W.C. Fields | The Art of Offense | A Docu-Mini

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  • Опубликовано: 19 июл 2020
  • A profile of one of my favorite film comedians - the great W.C. Fields.
    W.C. Fields' feature films are owned by Universal Pictures. Purchase here:
    shop.tcm.com/w-c-fields-comed...
    Support our channel:
    / hatsoffentertainment
    Written, Edited and Compiled by Joe Ramoni
    / joeramoni
    Music Provided by:
    Incompetech.com
    For all inquiries please visit:
    hatsoffent.com
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Комментарии • 1,7 тыс.

  • @cdldriver2348
    @cdldriver2348 3 года назад +605

    I wondered if W. C. Fields ever thought people would still enjoy watching and learning about him 140 years after he was born?

    • @guts_4534
      @guts_4534 3 года назад +17

      Great comment.

    • @indigogoigorgo7992
      @indigogoigorgo7992 3 года назад +15

      I sure hope so.

    • @susancarr9955
      @susancarr9955 3 года назад +9

      Yes

    • @rickrick5041
      @rickrick5041 3 года назад +2

      Charles Hall Yes. He often talked about it

    • @kenlieck7756
      @kenlieck7756 3 года назад +22

      @@rickrick5041 Huh? Seems like he'd have little reason to hope for such a thing since they didn't have home video or TV and once a film finished its theater run it was stuck away or just trashed. In the '70s when I first started seeking Fields films, around half of them were believed to be lost - we're damn lucky that beautiful prints of nearly all have surfaced since then...

  • @anne7441
    @anne7441 3 года назад +282

    "It ain't what they call you, it's what you answer to." - WC Fields

    • @jaelge
      @jaelge 2 года назад +6

      That´s a very wise saying. Wish I had the memory to be able to recall wise sayings on demand, but I don´t.

    • @peterthurman9384
      @peterthurman9384 2 года назад +2

      Point: No whining.

    • @peterthurman9384
      @peterthurman9384 2 года назад +4

      @@jaelge don't sell yourself short: If you have the fortitude to acknowledge and address your faults, you are ahead of most people.

    • @rccc5806
      @rccc5806 Год назад

      So, so fitting for our day.

    • @mawi1172
      @mawi1172 Год назад +1

      Ain't that the truth!?!?!??!!

  • @garylancaster2031
    @garylancaster2031 Год назад +35

    Even today at age 74 I still cackle like a hyenna when I watch him. He was the comic genius of his time!

  • @1notgilty
    @1notgilty 3 года назад +248

    W.C. Fields was a comic genius and one of the pioneers of film. He is highly underrated.

  • @stenoch
    @stenoch 3 года назад +376

    I remember reading that someone asked Mr Fields how he came to be billed as the World's Greatest Juggler. He answered that it's easy when you are the one printing the posters.
    Classic!

    • @TheloniousCube
      @TheloniousCube 3 года назад +21

      He was, quite legitimately, a top-notch juggler in his day - a vaudeville headliner all over the world

    • @stephenpemberton9943
      @stephenpemberton9943 3 года назад +10

      🤣😆🤣😆🤣😆👍🎩

    • @pookah53
      @pookah53 Год назад +13

      He was also a talented cartoonist and graphic artist who created his own vaudeville posters.

    • @patriciawright8786
      @patriciawright8786 Год назад +10

      @@pookah53 I didn't know how talented W.C. Fields was. My father would watch old movies of W.C. Feilds on T.V. when I was a little girl. I can remember my dad laughing until he'd cry.

    • @williamcassidy3824
      @williamcassidy3824 11 месяцев назад +1

      @David Henderson for those who haven't seen WC juggling, you tube it.. he was terrific

  • @SolitaryWolf
    @SolitaryWolf 3 года назад +101

    He has the wittiest tongue I have ever heard . I love his dark sarcasm.

  • @themanwithnoname5325
    @themanwithnoname5325 Год назад +95

    “She ran right in front of the car” will never, ever get old to me, it makes me giggle every time.

    • @johnlozauskas778
      @johnlozauskas778 Год назад +4

      You beat me to it. What husband/father hasn't said something similar?!?!

    • @dancalmpeaceful3903
      @dancalmpeaceful3903 Год назад +8

      That....and "What is THAT noise?"......oh, those are some "Gipsies" my dear (instead of Gypsies). "It's a Gift" is really one of his greatest. Damn...the scene with the blindman destroying everything in his shop.....masterpiece.
      There was another great line in one of his films where he is sitting down to play cards and the other player asks , "Is this a game of "chance"?......and Fields goes, "Not the way I play it...."

    • @robertbelle2663
      @robertbelle2663 Год назад +3

      I fall back on lines like that when having difficulties at work. Short and sweet.

    • @trevormiles5852
      @trevormiles5852 11 месяцев назад +1

      @@johnlozauskas778 lol 😂 😂 or will say it now that he heard it. I have done the pool stick joke with my kid had him rolling. Of course I took complet credit. Nothing like the love that comes from watching your kid bust out laughing because you make him laugh. Wife would always make pretend jokes were knew and mine. I can still feel her looking out window rolling eyes on road trips. RIP miss you OB , ocean blue eyes.

  • @andrewSPgaynor
    @andrewSPgaynor 8 месяцев назад +6

    I met my wife at a W.C Fields show and now once a week we gather around with our children to watch one of his movies. My eldest will be 83 next tuesday

  • @skyden24195
    @skyden24195 Год назад +97

    During my sophomore year of high school (10th grade) one of my teachers had a poster of W.C. Fields hanging on the wall of his classroom. The poster featured the image of Fields with the quote, "I never drink water, that's the stuff that rusts pipes." I've always found this so amusing since it was a poster, which actually promoted drinking alcohol over water, hanging in a high school classroom. lol.

    • @eddiemunster4094
      @eddiemunster4094 Год назад +10

      Political correctness ended that seems so different now I remember cigarette vending machines 🤣

    • @jessewolf7649
      @jessewolf7649 Год назад +20

      I believe he actually said re water: “I never touch the stuff, fish f..k in it”.

    • @skyden24195
      @skyden24195 Год назад +9

      @@jessewolf7649 he likely said both. I don't think my teacher would have gotten away with hanging a poster in his classroom that even indicated the word "fxck" on it.

    • @skyden24195
      @skyden24195 Год назад +4

      @@eddiemunster4094 it's a funny thing that in my freshman yearbook there is a picture taken of (I believe) the teacher's lounge which says something along the lines of, "This year, even teachers were no longer allowed to smoke on campus." That was the '89-'90 school year.

    • @lydiasimoneau3640
      @lydiasimoneau3640 Год назад +3

      😂🤣😆😀😅😁😃😀

  • @davehutchins2820
    @davehutchins2820 Год назад +42

    One of the true giants of American Movie Humor. Many of us boomers discovered him in the mid to late 60's and found him as hip or"hiper" than the comedians of our own generation.

  • @bsmy84
    @bsmy84 7 месяцев назад +17

    I was delighted with Fields as a child and even more so at 75. Brilliant comedian!

    • @jisungrocks5871
      @jisungrocks5871 5 месяцев назад +6

      My father wrote, " W.C. Fields- An Annotated Guide". In the 80s, he had the worlds largest original Fields collection. I have some of it now.

  • @BlueBaron3339
    @BlueBaron3339 Год назад +30

    I grew up with Fields in the sense that my father would laugh so hard at his movies he'd be nearly incapacitated by them. And he'd take me to see them back when there were LOTS of small town movie theaters that would run all sorts of old films on the weekends. My favorite of his screw-the-censors words was his reference to Lake Titicaca. And you can imagine how he pronounced it 😂

  • @nicklarocco4178
    @nicklarocco4178 3 года назад +144

    "Is this a game of chance?"
    "Not the way I play it."

  • @CZ350tuner
    @CZ350tuner 3 года назад +138

    "Marriage, my boy, is like a big banquet with desert at the beginning".

  • @Sam-gu6im
    @Sam-gu6im 3 года назад +61

    Some of the fondest memories of my father involved W.C.
    Pops was a builder and involved in an horrific accident, where a piece of metal hit him in the head and he fell four stories. It was difficult communicating with him mostly but, in some of his moments of clarity you could have a fantastic time reciting sketches from Fields films. He was a massive fan.
    Thank you for posting this. A true original and very talented yet underrated comedian.

    • @bluenetmarketing
      @bluenetmarketing Год назад +5

      So sorry to hear about your father. He sounds like a great guy.

    • @CEWIII9873
      @CEWIII9873 5 месяцев назад

      Are you sure your father's injury wasn't something genetic he passed on to you?

  • @toxsun
    @toxsun 3 года назад +6

    Love how Shemp Howard is playing the bartender in the beginning.

  • @kcbasketballstars
    @kcbasketballstars 3 года назад +244

    He would have been a great Wizard of Oz, "pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, my dear, you bother me."

    • @sinisterthoughts2896
      @sinisterthoughts2896 3 года назад +6

      My thoughts as well, the part seems written for him.

    • @skelelator
      @skelelator 3 года назад +10

      He was considered for the part but there are three reasons given why he didn’t take it
      One is he wasn’t going to be the star of the film, two is he wanted way more money than he knew they would be willing to pay him
      The third is probably the true reason, he just signed with Universal and was gearing up for his own film, You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man.

    • @stanochocki8984
      @stanochocki8984 3 года назад +3

      @@skelelator Ah, but he would have been the greatest Wizard of them all. A truly benign, lovable, affable Humbug.

    • @TheloniousCube
      @TheloniousCube 3 года назад +4

      @@sinisterthoughts2896 It was - much of the language was designed for Fields - particularly the Professor Marvel bits

    • @TheloniousCube
      @TheloniousCube 3 года назад +5

      On the other hand, Frank Morgan did an excellent job with the part

  • @JonMichaelDeShazer
    @JonMichaelDeShazer 3 года назад +182

    Can't confirm this, but you gotta believe he was one of Rodney Dangerfield's biggest influences.

    • @afterthought3341
      @afterthought3341 3 года назад +19

      I could believe that .

    • @TheloniousCube
      @TheloniousCube 3 года назад +26

      John Cleese as well - Cleese has said as much

    • @greasycock455
      @greasycock455 3 года назад +5

      Robin loved Jonathan Winters. fact.

    • @a2pha
      @a2pha 3 года назад +8

      That actually sounds about right.

    • @Stewart1953
      @Stewart1953 3 года назад +3

      it might not be a fact but i also know this is true Well said JMD. stay safe and stay healthy

  • @Brian-uy2tj
    @Brian-uy2tj Год назад +99

    His biography is probably the most interesting biography I've read. He was a fascinating man. Self taught, self educated. He was equal parts grumpy S.O.B. and compassionate to those around him. He was the number one box office draw in the 1930's. They didn't just ask him to be the Wizard in the Wizard of Oz, they actually wrote the part for HIM and it you watch Oz you can see how it would have fit his style of humor well.

    • @wil7228
      @wil7228 Год назад +9

      Good point I could picture him saying don't pay any attention to the man behind the curtain .

    • @DeirdreCatherineDoyle
      @DeirdreCatherineDoyle Год назад +4

      BRILLIANT REPLY ... THERE IS AN 'ART' IN GRUMPY.

    • @NuisanceMan
      @NuisanceMan 10 месяцев назад +2

      The guy they got even looked a bit like Fields.

    • @kevinbutler1955NYC
      @kevinbutler1955NYC 7 месяцев назад

      Bill Fields was not the first choice to play "The Wizard Of Oz"..Clown Ed Wynn was the first choice for the role..but..he turned it down..other performers..who were slated to try for the part were:Victor Moore,Charles Winnenger,Robert Benchley,and Wallace Beery. Wally Beery..could have played the part? but? he was doing other movies at MGM..at the time..and the studio execs wouldn't allow him to take time out to play"The Wizard". Bill Fields wanted to play the role..but? He haggled over his salary..and then? he was signed to write and play the role of circus con man"Larson E.Whipsnade" in"You Can't Cheat An Honest Man"at Universal. So the roles of "The Wizard","Prof.Marvel","The Doorman","The Cabbie" and "The Guard"in "The Emerald City"went to Frank Morgan.

    • @Brian-uy2tj
      @Brian-uy2tj 7 месяцев назад

      @@kevinbutler1955NYC

  • @larrymahlstedt5254
    @larrymahlstedt5254 Год назад +55

    The billiard scene in “Six of a Kind” where he explains how he got the name “Honest John” is brilliant and always makes me laugh.

    • @8Prufrock
      @8Prufrock Год назад +6

      I regard that scene as the funniest scene of physical comedy in movie history. After seeing it many times over 50 years, I still laugh till tears come. It’s a difficult film to find. Burns & Allen have top billing, but he steals the show.

  • @StefanTravis
    @StefanTravis 3 года назад +424

    "It was a women who drove me to drink, and I never even thanked her."

    • @rufust.firefly2474
      @rufust.firefly2474 3 года назад +2

      Apocryphal. just just a joke and sounded as though field would have said it and so was attributed to him.

    • @Zephyrmec
      @Zephyrmec 3 года назад +2

      profnasty The accurate quote is “fish function in it”

    • @George-ph6qo
      @George-ph6qo 3 года назад +1

      Damn I forgot that great line. Thanks for reminding me.

    • @marygee3209
      @marygee3209 3 года назад +4

      Glad your a fan of William Claude the 'Greatest Juggler in the World' He said' A woman drove me to drink and I've been indebted to her ever since!

    • @rufust.firefly2474
      @rufust.firefly2474 3 года назад +9

      All right, ladies and gentlemen, here is the actual line. It comes from" never give a sucker an even break":
      Gloria Jean: Uncle Bill, why didn't you ever get married?
      Fields: I was in love with a beautiful blond once. She drove me to drink. That's the one thing I'm indebted to her for.

  • @amberlopez7477
    @amberlopez7477 3 года назад +440

    I spend half my money on gambling, alcohol and wild women. The other half I wasted.
    - W.C. Fields -

    • @msw0011
      @msw0011 3 года назад +10

      Hello there. Now that’s funny.

    • @markkoons7488
      @markkoons7488 3 года назад +2

      Amber Lopez who as a child lived in Wheatland, WY?

    • @TheGothicHangman
      @TheGothicHangman 3 года назад +4

      Have to remind myself of this constantly.

    • @frankmachin5438
      @frankmachin5438 3 года назад +3

      Thought that was George Best...

    • @daveybass655
      @daveybass655 3 года назад +2

      Huba de huba de huba de .
      How dooo you do ?
      Pretty lady.

  • @johnstevenson9956
    @johnstevenson9956 3 года назад +51

    Truly brilliant, "It's A Gift" is still one of the funniest movies I've ever seen. Only Fields could say, "I hate you" and make it sound hilarious.

    • @macswanton9622
      @macswanton9622 Год назад +2

      Daffy Duck could too~

    • @johnstevenson9956
      @johnstevenson9956 Год назад +2

      @@macswanton9622 LOL Good point, although Daffy was better known for "You're despicable".

    • @theoztreecrasher2647
      @theoztreecrasher2647 Год назад +1

      @@johnstevenson9956 The "Wabbit Season - Duck Season - Wabbit Season...." BOOM! "You're despicable!!!" cartoon is 1 of the very best! 🤣🤣🤣

    • @seeharvester
      @seeharvester Месяц назад

      "It's A Gift" is my personal favorite.

  • @jamesjohnson2900
    @jamesjohnson2900 8 месяцев назад +3

    The funniest human being I've encountered in 70 years on this planet. Pure genius.

  • @buskahegian
    @buskahegian 3 года назад +222

    Sidekick: "why don't you get her a pet, women are crazy about pets" Fields: "they're just crazy, pets have nothing to do with it"

  • @ErokusMaximus
    @ErokusMaximus 3 года назад +119

    I sometimes yell "Kumquats! Kumquats" At the grocery store. My wife no longer goes with me

  • @thedukeofswellington1827
    @thedukeofswellington1827 Год назад +2

    I was raised by my grandparents and my gfather was a big WC Fields fan. Retired Phila firefighter who grew up on these same streets in the 40s and 50s. Love ya dad.

  • @rickwade6440
    @rickwade6440 9 месяцев назад +4

    Saturday afternoon on television is where as a kid I learned a love of language from WC Fields. good to see that you are making these mini docs. so much entertainment forgotten

  • @deadpan80
    @deadpan80 3 года назад +63

    the scene in the diner with the rotund waitress in Never Give a s Sucker an Even Break is a classic

    • @rufust.firefly2474
      @rufust.firefly2474 3 года назад +6

      Fields, watching the waitress walk away: there's something very big about you too...

    • @tenhirankei
      @tenhirankei 3 года назад +1

      She reminds me of Mimi from the Drew Carey show. Or maybe it's Mimi who reminds us of the waitress.

    • @tomtugboat
      @tomtugboat 3 года назад +1

      Lights a match off the guys rear end !

    • @spiff8862
      @spiff8862 3 года назад

      The actress who played the waitress was Jody Gilbert.

    • @billmartin973
      @billmartin973 3 года назад

      “The flies get the best of everything ........go away, go away.”

  • @Vindicator7777
    @Vindicator7777 3 года назад +209

    W.C. Fields... I can't honestly agree enough. This guy is a legend and is underrated.

    • @jamesm.3967
      @jamesm.3967 3 года назад +2

      Foxiest Boxes not underrated, but forgotten.

    • @rufust.firefly2474
      @rufust.firefly2474 3 года назад +7

      WC Fields forgotten?? Not as long as I'm around!

    • @abelincoln3287
      @abelincoln3287 3 года назад +12

      W.C. Fields was a superstar in his day, he was never underrated. Please, please, boy and girls, just because someone is no longer relevant in today's society, doesn't make them underrated.

    • @rufust.firefly2474
      @rufust.firefly2474 3 года назад +4

      no longer relevant? Have you read any of these comments? Field and his comedy are as relevant today as they ever were. I can't think of a reason why you would make such an idiotic statement.

    • @abelincoln3287
      @abelincoln3287 3 года назад +6

      @@rufust.firefly2474 You missed my point. I'm saying he was never underrated! He is no longer relevant in today's movies, but that doesn't mean he is underrated. He will never be forgotten, I am an absolute diehard fan.

  • @butchvito
    @butchvito Год назад +6

    I grew up watching The Stooges and I'm just now getting into W.C. Fields films. I love this type of stress free comedy of the old days. Getting baked watching W.C. is the most hilarious time ever.

  • @michaelschubert4453
    @michaelschubert4453 Год назад +8

    I have seen films of W.C. Fields juggling. He was absolutely amazing. He did things that I have never seen anyone else duplicate.

  • @dj33036
    @dj33036 3 года назад +82

    Reminds me of my safari in Africa. Somebody forgot the corkscrew and for several days we had to live on nothing but food and water.

    • @dj33036
      @dj33036 3 года назад

      @Agent J you don't know WC Fields very well do you?

    • @dj33036
      @dj33036 3 года назад +1

      @Agent J I can tell you're a trump voter

    • @bigbird2170
      @bigbird2170 3 года назад +1

      @@dj33036 so u admit u voted for creepy Joe?

    • @dj33036
      @dj33036 3 года назад +2

      @@bigbird2170 I'm proud that I voted for Joe Biden me and 82 million other people

    • @dj33036
      @dj33036 3 года назад +1

      @Stacy Gorham Trump is on his way to jail! Lock him up!

  • @stephenmatura1086
    @stephenmatura1086 3 года назад +53

    "Start every day off with a smile and get it over with".

    • @greasycock455
      @greasycock455 3 года назад +1

      this is my ,,life. fukit.

    • @greasycock455
      @greasycock455 3 года назад

      @Richard Wagner your tooth-less mother,,said a different tale,,,badda boom.

    • @greasycock455
      @greasycock455 3 года назад +2

      @Richard Wagner My wife is so lonely,an sad. She hired 3 pool guy's. We have no swimming pool.

    • @greasycock455
      @greasycock455 3 года назад

      @Richard Wagner my dog ,,gave Himself to a shelter. My kids followed the dog.

    • @greasycock455
      @greasycock455 3 года назад +2

      @Richard Wagner asked my wife for a. christmas gift. She said,,"how about i don't Shoot you?."

  • @violetflame23
    @violetflame23 2 года назад +15

    When I was in college, a friend and I used to watch W.C. Fields movies every night on KTLA Channel 5 in L.A. After awhile we both started talking like him, even in public. That lasted for 3 or 4 months but finally we snapped out of it. Those were the days!

    • @trevormiles5852
      @trevormiles5852 11 месяцев назад

      Not the same but... i was jogging behind some Pacer girls ( local strip classy joint ) who were exercising . "Somehow I ended up swaying my hip back and forth just like them as I followed them. Not so terrible price to pay to admire human nature.

    • @caraqueno
      @caraqueno 5 месяцев назад

      I would also watch W. C. Fields on KTLA-5, often on it's "Movies Til Dawn" showing Fields, Burns &Allen, Bob Hope, Preston Sturges films, Mae West, and the Marx Bros.

  • @caffeinated24x7
    @caffeinated24x7 Год назад +21

    I am someone who came across in later in life. His comedy routines, his timing, and by all means, his commentary and one liners are the best. To know his last phrase on earth was the wallpaper goes or I do and then he died is a fitting tribute to the man

    • @georgestreng
      @georgestreng Год назад +1

      That was Oscar Wilde.

    • @caffeinated24x7
      @caffeinated24x7 Год назад +3

      @@georgestreng OMG you are right! I always confuse Oscar Wilde with WC fields statement “I'm looking for a loophole.” As he flipped through the Bible

    • @fineasfrog
      @fineasfrog Год назад

      When asked what he wanted on his tombstone he replied " On the whole, I rather be here than in Philadelphia."

  • @tiggeromega
    @tiggeromega 3 года назад +126

    “Go away kid, you bother me.”

    • @rufust.firefly2474
      @rufust.firefly2474 3 года назад +1

      I don't believe fields ever said this and I've been watching his films ever since I was a kid.

    • @juliaannegrider5734
      @juliaannegrider5734 3 года назад +4

      I used to say this in a Fields voice when one of my five children got too clingy lol.

    • @rufust.firefly2474
      @rufust.firefly2474 3 года назад

      That's a line that was always attributed to a Carnival Barker. Fields never said it although he played Carnival barkers.

    • @caleb234
      @caleb234 3 года назад +1

      @@rufust.firefly2474 It was in a radio show, never saw a film version. I had a cassette recording about 20yrs ago.

    • @bazzatheblue
      @bazzatheblue 2 года назад +1

      That was reprised by Jim Carrey in The Mask.

  • @tchrisou812
    @tchrisou812 3 года назад +169

    The character attributes he chose (not liking children or the self important) fluidity of his movement (eg. the hat and cane scene) and his linguistic style makes him one of my all time favorites . Great work!

    • @HatsOffEntertainment
      @HatsOffEntertainment  3 года назад +6

      Thanks for watching!

    • @Louie_The_Dago
      @Louie_The_Dago 3 года назад +18

      Hats Off Entertainment The story about how he drained the fountain at his home permanently out of guilt and sadness when the neighbors kid drowned in it says how he really felt about children

    • @mrnobodyz
      @mrnobodyz 3 года назад +3

      Yeah! I’m 58 and I’ve been practicing some of his easier moves for 40 years and still haven’t mastered them.

    • @sneakpeekreviews4510
      @sneakpeekreviews4510 3 года назад +4

      You really hit the nail on the head.

    • @hagerty1952
      @hagerty1952 3 года назад +4

      @@mrnobodyz -All of his physical bits are priceless but one of my favorites is from the beginning of "You're Telling Me" where he gets 5 minutes of "business" out of getting tangled in the decorative doorway cords leading to the living room. He does a brief encore a few minutes later when he leaves the room. I was laughing myself stupid the whole time, and not a word was spoken.

  • @danalaniz7314
    @danalaniz7314 2 года назад +12

    Thank you so much for this! I have asked my executor to play the last few minutes of "Its a Gift" at my memorial. I'll never forget the lines when the farmer says "You're lucky and you didn't know it." and Fields says "I wasn't exactly sure"! The most classic and iconic line that I have every seen in cinema in my 70 years. Thanks again.

  • @trs4437
    @trs4437 3 года назад +7

    The Mr. Muckle scene is unsurpassed comic genius.

  • @premanadi
    @premanadi 3 года назад +56

    The Great Man. Nobody like him, before or since. Genius on every level.

    • @tedthomas9809
      @tedthomas9809 Год назад +4

      I wholeheartedly agree. What a talent. ❤

  • @locnar1
    @locnar1 3 года назад +59

    once you start doing an imitation of his voice it's very hard to stop.

  • @faerieSAALE
    @faerieSAALE Год назад +8

    There were outstanding comedic talents from the Golden Era of Hollywood - and W.C. Fields is the KING of legends among them.

  • @SoylentThulhu
    @SoylentThulhu 3 года назад +24

    He was important enough to my parents that they made sure my first initials are w.c. I definitely appreciate his work and the Bank Dick is one of my favorite movies.

    • @trevormiles5852
      @trevormiles5852 11 месяцев назад

      you do know "W . C is also meant for bathroom. lol

    • @SoylentThulhu
      @SoylentThulhu 11 месяцев назад

      @@trevormiles5852 you do know every abbreviation has the potential to mean hundreds of different things. lol

    • @trevormiles5852
      @trevormiles5852 11 месяцев назад

      @@SoylentThulhu In this particular case , I am pretty sure it was not random. Especially with his art of turning a phrase and his particular type of humor. WC ws way more common used for water closet back then.

    • @SoylentThulhu
      @SoylentThulhu 11 месяцев назад

      @@trevormiles5852 in this case it's for his actual name, but sure I'm a toilet if that makes you feel better

    • @kansasross
      @kansasross 9 месяцев назад

      ​@@trevormiles5852 It's Water Closet.

  • @clutchkman
    @clutchkman 3 года назад +38

    A comedy genius! I wish I could go back in time and have a drink with him, but I’m sure that I’d bother him. Unless I was buying!

    • @WytZox1
      @WytZox1 3 года назад +3

      Contrary to his image of hating children Jackie Cooper told how he entertained youngsters on the studio lot with his juggling an sleight of hand magic. Yet he did hate being upstaged by supporting actors including cute children. ☺

    • @WhosYerHayseed
      @WhosYerHayseed Год назад +1

      Do you know what he said about martinis? "One's not enough and two is too many!"
      On stage sets, Fields' code words for his ever-present martini flask was "pineapple juice"; late in his career, stage hands on the set swapped out his martini mixture with real pineapple juice -- it was reported that Fields was later heard bellowing "WHO PUT PINEAPPLE JUICE IN MY 'PINEAPPLE JUICE'??!!" 🍍🍸🌠

  • @jamiespinks3657
    @jamiespinks3657 3 года назад +34

    'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it.'

    • @RinpochesRose
      @RinpochesRose 3 года назад +1

      Jamie Spinks 🙂😂🤣

    • @David-tw2vx
      @David-tw2vx 3 года назад

      If at first you don't succeed, suck, suck again!

  • @lenhummel5614
    @lenhummel5614 2 года назад +37

    A true comedic genius. Very few in the same class.
    Chaplin and Groucho.

  • @stevejones9905
    @stevejones9905 Год назад +17

    W.C. Fields, Laurel and Hardy, The Marx Brothers, Charlie Chaplin, Abbott and Costello, Buster Keaton.(Thanks PC) Harold Lloyd (Thanks mungous1000) Douglas Fairbanks, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, Rudolph Valentino should not be forgotten honorable mention : Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Shirley Temple Black, Peter Lorre and many many more.

    • @PC-kd7dj
      @PC-kd7dj Год назад +1

      And I would add Buster Keaton

    • @lawrence8374
      @lawrence8374 Год назад +1

      I'm 73 years young and am so glad they showed his films on the tv in the 50's. I was so lucky to grow up with not only him but the likes of the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, and the Three Stooges.

    • @stevejones9905
      @stevejones9905 Год назад

      @@PC-kd7dj Thanks I forgot.

    • @stevejones9905
      @stevejones9905 Год назад +1

      @@lawrence8374 My favorite were the Marx Brothers. Everyone knows there's no sanity clause. Funny every time. Plus the music.

    • @mungous1000
      @mungous1000 Год назад +1

      I would add Harold Lloyd to that exclusive list.

  • @CLM1987
    @CLM1987 3 года назад +48

    Love me some W. C. Fields, great to see him get his just respect

  • @GrymsArchive
    @GrymsArchive 3 года назад +211

    I, Have lived my life on the basis of one of his quotes:
    *“I am free of all prejudice. I hate everyone equally. ”*

    • @edgarcisneros7874
      @edgarcisneros7874 3 года назад +7

      a person dislikes kids or animals cant be that bad of a person

    • @blackkakari
      @blackkakari 3 года назад +2

      ...you can't tear that out of me! No segregation, separation just me and my world of enemies!

    • @theunknowngamer5477
      @theunknowngamer5477 3 года назад +2

      Decades have gone by...until now, I never knew who this quote was from...thanks!

    • @estherwiserich3321
      @estherwiserich3321 3 года назад

      The Unknown Gamer .

    • @bennieknape4857
      @bennieknape4857 3 года назад +1

      My favorite is I could never be a member of a club that would have me as a member!

  • @frankiecrocker
    @frankiecrocker Год назад +5

    As a kid, I grew up watching WC Fields' movies on local television, I would stop whatever I was doing just to fall-down laugh for a few hours. As a much older adult now, I still laugh at his films, but I make sure to remain on the couch when I laugh.

  • @allanplant8756
    @allanplant8756 Год назад +7

    Even though I had heard of him, I was in my 60's before I ever saw an actual clip of W.C. Fields. It was one of those where he was fighting with a small child. I laughed my head off. It was a surprise to me that I had never previously realised just how funny and how much before his time his comedy was. I don't regret waiting till my sixties to discover him, because the discovery has been an unexpected gift.

  • @lextalonis839
    @lextalonis839 3 года назад +16

    It’s A Gift is one of the greatest Comedy Movies ever produced. Just about perfect....

  • @scottishgirl0918
    @scottishgirl0918 3 года назад +19

    My father and I always quote him when we want to make eachother laugh! I've seen almost every film he was in and they are all so funny and amazing 😂

  • @MartinKillips
    @MartinKillips 9 месяцев назад +1

    I've adored WC Field's movies for years but never knew he was acclaimed as the worlds best juggler!
    I fell for him after hearing his line, "Anyone that hates children and dogs can't be all that bad!"

  • @MDLOP8
    @MDLOP8 3 года назад +30

    You need to read Carlotta Monti's book, "W.C. Fields and Me." She lived with him for years and was his caregiver and close companion. It's a priceless view into his life and story.

    • @wesglowner2635
      @wesglowner2635 Год назад +1

      good read

    • @Peggy-nt7eo
      @Peggy-nt7eo Год назад +1

      Yes I’ll look it up. Thanks

    • @wcstrawberryfields8011
      @wcstrawberryfields8011 Год назад +1

      I'm on it. Thanks.

    • @paulshubsachs4977
      @paulshubsachs4977 9 месяцев назад

      You're so right. A book that makes one laugh, and cry.

    • @joem5643
      @joem5643 8 месяцев назад

      My great grandmother who was also a Broadway actress supposedly gave W.C. Fields his big break by recommending him in the part in the Movie Poppy. Also they had a an affair and he got her pregnant.

  • @anaheimdennis
    @anaheimdennis 3 года назад +44

    God I love that guy. He was the one and only. They don't make the likes of him anymore.

  • @TraitorFelon.14.3
    @TraitorFelon.14.3 3 года назад +34

    One thing missing.
    His radio deal with the cigarette brand “Lucky Strike”.
    In the radioshow he invented a son named Chester Fields.

    • @TheloniousCube
      @TheloniousCube 3 года назад +4

      The radio work is fairly obscure these days, but much of it is hilarious - worth seeking out

    • @Bigbadwhitecracker
      @Bigbadwhitecracker 3 года назад +1

      Didn't even know he did that much radio. I'll have to check it out.

    • @TheloniousCube
      @TheloniousCube 3 года назад

      @@pashadyne Yes, it most certainly is!
      For real surrealism, I especially like his comments on The Jabberwock - it's such a crazy multi-level gag where his character thinks he's covering for another character who is too drunk to read the poem....a masterpiece of comedy

    • @hunkydorian
      @hunkydorian 2 года назад

      More proof that he was funnier than Groucho.

  • @dscarty
    @dscarty Год назад +2

    W.C. is the best & I have shared a couple of his videos. He was reputed to have been caught reading the Bible by a friend who exclaimed “What you Bill?” Supposedly the response was “I’m just searching for loopholes.”

  • @timc2346
    @timc2346 2 года назад +7

    His comedy timeless, one of the greats.

  • @dyacktman
    @dyacktman 3 года назад +9

    I am a little bit surprised that you didn't mention that he was part of the inspiration behind the Mr. Magoo cartoon character! His influence on other creative people definitely left a legacy that goes beyond just his films.

  • @sugreev2001
    @sugreev2001 3 года назад +47

    Love WC Fields. His influence is immense in the World of comedy. I’d say he’s still pretty well known among movie buffs, but certainly not at the level as he should be.

    • @dennisanderson3895
      @dennisanderson3895 3 года назад

      Youngsters need to understand who the imitated voice they hear in cartoons, etc is from! Cultural history...and of a "rebellious" character, to boot!

  • @rickpchris
    @rickpchris Год назад +1

    Loved the way he repeatedly annunciated "Beelzebub"
    And the line when meeting his daughter's suiter, Og Oggilby (Grady Sutton. "Og Oggilby", “Sounds like a bubble in a bathtub”

  • @Truthist1776
    @Truthist1776 3 года назад +39

    "Anyone who hates kids and dogs can't be all bad."

  • @superfly2449
    @superfly2449 3 года назад +9

    “There are burglars singing in the basement.” always cracks me up.

  • @DESTRUCTIONKATCHUP
    @DESTRUCTIONKATCHUP 3 года назад +22

    I was excited to see this video pop up. My dad introduced me to W.C. Fields movies when I was young and they are very nostalgic to me for that reason. Not only did I appreciate the humor but I also learned allot from them. I learned about comedic film history and history itself. I'll always have those memories of laughing with dad as he treated and cultured me with these old films. Grateful to Dad, W.C. Fields, and this channel for this video. Thanks.

    • @dwightpowell6673
      @dwightpowell6673 3 года назад

      I glad you had a good relationship with your dad...my dad hated me

  • @byazura9824
    @byazura9824 Год назад +2

    Thank you, thank you for introducing me to this hilarious man.

  • @garysandburg8199
    @garysandburg8199 9 месяцев назад +1

    There was no one better than W. C. not even a close second to him.

  • @bdavis24fan
    @bdavis24fan 3 года назад +19

    0:09 it's Shemp!!!

    • @TheloniousCube
      @TheloniousCube 3 года назад +2

      Shemp Howard, brother of Moe and Curley, had quite a comedic career outside of the Stooges, but it's largely forgotten now

  • @joshuabrande2417
    @joshuabrande2417 3 года назад +19

    He still makes me laugh, "are you short or are you standing in a hole?"

  • @cathejones3412
    @cathejones3412 Год назад +1

    I WATCHED W.C. WHEN I WAS A KID. HE ALWAYS MADE ME LAUGH. I LOVE HIM.

  • @eclecticx
    @eclecticx Год назад +3

    He had extraordinary wit and was a comedic genius with incredible delivery.

  • @Watcherrye
    @Watcherrye 3 года назад +51

    "I rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy."

    • @toddklempan105
      @toddklempan105 3 года назад +2

      Funny, I always knew it as, “I’d rather have a free bottle in front of me than a pre-frontal lobotomy”.

    • @keithperdue4993
      @keithperdue4993 3 года назад +1

      @@toddklempan105 Me too!

    • @TheloniousCube
      @TheloniousCube 3 года назад +1

      Not a Fields quote, though

    • @antilogism
      @antilogism 3 года назад

      @@TheloniousCube Groucho---I think.

    • @TheloniousCube
      @TheloniousCube 3 года назад

      @@antilogism No, I don't think so - Groucho wasn't much of a drinker. Some have attributed it to Dorothy Parker, but there doesn't seem to be good evidence for any particular story at this point

  • @erikramaekers63
    @erikramaekers63 3 года назад +25

    "I spent half my money on gambling, alcohol, and wild women.The other half I wasted"

  • @brianharbut4054
    @brianharbut4054 3 года назад +3

    Incredibly talented man. Much misunderstood I think. Made me cry with laughter. An absolute genius at slapstick. RIP 🙏🏼

  • @tomgardner8825
    @tomgardner8825 9 дней назад +1

    I am 72. nobody has ever made me laugh harder and as often . legend in his time

  • @dogsbark5750
    @dogsbark5750 3 года назад +16

    I grew up blocks from where he lived. My neighbor lived next to his son growing up and we have great conversations about Fields, Marx Bros, Stooges, early Disney, Jimmy Stewart, ect... we both agreed the Bank Dick is far and away his best comedy where he really pushed it(he named the bar the Black Pussy Cafe in dialogue but wrote as the Black Pussy Cat Cafe on the windows) and its a gift is probably his best movie.the international house has a few great fields lines and the always great Cab Callaway.

    • @spiff8862
      @spiff8862 3 года назад

      In 1993 his Toluca Lake (North Hollywood, Ca) home was cut up and moved to Sylmar, Ca (14 miles North of Toluca Lake) to be used as a Child Care Center named "My Little Chickadee".

  • @kaprentice
    @kaprentice 3 года назад +5

    I have almost every full length and short film of him. Have been watching his stuff for over fifty years

  • @ratboygenius
    @ratboygenius Год назад +1

    Long ago I had a cassette tape of old time radio show clips of W.C. Fields and I thought he was hilarious. On the Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy show, Fields would (evidently) go off script leaving Edgar Bergen scrambling to recover his own show while the live audience was roaring with laughter.

  • @1LSWilliam
    @1LSWilliam Год назад +3

    Great reportage! We thank you. Chaplin, Keaton, and Fields forever solidified the Ancient Greek Cynic Performist Tradition as the hallmark of the genius of American Humor, to which the Marx Brothers, George Burns, Oliver and Hardy, Will Rogers, and just a few others, would provide depth and subtlety while playing the same old tune. Nothing conparable exists today. Thank God much of this celluloid was preserved.

    • @caraqueno
      @caraqueno 5 месяцев назад

      You forgot Gracie Allen.

  • @KendrickHarrisKenfinity
    @KendrickHarrisKenfinity 3 года назад +23

    Well let's see what we have here my little "chick-a-dee"! It's awesome to find out so much about our unique and clever performer. Stay safe and keep doing what you're doing!

  • @Pynaegan
    @Pynaegan 3 года назад +8

    My music teacher (back in elementary school) had a caricature of W.C. Fields displayed on his office wall. The caption stated: "Anyone who hates music *and* children, can't be *all* bad."

  • @johnmc67
    @johnmc67 9 месяцев назад +1

    W.C….undoubtedly one of the GOATS.

  • @sexygogetter
    @sexygogetter Год назад +1

    I used to love watching WC Fields as a youngster in the 70’s & as a kid I laughed out loud

  • @singaporesammy
    @singaporesammy 3 года назад +27

    Fields also had a legendary comic feud with Charlie McCarthy. I'm not sure why a ventriloquist had a radio show, but it was always great when Fields was a guest.

    • @jackdeath
      @jackdeath 3 года назад +1

      Clowns, jugglers, ventriloquists, and magicians compete for work at birthday parties. They're all natural enemies.

    • @dennisanderson3895
      @dennisanderson3895 3 года назад +1

      The radio show hd a live audience; enjoying the witty, sharp comedic banter would also inspire folks to want to get to a performance!

    • @rogerbarton497
      @rogerbarton497 3 года назад +1

      We had a radio show featuring a ventriloquist in the UK called "Educating Archie" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educating_Archie

    • @jamesbailey5350
      @jamesbailey5350 3 года назад

      Edgar Bergen, Candice's father, was a truly artless ventriloquist. The characters were popular, but his technique was lousy. You can catch him moving his lips in "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man."

  • @ODCDragon88
    @ODCDragon88 3 года назад +16

    I've always loved W.C. Fields. My perfect Saturday is home alone, lights out, cold beer in hand and W.C. Fields on the TV. That's the 2 hour recharge a man can get......

  • @jonathanchartrand3351
    @jonathanchartrand3351 9 месяцев назад +1

    The narrator says that Fields' movies were some of the greatest in that era. His films are some of the best in that era, this era, and future ones to come.

  • @1968joseph1
    @1968joseph1 3 года назад +2

    "Go away Kid! You bother me." I've laughed about that for 50 years.

  • @MCham52
    @MCham52 3 года назад +7

    An absolute and total comedy genius!! His movies are just terrific!!

  • @Gappasaurus
    @Gappasaurus 3 года назад +21

    3:10 I would so rock a cane if i had skills like that 😄 Truly a legend of comedy.

  • @ketami2
    @ketami2 3 года назад +1

    I found DVDs of his work for my grandfather years ago and we watched them together! He was awesome! I also found dvds of our gang!

  • @bodeker99
    @bodeker99 3 года назад +6

    "I feel as useful as a pickpocket at a nudist colony"

  • @SirSmoldham
    @SirSmoldham 3 года назад +16

    W.C. Fields is the bomb. I've seen all of his films (including the shorts) and still play an L.P. of his only audio recording that he made just before he passed away of his "Temperance Lecture" and "The Day He Drank a Glass of Water" with Mae West singing as a bonus. Excellent video.

    • @briggsquantum
      @briggsquantum Год назад +3

      I've got "The Temperance Lecture" on an LP released in the late 1960's. It was funny then to a 15 year old, and even funnier now that I drink.

    • @OKFrax-ys2op
      @OKFrax-ys2op Год назад

      Aren’t you still watching them🤔

  • @thegingergyrl455
    @thegingergyrl455 3 года назад +5

    He always reminds me of a couple of my great uncles. I used to laugh at their antics when I was a young girl.

  • @davidcullen6797
    @davidcullen6797 3 года назад +1

    Thank you for this. My mother and her father were huge Fields fans at the time he was making films. Grandpa would spirit Mom away to the theater to catch a film and they'd spend the rest of the day repeating favorite lines....all to the tut-tutting of my grandmother. My mother transferred this Fieldsian enchantment to me and my siblings when I was a young teen -- back in the early 1960s. I can't begin to tell you how many hours we spent watching Fields films on the afternoon matinee channel or late at night. Most of my high school years were spent emulating Fields, mastering his voice, his jokes, his moves. To this day, all it takes is a tip of the hand and a curl of the lip and my brothers and sisters start to laugh, remembering those days when in carefree spirit we roared with laughter at Fields and his antics.

  • @peterchristensen9585
    @peterchristensen9585 2 года назад +1

    Even at 74, he was "before my time" and I've never known much about him though I've always known of him. Thank you!

  • @MsLeenite
    @MsLeenite 3 года назад +9

    Another good 'un, Joe - thanks! I agree with you about It's a Gift. It's my favorite Fields movie. That epic sequence where he's trying to take a nap on the balcony of his apartment, and is interrupted by a parade of obnoxious and annoying people, is one of my favorite film sequences of all time. Annoying Man: Well the fella I'm talking about is a railroad man, he leaves home very early in the morning." Fields: "Then he's a fool."

    • @HatsOffEntertainment
      @HatsOffEntertainment  3 года назад

      Thanks for watching!

    • @aidandalton7404
      @aidandalton7404 3 года назад

      I happened to see that movie on TCM about 6 months ago, channel hopping and came across it,absolutely fantastic and it has a magical power to hold one's attention. I really enjoyed it. God bless the man. Classic. 🙂😄

    • @emitindustries8304
      @emitindustries8304 3 года назад +2

      Oh, Mr. Vegetable Gentleman!

    • @galessi1226
      @galessi1226 3 года назад +2

      I worked 30 years as a Vegetable Gentleman....ie produce clerk.....and whenever we got kumquats in ( about 4 weeks per year) I would relive that scene in my mind .....2 times I actually heard customers repeating "What About My Kumquats!!!"... Outloud to themselves...both times I waited a minute or two....and then came up to the customer and inquired...." Do you know a Mr. Carl La Fong?"....

    • @TheloniousCube
      @TheloniousCube 3 года назад +1

      @@galessi1226 Capital L small A Capital F small O small N small G Carl LaFong?

  • @adrianrosenlund-hudson8789
    @adrianrosenlund-hudson8789 3 года назад +20

    One of the best. Even your short documentary had me howling with laughter. Always been a fan of WC Fields 😂

  • @sgtjeff56
    @sgtjeff56 Год назад +1

    The Bank Dick has always been one of my favorite comedies!!