Product Details

• Directors: Robert B. Weide
• Format: Color, Full Screen, NTSC
• Number of tapes: 1
• VHS Release Date: July 1, 2002
• Run Time: 93 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 1559746491
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #527,410 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

The Los Angeles Times

"A laugh-filled celebration...[that] features a delicious assortment of clips. The unique components of his art are richly displayed."

"A rampage of remembrance...rich in content. A touching and trenchant tribute."

"The on-screen and off-screen Fields are expertly woven together...The clips are hilarious and the interviews are informative..a wonderful film."

Product Description

W.C. FIELDS STRAIGHT UP is the definitive feature-length celebration of the movies' best-loved curmudgeon. This Emmy Award-winning documentary traces Field's life from his childhood in Philadelphia, through his years of Hollywood stardom, to his final days.

Interviews with Fields' closest friends, family and collaborators are interwoven with beautifully remastered clips from his best-loved films and his rarely seen screen appearances. The resulting film presents Fields as both a brilliant comedian and a troubled, stubborn, loner.

Billing himself early in his career as "the world's greatest juggler," Fields quipped his way to stardom and, by 1938, had become the sixth highest-salaried person in the United States. Though he abandoned his pregnant wife to pursue his career, and was estranged from his son for thirty years, Fields' onscreen charm made him into a hero for the masses.

Did he really hate dogs and children? Did he really drink a quart of gin a day? STRAIGHT UP dispels some of the famous myths and sheds light on many lesser-known facts. It highlights Fields' most colorful antics and quotes, both onscreen and off. For 93 minutes, W.C. Fields comes back to life in this probing and hilarious "warts-and-all" account of a man and an entertainer so distinctly himself.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars It's A Gift, August 8, 2005

By 

Lanyon (London, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: W.C. Fields - Straight Up (DVD)

Godfrey Daniels, this excellent documentary serves as a worthwhile introduction to the great man as well as satisfying his many fans. Thankfully it is not just a series of talking heads and old trailers dug up from the vaults. A lot of care has gone into the programme. There are plenty of clips from his films and the interviewees speak with authority (including WC Field's grandson - note the family resemblance, except for the nose, of course).

Most importantly it makes you want to dig out the movies and watch them again. Not seen his films? Get the WC Fields comedy collection - it has his two best films "It's A Gift" and "The Bank Dick", as well as "My Little Chickadee" with that other great star Mae West (the only person who got top billing over Fields). If you can't afford the collection try the shorts (The Dentist, The Fatal Glass of Beer etc) which are distilled Fields and still put most modern comedy to shame.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a must for the field's fan, January 16, 2005

By 

Pitz (chicago, il. USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: W.C. Fields - Straight Up (DVD)

Just an entertaining bio on one of the most fascinating comedians of all time.The coverage and the quality of the film clips alone make it worthwhile. No Field's film collection is complete without it.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Doc about a classic comedian, April 19, 2010

By 

Nick Denife (Cleveland, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: W.C. Fields - Straight Up (DVD)

W.C. Fields is a comic whose genius deserves to be rediscovered, and this excellent documentary is a great place to start. It covers Fields' entire life and features interviews with not only people who worked closely with him and film experts but his grandson, Ronald. A truly great documentary about an authentic comic master. Very highly recommended.