Customer Reviews

You're Telling Me [VHS]

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4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

"You're Telling Me" is amusing nonsense from one of the great film comedians. We see Fields' screen persona begin to take shape in Sam Bisbee. Sam is an inventor of such peculiar devices as the "nose lifter-upper," the "murder chair" (for catching burglars), and his puncture-proof tire. Sam also drinks. He stumbles home at midnight, and tries to persuade his long-suffering wife that it's only 8:30. In this opening segment, we observe Fields' comic timing and his juggler training as he fumbles with his shoes and his straw hat. A running theme in Fields' movies is the debunking of upper crust snobbery and phony middle class morality. His modest home includes some very pretentious draperies around the living room doorway. Tipsy Sam finds he can't pass the draperies without becoming entangled in the cumbersome sash. Fields stresses physical humor, sight gags, and his trademark hilarious "asides." He chronically has trouble finding his own head with his hat, and anyone unexpectedly coming at him constantly startle him. After he fails to sell his puncture-proof tire in the big city, Sam befriends a mysterious woman on the train trip home. This sets up an hilarious plot twist that has Sam fraternizing with polite society. The mayor asks Sam to tee-off the first ball at the town's new golf course. This gives Fields the ideal chance to do his classic "golf game" routine, complete with a dim-witted caddy. The movie looks dated in places, but it has been restored nicely. Repeated viewing doesn't diminish the laughs. ;-)

Though not without flaw (what is Buster Crabbe DOING here??), YOU'RE TELLING ME! has many hilarious setpieces and equally choice throwaway bits of business. Then again, you'd expect that from William Claude: what might surprise you is his delicate touch when pathos and tenderness are called for. The scene on the train where a despondent Fields, playing struggling eccentric inventor Sam Bisbee, accidentally meets a travelling Princess and tries to talk her out of 'suicide' (she had no such plans...but HE did, in a moment of despair) is quite unexpectedly moving. It's not so much the scene as written that affects the viewer as it is Fields' flawless playing of it. Plot contrivance it may be, but the easy, simple grace he brings to his line readings - the small, near-imperceptible shadings of wistfulness and regret in his voice, facial expressions & body language - all give testimony to this brilliant comic actor's mastery of craft, and his ability to draw water from the well of his own loneliness. Don't misunderstand; this is a side-splitting comedy. Much of the comedy is purely visual; all of it is unforgettable. But never make the error of short-counting WC Fields, or confuse him with an impressionist's caricature. Where other clowns tried their damndest to make you laugh till it hurts, Fields knew his gift was to create a character forever set-upon and assaulted by a blithe, uncaring parade determined to pass him by - a man who hurt till all you can do is laugh. You'll laugh often throughout this 65-minute model of construction and economy, but watching Fields trampled underfoot again - warily rising to his feet with no higher expectation than a brief, sweet respite before his next inevitable shellacking from the fates and furies - you might just get an idea of why they called him 'The Great Man'. Go on, spend the money and get this.

A remake of Field's 1926 silent SO'S YOUR OLD MAN has W.C. playing Sam Bisbee, a drunk and an unsuccessful inventor who resides in the small town of Crystal Springs. His daughter Pauline (Joan Marsh) hopes to marry Bob (Larry "Buster" Crabbe), the son of the well-to-do haughty Murchisons. Mrs. Murchison is livid about her son's association with Pauline - until she finds that Mrs. Bisbee's maiden name was Warren: she's a descendant of a prominent Virginia family. Amusing comical antics ensue...The title of the picture comes from an inside line: Sam tells Marie (the lovely Adrienne Ames) "We certainly put that Princess stuff over, didn't we"? To which Marie replies: "You're telling me"!. Field's golf sketch was first used in the ZIEGFELD FOLLIES OF 1915 on Broadway. Later, Fields reprised the routine in THE SPECIALIST an early talkie short from 193O. As a piece of genuine trivia, the character Robert McKenzie plays - Charlie Bogle - was the real-life pseudonym Field used as a screenwriter for various films

"You're Telling Me" (1934) is 67 minutes of vintage W.C. Fields - a total delight from start to finish. Along with the variation of his classic golf routine, the scenes featuring Fields' invention of bullet-proof rubber are among the comedian's finest. And let's not forget the ostrich! Universal Home Video should be releasing more of the Great Man's Paramount films. What's taking them so long?

I enjoyed this Field film, my first Amazon purchase. I had watched this movie years ago on cable and it had remained the only Fields' "talkie" that I didn't own. I doubt that Fields had free rein to improvise in this movie like he did in his classics ("It's a Gift", "Bank Dick"). Nevertheless, "You're Telling Me" had some classic scenes and is loads of fun.

As the film opens, it's late at night and we see an inebriated W.C. Fields slowly making his way up the walkway to his front door; as he moves along, he staggers off the path and has an encounter with a tree limb that raises havoc with his straw hat and knocks it off, which gives Fields-- the all-time master of physical comedy-- a field upon which to ply his craft to the fullest. He makes the simple task of refitting chapeau to pate engagingly hilarious. And once he makes it into the house (shoes in hand, of course, but too late!-- the little woman is waiting for him), it's more of the same, beginning with an encounter with some draperies, this time. It's classic Fields schtick, and what a great way to kick off one of his lesser known, but vibrantly funny films, "You're Telling Me," directed by Erle C. Kenton.

Pauline Bisbee (Joan Marsh) and Bob Murchison (Buster Crabbe) are in love, and want to be married; but there's a snag: The Bisbee house is located on the "wrong" side of the tracks, and the union is meeting strong resistance from Bob's mother, Mrs. Edward Quimby Murchison (Kathleen Howard), who is ever discerning of the Murchison's place in society. And Pauline's father, Sam (Fields), is of little help. An inveterate dreamer, Sam is an inventor, and though he knows it's only a matter of time before the world beats a path to his door, his time, unfortunately, has not yet come, which leaves him in the quagmire of anonymity, and his family still on the wrong side of the tracks.

All of that is about to change, however, because Sam has at last invented something that will assure him fortune and fame: A 1000% puncture-proof automobile tire. He has an appointment in the city with a tire company, and once they see his demonstration, he knows his future will be made, Pauline will be able to marry Bob, and all will be well.

Alas, the demonstration goes awry, and the hapless Sam, dejected, disgraced and alone, boards a train for home. He thinks it's the end; but on the train, he befriends a beautiful young woman, unaware that she is a foreign dignitary, the Princess Lescaboura (Adrienne Ames), currently on a goodwill tour of America. And it turns out to be an auspicious encounter, as Sam's kindness to her is about to be repaid in a way that will change his life forever.

This film is vintage W.C. Fields, featuring all of the trademark elements that make him (and his films) so endearing and enduring, even today: The sight gags, presented in that unique Fields' way; Fields as the underdog; the innate cynicism Fields honed into a veritable art form; Fields as the hen-pecked husband (a role he played often, and perfected in "It's A Gift," made this same year-- 1934-- with Kathleen Howard as his wife); the witty retorts; and, of course, the genuine humor. In one respect, however, this film differs from most of his others, in that, as Sam, Fields displays a gentler side of his usually caustic nature. The acerbity is present, to be sure, but toned down; and Sam, perhaps more than any character Fields ever created, is genuinely likable.

As Bob Murchison, Buster Crabbe's performance leaves something to be desired, but that charismatic spark that would make him a matinee idol later in the Sci-fi serials "Flash Gordon" and "Buck Rogers," and later in numerous "Billy the Kid" and "Billy Carson" westerns, is evident, and most importantly, he does well enough to set the stage for the antics of the film's star.

In only her second film, Kathleen Howard is a delight in the role of Mrs. Murchison, who is something of a prototype for many who would come later in other films, such as Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn of Meredith Willson's "The Music Man." As Bob's domineering mother, she affects an aloofness that strikes just the right chord and makes her the perfect foil for the down-to-earth Sam Bisbee.

The supporting cast includes Louise Carter (Bessie Bisbee), Tammany Young (Caddy), Dell Henderson (Mayor), James B. "Pop" Kenton (Doc Beebe), Robert McKenzie (Charlie Bogle), Nora Cecil (Mrs. Price), George Irving (Mr. Robins) and Frederick Sullivan (Mr. Edward Quimby Murchison). Comparatively short (at 66 minutes), "You're Telling Me" is nevertheless something of a minor classic and pure Fields from start to finish. Thoroughly enjoyable and highly entertaining, It even gives the inimitable W.C. a chance to perform a bit of his famous "golf" routine. A funny, and often downright hilarious film, it's a showcase for one of cinema's premiere funny men, and in the end, more than anything else, one thing is certain: It's going to make you laugh. And that's the magic of the movies.

I enjoyed this movie as I do all of Fields' films but it can't hold a candle to his best work. The really wonderful thing about W.C. Fields' movies is that the supporting cast usually is very funny as well and gets some hilarious lines (as opposed to most of his comedy legend rivals who almost never let the secondary and bit players shine.) Fields' plays a born loser, widely disliked in his hick smalltown, who spends his time trying to concoct inventions. On a return train trip from an unsuccessful sales pitch in the big city, he befriends a princess mistakenly believing she is a suicidal shopgirl. Touched by his concern, the princess decides to visit him in his small town with great fanfare, which makes him a hero to his neighbors (although Fields believes the princess is still a shopgirl pulling a "fast one").
The supporting female cast is particularly good. It's wonderful to see Adrienne Ames (as the princess) and Joan Marsh (Fields' daughter) on video - they were the leading ladies in scores of 1930's films but never big stars and are sadly forgotten today. Kathleen Howard, Fields' wife in several other films, here plays the snooty queen bee from the better side of the tracks who is horrified her son is engaged to Fields' daughter. Best of all is Nora Cecil, an elderly character actress who played bits in several Fields' movies and scores of other 1930's movies as an old bat who sees Fields and the princess together on the train in suspicious circumstances and starts a tidal wave of smalltown gossip that Fields was messing around with some big city floozy while away. Every person who hears the story embelishes it to their own dramatic satisfaction! I especially loved the scene where old Miss Cecil is listening into to the latest fictional spin of the story with relish, knowing fully of course that the story has been changed from her original tale! (Shortly after this the princess arrives in town and the whole Fields' adultery legend is totally dropped from storyline as is Nora Cecil who of course would recognize the princess as "that woman". It is hard to believe the townspeople would so quickly abandon such a juicy story or that busy body Nora wouldn't want to be among the hoardes who wanted a looked at this famous princess.) The storyline is quite thin, accounting for the film's running time of barely an hour and this with Fields' doing his classic "golf routine" that has absolutely nothing to do with the main plot.

Watch out for heavily edited videotapes of classic W.C. Fields films. This is one of a series of such films, originally about 90 minutes in length, that have been trimmed back to 60 minutes, probably for Saturday kiddie matinees. The cutting appears to be indiscriminate and crucial scenes have been lost.

Update: Complete versions of this film are available, as other reviewers have pointed out. Be sure the version you obtain is complete.

The last time I saw this my son who is now 27 was about 10 and had never seen W. C. Fields. He liked the the Three Stooges and Edgar Bergen/Charlie Macarthy, Ma and Pa Kettle, etc, but never had he experienced "The Great One" at work. Watching him absorb W. C. Fields was one of the best times I have ever had. He is a fan to this day. With W. C. Fields you either like him or you don't and I am happy to say he does.

W. C. Fields is at his best in this movie about a bumblling inventor. It is a great story that has Fields pitted aginst the everyone trying to prove his "Bullit Proof" tires work. Also has a Clasic Golf sene in it.

W. C. Plays Inventor Sam Bisbee

I have looked everywhere for this movie I saw on TV when I was young and noticed the last name W. C. Fields played in the movie was the same as mine.

Richard S. BISBEE