bank examiner through the hotel lobby up to his room, running back downstairs to the lobby out the front door, and again walking the bank examiner back through the hotel lobby)
2) Egbert: "Was I in here last night, and did I spend a twenty-dollar bill?" Bartender: "Why yes!" Egbert: "What a load that is off my mind! I thought I'd lost it!"
3) "See you got that door closed again" (Mr. Muckle the blind man after sticking his cane through Bissonette's glass door)
4) "Capital L, small a, capital F, small o, small n, small g; LaFong; Carl LaFong"
5) "I'll be sober tomorrow; you'll be crazy the rest of your life"
6) "You'd like to have a nose like that full of nickels, wouldn't you?" (Mother, to a young brat pointing at Fields's prominent proboscis)
7) "The resale value of this car is going to be nil after this ride."
8) "I'm very fond of children. Girl children, around eighteen, twenty"
9) Mrs. Sousé: "Don't you dare strike that child!" Egbert Sousé: "She's not gonna tell ME I don't love her."
10) Customer: "What do you have in the way of steaks"? Sousé: "Not a thing, I can get right to 'em".
"It's a Gift" and "The Bank Dick" are great mainly because of Fields, but they have great supporting casts (the great Franklin Pangborn as Bank Examiner J. Pinkerton Snoopington; Kathleen Howard as Amelia Bissonette; Tammany Young as the store clerk in "Gift"; Shemp Howard as bartender Joe Guelpe; Grady Sutton as Og Oggilby; Una Merkel as Egbert's mother-in-law; and Russell Hicks as the lugubrious J. Frothingham Waterbury.
"Chickadee" is famous for the pairing of Fields and Mae West, but it always irked me that (no offense to you Mae fans out there) valuable screen time was taken away from Fields so that we could see the venerable Ms. West show off her ample assets. "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man" is much closer to my heart, especially for the banter between Fields and Charlie McCarthy and some of the circus scenes, but overall my preference is for all Fields, all the time. (OK, I'll admit that a little Mortimer Snerd is never a bad thing).
In a perfect world, we would be able to pick and choose which W.C. Fields DVD to watch on any given day. Since they are so few and far between, I have to laud the upcoming release of these films, regardless of whether all 5 really show of the Great Man's talents to their best. And who knows, maybe if there is enough interest, the other great Fields films will hit the market soon. Anyway, the few minutes of Fields in "International House" is much much better than 2+ hours of the latest action adventure extravaganza taking up screen space at the gigaplex.
"As my dear old grandfather Litvak said (just before they swung the trap), he said 'You can't cheat an honest man. Never give a sucker an even break or smarten up a chump.'"
30 of 31 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Well THANK YOU UNIVERSAL!!! It's about time!!! W.C. Fields is one of THE greatest comedians EVER, yet his catalog has been grossly overlooked. I can be certain with Universal issuing these the quality will be top notch. Criterion had already issued The Bank Dick, so I'm not sure why it's on here too, but I won't complain as the other 4 are certainly worth the price of admission!
Now, PLEASE continue to release the many other Fields movies that are out there. I'm really hoping this is only 1 of several volumes that will be issued.
Any and all Fields fans should buy this, buy another 1 or 2 for gifts to family and friends, the better this release does the better chances of more to follow!
And if you haven't seen Fields ever??? You have to buy this, this man is one of THE building blocks of all modern comedy!
MUST SEE CLASSIC CINEMA! Fields slow burn style of comedy is a drastic opposite to today's modern, cheap, "fast food" style of comedy. Today's comedy is a quick laugh and it's over, never as funny the second time around, but with Fields, each viewing makes you laugh more as you start to relate pesonally to W.C. and all his trials and tribulations of life that he interweaves into his comedy.
On a personal level Fields as a comedian sneaks into your heart and mind causing you to develop a rapport with him and the daily events of life that shape and mold all of us to a certain extent. Fields, in his never ending struggle for control of those daily events brings about some of the most classic comedy ever to be captured on film. This my friends is THE golden age of comedy captured for all to enjoy, do not miss it.
----------------------------------------------------------
FINAL FOLLOWUP:
I've watched all the discs now and quality is as good as it's going to get, very, very good. The packaging is very nicely done too.
As far as the choice of movies included... Well it's too bad they put the Bank Dick in taking a spot away from another possible inclusion, seeing a high quality Criterion Collection version is already available. International House is a scream, I've always liked it, not so sure it is a "fit" in a Fields collection however, but his material is very good in the movie. Perhaps 3 more collections can come out making enough room in each of the collections for movies like this where Fields only had a part in them.
Someone mentioned Six Of A Kind, IT IS available on DVD as part of the Burns Allen collection, as well as The Big Broadcast, Sally Of The Sawdust, and 6 shorts Fileds on Criterion Collection which is superb quality.
NOW, it is a must that all fans e-mail Universal and ask for MORE releases!!!!!!!! Here's what we need in no particular order.
1.Mississippi
2.Man On The Flying Trapeze
3.You're Telling Me
4.The Old Fashioned Way
5.Poppy
6.Tillie And Gus
7.Never Give a Sucker An Even Break
8.If I Had A Million
9.Tales Of Manhattan
10.Her Majesty Love
11.Song Of The Open Road
12.Sensations of 1945
13.Alice In Wonderland
14.It's The Old Army Game
15.Follow The Boys
16.Running Wild
17.Million Dollar Legs
It can be seen that there is enough material for 3 more collections. PLEASE UNIVERSAL!!!!!!!
Now, PLEASE continue to release the many other Fields movies that are out there. I'm really hoping this is only 1 of several volumes that will be issued.
Any and all Fields fans should buy this, buy another 1 or 2 for gifts to family and friends, the better this release does the better chances of more to follow!
And if you haven't seen Fields ever??? You have to buy this, this man is one of THE building blocks of all modern comedy!
MUST SEE CLASSIC CINEMA! Fields slow burn style of comedy is a drastic opposite to today's modern, cheap, "fast food" style of comedy. Today's comedy is a quick laugh and it's over, never as funny the second time around, but with Fields, each viewing makes you laugh more as you start to relate pesonally to W.C. and all his trials and tribulations of life that he interweaves into his comedy.
On a personal level Fields as a comedian sneaks into your heart and mind causing you to develop a rapport with him and the daily events of life that shape and mold all of us to a certain extent. Fields, in his never ending struggle for control of those daily events brings about some of the most classic comedy ever to be captured on film. This my friends is THE golden age of comedy captured for all to enjoy, do not miss it.
----------------------------------------------------------
FINAL FOLLOWUP:
I've watched all the discs now and quality is as good as it's going to get, very, very good. The packaging is very nicely done too.
As far as the choice of movies included... Well it's too bad they put the Bank Dick in taking a spot away from another possible inclusion, seeing a high quality Criterion Collection version is already available. International House is a scream, I've always liked it, not so sure it is a "fit" in a Fields collection however, but his material is very good in the movie. Perhaps 3 more collections can come out making enough room in each of the collections for movies like this where Fields only had a part in them.
Someone mentioned Six Of A Kind, IT IS available on DVD as part of the Burns Allen collection, as well as The Big Broadcast, Sally Of The Sawdust, and 6 shorts Fileds on Criterion Collection which is superb quality.
NOW, it is a must that all fans e-mail Universal and ask for MORE releases!!!!!!!! Here's what we need in no particular order.
1.Mississippi
2.Man On The Flying Trapeze
3.You're Telling Me
4.The Old Fashioned Way
5.Poppy
6.Tillie And Gus
7.Never Give a Sucker An Even Break
8.If I Had A Million
9.Tales Of Manhattan
10.Her Majesty Love
11.Song Of The Open Road
12.Sensations of 1945
13.Alice In Wonderland
14.It's The Old Army Game
15.Follow The Boys
16.Running Wild
17.Million Dollar Legs
It can be seen that there is enough material for 3 more collections. PLEASE UNIVERSAL!!!!!!!
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Hilarious
The DVD set is exactly what I was expecting. These movies are incredible. The Bank Dick is one of the funniest movies ever and I would gladly pay this price for that alone. Read more
Published 15 days ago by Jacques1222
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mae West is absolutely a marvel of confidence in her womanly appeal
I loved the dialog, this is the first movie I have seen with Mae West and I am totally drawn into her sharp witted seduction. Read more
Published 23 days ago by Sarah C Hatkoff
4.0 out of 5 stars
Yeah
I grew up on Mea West and I am so glad to have some of her movies on DVD finally but I do wish it was a bit easier to use. Two movies on one side and one on the other, really? Read more
Published 24 days ago by wildchild
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mae West - The Glamour Collection (Go West Young Man/ Goin' To Town/...
This multi-movie set was a gift for my husband, and he was thrilled to receive it, as he's always been a fan of Mae West. I am very satisfied with this purchase.
Published 1 month ago by Vivian L. Wahl
5.0 out of 5 stars
this is a quality of product only review
Got this as a gift for an old grump of 83 yrs -- he loves it - as for myself --the quality of the recording EXCELLENT need i say more?
Published 1 month ago by flowerchild
5.0 out of 5 stars
My Hero
W.C.Fields has been my hero ever since the first time I saw one of his movies. his one liners are gold. I use them all the time. Most people have no idea where they came from. Read more
Published 1 month ago by hobowoods
5.0 out of 5 stars
r
The item was received on time and as described. It was packed for shipment in a careful and protective manner. I recommend this vendor.
Published 1 month ago by Ron A
5.0 out of 5 stars
Wonderful collection of WC Fields
I got this collection to introduce my wife to WC Fields. There are many gems in this collection and it's amazing how well they hold up after all these years.
Published 2 months ago by Peter Ashlock
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mae West in all her glory
This is good collection of Mae West movies, There is one where she is not the star, and the rest do star her, Her comedy is still good and her signature walk is exaggerated and... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Myles Salmon
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good collection
I really only wanted "It's A Gift", my favorite W.C. Fields movie, but for the price, this collection is a good buy. Quality of video and audio both very good.
Published 3 months ago by L. Barlow
