I met Fields' granddaughter years ago when the Film Forum in NYC ran a program of his classics. I asked her if audiences were offended by his making fun of disabled people and she replied No, they loved it! KUMQUATS!!!
The more I see of W C Fields as get older, the more I realise just how superior his comedy was. I never liked Chaplin much but adored Stan & Ollie when I was younger. but W C Fields is on a level all of his own.
The real difference is they didn't have vulgarity to fall back on to get laughs, so they had to use actual wit and humour -- packing more into each bit. .
@NR,WC was in a class by himself,but so we’re the 3 Stooges,Laurel and Hardy and many others. Back then it took talent to get into films and actors and comedians had unique personalities that set them apart from others. WC was genuinely funny and witty. Nothing vulgar or stupid in these shows
Chaplin more of a dramatic actor. Pathos. More important to film history. He was funny too of course, but Fields is out of this world hilarious. Precursor to Rickles, Dangerfield, and if only because of his physicality perhaps Candy and Farley. And before WC wasFatty Arbuckle!
It is brilliant how Fields casually slipped in the line that Mr.Muckle is house detective at the Grand Hotel! Imagine Mr.Muckle cracking a case of a missing necklace. I would love to see that. How often do comedians get you to laugh at something by asking you to imagine that?!!!
When I heard that line it made me think that a lot of naughtiness went on at the hotel and the local men did everything they could to maintain Mr. Muckle's continued employment.
It simply does not get any better than this. Fields is THE master of slow burn comedy. 50 years of viewing this movie and I still laugh my arse off every time I watch it. Thanks!
It's true! I've lost count of how many times I've seen this movie, and it still makes me laugh as much as ever. Thanks for posting this and thanks to W.C. Fields and his supporting actors for sharing their gifts.
1:51 "Sit down Mr. Muckle, honey....sit down" One of the most brilliant lines ever spoken by an actor. Because W.C. Fields' character is so henpecked and dominated by his nag wife, that he is used to saying "Yes, honey" or "OK honey" so much that he doesn't realize that he has incorporated the phrase into his normal speaking to other people, even Mr. Muckle. No other actor has ever incorporated such a mannerism or character trait into a role like that. W.C.Fields was brilliant !!
No. It wasn't considered unusual for a person to say "honey" to a person as a term of endearment regardless of gender. He also calls him '"dear" The prohibition against using any kind of term of endearment between men began in the mid to late 20th century.
The first WC Fields scene I have ever seen, and easily the funniest thing I've seen so far this month. Amazed I haven't checked out his stuff before. I can see how he influenced a great many, even felt some moments of Kids in the Hall and Reeves and Mortimer in here.
If you only ever see one W.C. Fields picture, this is the one to see. It's one great set-piece like this after another. GREAT scene while he tries to take a nap on his back porch. Another unreal piece of work is the breakfast table scene. Now. I WANT KUMQUATS!!!
In "it's a gift" his wife says, after he is badgered and ignored and there is nothing left to eat at the dinner table, - " aren't my thoughts and feelings ever to be considered?!".... so funny! One of the funniest movies ever!
Dr Joey This is the funniest movie ever made. Almost every scene is a classic. My favorite line: When his wife berates him for running into a statue, he says 'She ran right out in front of the car!'
WC Fields movies were usually played late at night on some obscure TV channel, probably UHF (I bet most don't even know what that is), before that days of cable TV. I watched while in bed, and had to contain my laughter so as not to wake up the wife and kids. That was impossible. The whole bed shook and so did the rest of the house, and I woke up everyone anyway. I've been watching a lot of his movie scenes on RUclips this weekend and my gut hurts from all the laughing. What a genius!
I also loved the rows of Corn Flakes. Also, the big meat grinder on the counter. But it's hard to imagine anyone ever thought it was a good idea to stack light bulbs like that..ha, ha!
The comedic work of this man needs to be rediscovered by a modern audience. We all know Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello and the rest but for some reason this guy gets the least attention and yet his humor is probably more relatable today than the others I just mentioned. He is the "everyman". Lost in a world of people who care only for their own selfish interest and put upon by those constantly demanding more from him. Whether it is a demanding customer or a man totally oblivious to the damage he causes others, W.C Field's character manages to capture both the frustration and the humor of living in such a world. Most of us would agree that we also live in the world just portrayed in this short clip.
This movie is a classic! I always laugh at the part at the end where W.C. Fields is so relieved he falls into the trash can and that one man and the two women behind him are just standing there pointing and laughing at him. 😆😆😆😆
One of my favorite scenes from my favorite W.C. Fields movie. Still funny after seeing many times. Just realized today that Fields dropped Mr. Muckle's gum while wrapping it in that oversize piece of paper! Fields was a master incorporating subtle asides that you would only catch after watching his movies a second (or in my case, a dozen or so) more times.
Never heard of Kumquats before I saw this , ( about 40 years ago ) it just wouldn't work as well with anything else WC and all the cast in magnificent firm absolute genius and the best Micawber ever in David Copperfield
MR Muckle is the house detective at the grand hotel. Thing about WC is he is so natural in his movies along with the actors that perform with him. He was also good friends with Shemp who from the 3 stooges, drinking buddies
It is not often that a blind man is allowed to be the star of a comedy sequence (one of the funniest on screen) but it took a misanthrope such as W.C Fields to make it.
Love the 3 or 4 sketches Fields did trying to play golf. The paper the pie and caddy is pure genius. About lost my breathing laughing so hard. Check them out.
Wow, have you had any knowledgeable person try to appraise it or maybe give a written opinion of its authenticity_or perhaps it came with some sort of documentation. I ask only because my guess would be-and it IS just my ignorant guess-that he wasn't the type of guy to put up with being pestered for an autograph, and assuming this WAS the case (that is, his being reluctant to do much autographing) then you might have something that's not just a wonderful keepsake and heirloom, but a thing that's worth a pretty penny as well! Anywhosits, congratulations on a really great find!
I love it-he makes a disabled person look dangerous. it's right up there with robert rodregez's Planet Terror, part of grindhouse. I think this is the funniest of all Fields' stuff.
a stationery store in Binghamton NY , had the contraption strung across the ceiling like the one shown in this film. this was forty years ago and the store was closing at the time.
I'd love to see one. They were called by a number of names such as "cash carriers," "basket carriers," "rapid wire systems," "cash railways," etc. A company named Lamson made them. There's a video here: ruclips.net/video/bcFUE3n7p1U/видео.html
that's very interesting because I didn't know precisely the purpose of these ceiling strung baskets, orders, cash, goods? the store was so old fashioned I knew I'd never see it again. I bought what was then a twenty year plus years old Hop a long Cassidy ring binder. And I still have that binder.
Story goes that one of W.C. Fields' drinking buddies (weren't they all?) made a bet with him that he couldn't make a blind man funny. Fields won the bet.
No one but Fields could have done this. John Cleese has gone on the record saying this is the peak of film comedy...twist it a few degrees and we have a scene from Fawlty Towers!
andy massingham That's what I thought when watching this, the Fawlty Towers one called 'A touch of class" where Basil is grovelling around Lord Melbury and ignoring a guest family at the hotel.
Sorry to correct you but the screenplay credit is to Jack Cunningham & J. P. MC evoy. This Issa. When Fields used the pen name Charles Bogle. Mahatma Kane Jeeves was his nom de plume on the bank dick and never give a sucker an even break, two of his last Motion Pictures.
I heard this scene written to win a bet. Someone bet WCF that he couldn't get people to laugh at a blind man. WCF made the blind man a threat so people wouldn't feel sorry for him and could laugh at him.
I can promise you Mr. Muckle is a record collector! I know at home he has a Victrola filled with hot jazz records from 1925 that he listens to every night through his hearing trumpet!
@migrantbison Not to worry. I loved Fields when I was a kid, and now that I'm NOT a kid (64) I still love him. I know he abused booze, smoked, and hated kids, but that doesn't take away from his comic genius. In our PC world of today, many would poo poo his genius, but I HATE PC and love everything he ever did. This was a man before his time.
I'm very tolerant and understanding when it comes to physical handicaps given that I possess a few myself. Mr. Murkle or Merkle or whatever his moniker has shown me my limitations on that subject. The character is cast and performed brilliantly, superbly. That decrepit curmudgeon makes me forget my considerations and caring feelings, and brings out the fist clinching frustrations I have obviously been saving for a person like Mr. Murkle. The actor deserves an Oscar.
Much like Talk Like a Pirate Day, January 29th (Fields's birthday) is International Talk Like W. C. Fields Day. If you're on Twitter, use the hashtag #TalkLikeWCFieldsDay. If you're on Facebook, check it out here: facebook.com/events/689887441123983
The best documentary ever produced on what it's like to work in retail.
"What about my KUMQUATS?!"
I met Fields' granddaughter years ago when the Film Forum in NYC ran a program of his classics. I asked her if audiences were offended by his making fun of disabled people and she replied
No, they loved it!
KUMQUATS!!!
Probably my favorite Fields movie, so many classic scenes.
The more I see of W C Fields as get older, the more I realise just how superior his comedy was. I never liked Chaplin much but adored Stan & Ollie when I was younger. but W C Fields is on a level all of his own.
The real difference is they didn't have vulgarity to fall back on to get laughs, so they had to use actual wit and humour -- packing more into each bit. .
@NR,WC was in a class by himself,but so we’re the 3 Stooges,Laurel and Hardy and many others. Back then it took talent to get into films and actors and comedians had unique personalities that set them apart from others. WC was genuinely funny and witty. Nothing vulgar or stupid in these shows
I just discovered his this evening and his timing and tone is amazing!
Chaplin more of a dramatic actor. Pathos. More important to film history. He was funny too of course, but Fields is out of this world hilarious. Precursor to Rickles, Dangerfield, and if only because of his physicality perhaps Candy and Farley. And before WC wasFatty Arbuckle!
Interesting; I've never warmed up to Chaplin either, but Buster Keaton -- ! -- he was a god.
It is brilliant how Fields casually slipped in the line that Mr.Muckle is house detective at the Grand Hotel! Imagine Mr.Muckle cracking a case of a missing necklace. I would love to see that. How often do comedians get you to laugh at something by asking you to imagine that?!!!
When I heard that line it made me think that a lot of naughtiness went on at the hotel and the local men did everything they could to maintain Mr. Muckle's continued employment.
It simply does not get any better than this. Fields is THE master of slow burn comedy. 50 years of viewing this movie and I still laugh my arse off every time I watch it.
Thanks!
Why is this pure gold? Because it was done some eighty years ago and still as funny as hell! True comedy is timeless.
It's true! I've lost count of how many times I've seen this movie, and it still makes me laugh as much as ever. Thanks for posting this and thanks to W.C. Fields and his supporting actors for sharing their gifts.
Us comedy in films and TV were much better pre 80s
Yes like most art forms until the world was globalized.
As a cashier this is more cringe worthyand stressfull than comedy☹
1:51 "Sit down Mr. Muckle, honey....sit down" One of the most brilliant lines ever spoken by an actor. Because W.C. Fields' character is so henpecked and dominated by his nag wife, that he is used to saying "Yes, honey" or "OK honey" so much that he doesn't realize that he has incorporated the phrase into his normal speaking to other people, even Mr. Muckle. No other actor has ever incorporated such a mannerism or character trait into a role like that. W.C.Fields was brilliant !!
No. It wasn't considered unusual for a person to say "honey" to a person as a term of endearment regardless of gender. He also calls him '"dear" The prohibition against using any kind of term of endearment between men began in the mid to late 20th century.
The first WC Fields scene I have ever seen, and easily the funniest thing I've seen so far this month. Amazed I haven't checked out his stuff before. I can see how he influenced a great many, even felt some moments of Kids in the Hall and Reeves and Mortimer in here.
SIT DOWN HONEY...SIT DOWN MR. MUCKLE! Love Field's use of the word "Honey!"
Absolutely brilliant W C Fields is a legend
If you only ever see one W.C. Fields picture, this is the one to see. It's one great set-piece like this after another. GREAT scene while he tries to take a nap on his back porch. Another unreal piece of work is the breakfast table scene.
Now. I WANT KUMQUATS!!!
In "it's a gift" his wife says, after he is badgered and ignored and there is nothing left to eat at the dinner table, - " aren't my thoughts and feelings ever to be considered?!".... so funny! One of the funniest movies ever!
Dr Joey This is the funniest movie ever made. Almost every scene is a classic. My favorite line: When his wife berates him for running into a statue, he says 'She ran right out in front of the car!'
WC Fields movies were usually played late at night on some obscure TV channel, probably UHF (I bet most don't even know what that is), before that days of cable TV. I watched while in bed, and had to contain my laughter so as not to wake up the wife and kids. That was impossible. The whole bed shook and so did the rest of the house, and I woke up everyone anyway. I've been watching a lot of his movie scenes on RUclips this weekend and my gut hurts from all the laughing. What a genius!
I just saw this and was cracking up. "Sit Down Mr Muckle please sit down" Ha!
Non-stop funny. Genius. The godfather of comedy. The king of comedy. Mr. comedy. Any way you wanna put it.
Offthbadan I will
This scene made me laugh really hard the first time I saw it. I was a kid and my dad was introducing me to the comic brilliance of W.C. Fields.
"Here`s your chewing gum!"
"I'm not gonna lug that with me....send it."
This has stood the test
of time which is why it’s classic. Look how many others he has influenced and ask them if this isn’t brilliant.
Setups and tag lines orchestrated, acted and directed...beautifully. Good for today's market? Network ready? I think so. and no laugh track needed.
The signature scene in a hilarious movie --doesn't get much better than this
the house detective at the hotel.... priceless!
Totally classic. Love the way the light bulbs are stacked :). Great shot of Kellogg's Corn Flakes boxes too.
I also loved the rows of Corn Flakes. Also, the big meat grinder on the counter. But it's hard to imagine anyone ever thought it was a good idea to stack light bulbs like that..ha, ha!
And of course the brilliance of blind man light bulbs.
Those light bulbs were a catastrophe waiting to happen lol
Words can't describe the genius of his comedy
Only W.C, Fields could get humor from a blind & deaf man by making him a threat!
When he yelled Everett into the ear trumpet I cried with laughter
W.C. Fields Was A Set In Hollywood Actor And Will Always Have Fans Around The World !!
The man was a comedic genius!
The comedic work of this man needs to be rediscovered by a modern audience. We all know Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Abbot and Costello and the rest but for some reason this guy gets the least attention and yet his humor is probably more relatable today than the others I just mentioned.
He is the "everyman". Lost in a world of people who care only for their own selfish interest and put upon by those constantly demanding more from him. Whether it is a demanding customer or a man totally oblivious to the damage he causes others, W.C Field's character manages to capture both the frustration and the humor of living in such a world.
Most of us would agree that we also live in the world just portrayed in this short clip.
Now THIS is comedy! WHY AREN'T NEW FILMS AS GOOD AS THIS??? THANKS FOR THE POST.
This movie is a classic! I always laugh at the part at the end where W.C. Fields is so relieved he falls into the trash can and that one man and the two women behind him are just standing there pointing and laughing at him. 😆😆😆😆
One of my favorite scenes from my favorite W.C. Fields movie. Still funny after seeing many times. Just realized today that Fields dropped Mr. Muckle's gum while wrapping it in that oversize piece of paper! Fields was a master incorporating subtle asides that you would only catch after watching his movies a second (or in my case, a dozen or so) more times.
Never heard of Kumquats before I saw this , ( about 40 years ago ) it just wouldn't work as well with anything else WC and all the cast in magnificent firm absolute genius and the best Micawber ever in David Copperfield
Best scene in the movie, I have ever seen. You need no words to understand.
It's a Gift. Imho the greatest comedy movie of all time and the best movie from 1934. He was he Babe Ruth of comedy.
He shouts for his assistant into the man's ear trumpet! Had to see that a few times!
One of the funniest pictures EVER!!! WC Fields was a master.
as someone who worked retail for 8 years, this is surprisingly accurate.
MR Muckle is the house detective at the grand hotel. Thing about WC is he is so natural in his movies along with the actors that perform with him. He was also good friends with Shemp who from the 3 stooges, drinking buddies
I've never seen a W.C. Fields film, thanks to you I see what I've been missing now I must check him out, thanks .
one of funniest movies scenes-this is the best of wc fields--you got that door closed again,huh......
And not a single obscenity in all this gut busting humor.
MrTommy001
Thank you for notiscing
I was cursing plenty. I woulda thrown the blind glassbreaker out.
Omfg that was hilarious. No matter how many times I see it, this never ceases to be funny😂😂😂
It is not often that a blind man is allowed to be the star of a comedy sequence (one of the funniest on screen) but it took a misanthrope such as W.C Fields to make it.
Damn... he doesn't want to LUG home ONE friggin' piece of gum. Imagine a customer like that. You'd freakin' go nuts.
There's only one word, Kumquats!...comedy perfection.
Not just kumquats; "TEN POUNDS! OF KUMQUATS! " I wonder how many kumquats that would be?...
Just checked; 10 lbs. of kumquats is about ¼ bushel according to Florida Kumquat Growers Assn.
You're welcome...
I just finished watching this from the arts centre, everybody laughed their ass off!
Iam not going to lug that with me. Send it!!!.......Chewing Gum for the House Detective!!! A Classic Line😳
classic...this stuff is as funny today as the day it was made...
Thank you so much. A great w. C. Fields scene. Probably second only to La Fong
Love the 3 or 4 sketches Fields did trying to play golf. The paper the pie and caddy is pure genius. About lost my breathing laughing so hard. Check them out.
Anybody else notice that Mr. Muckle was handed an empty package? His gum fell out of the wrapping paper when the first bulb imploded!
"Just sit right there.... PLEASE sit right there!" Hillarious
This was the best WC Fields movie.
"Sit down Mr. Muckle..honey!" and "Dear!" LOL!!
I work in a supermarket, and this happens ALL the time. ;)
Loved him when I was a kid. This stuff never gets old!
Legend say he still waiting for his Kumquats
Fields was brilliant - I never realized how great he was 😂
The fucking house detective!🤣🤣🤣🤣
I'm here because I found an autographed W. C. Fields autographed photo at a garage sale!
Nick Venice has
Wow, have you had any knowledgeable person try to appraise it or maybe give a written opinion of its authenticity_or perhaps it came with some sort of documentation.
I ask only because my guess would be-and it IS just my ignorant guess-that he wasn't the type of guy to put up with being pestered for an autograph, and assuming this WAS the case (that is, his being reluctant to do much autographing) then you might have something that's not just a wonderful keepsake and heirloom, but a thing that's worth a pretty penny as well! Anywhosits, congratulations on a really great find!
what a find! congrats!
Your kidding!!! Did you REALLY???? Today is February 25th, 2019
Better check and make sure it's real
How could Hammond the shop assistant sleep through all this, LOLOL?
“You got that door closed again, huh?” 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Love this stuff...!!!
Dave F. Macias no
I love it-he makes a disabled person look dangerous. it's right up there with robert rodregez's Planet Terror, part of grindhouse. I think this is the funniest of all Fields' stuff.
Hilarious. Loved Charles Sellon (blind man) as curmudgeonly "Uncle Ned" in Shirley Temple's "Bright Eyes."
Is that the one where he bumps his way down a huge staircase in a wheelchair?
a stationery store in Binghamton NY , had the contraption strung across the ceiling like the one shown in this film. this was forty years ago and the store was closing at the time.
I'd love to see one. They were called by a number of names such as "cash carriers," "basket carriers," "rapid wire systems," "cash railways," etc. A company named Lamson made them. There's a video here:
ruclips.net/video/bcFUE3n7p1U/видео.html
that's very interesting because I didn't know precisely the purpose of these ceiling strung baskets, orders, cash, goods? the store was so old fashioned I knew I'd never see it again. I bought what was then a twenty year plus years old Hop a long Cassidy ring binder. And I still have that binder.
My favorite of all of his movies, although he is so great in all of them.
Insurpassable! Just brilliant!
Brilliant Fields!
Comedy masterpiece.
I remember seeing this on tv once
Brilliant.
Story goes that one of W.C. Fields' drinking buddies (weren't they all?) made a bet with him that he couldn't make a blind man funny. Fields won the bet.
This is just like working at Home Depot!
How can you pick the funniest? I think the funniest one is which ever one I'm watching.
greatest scene ever
No one but Fields could have done this. John Cleese has gone on the record saying this is the peak of film comedy...twist it a few degrees and we have a scene from Fawlty Towers!
andy massingham That's what I thought when watching this, the Fawlty Towers one called 'A touch of class" where Basil is grovelling around Lord Melbury and ignoring a guest family at the hotel.
Kumquat man clearly inspired this character
ruclips.net/video/Sh5Pm1CnDxo/видео.html
Cleese was an obvious student and fan of Fields. Cleese liked to amp up the violence. But they were comic brethren for sure. Fields was amazing.
Irene, Ellen & Mark loved mr merkle, guy waiting for kumquats. Helper-I told him i wouldn't do that. Classic Fields Hi Ellie
Mark Stengel - To funny. I love this type of humor. The whole thing is extremely funny.
My New Year's Eve must.
W.C Fields also Directed, AND wrote the story under the assumed name " Mahatma Kane Jeeves "
Yes, you are correct, sorry.
As in My Hat, my cane, Jeeves from wodehouse Jeeves stories and Aurthur Treacher movies.
Sorry to correct you but the screenplay credit is to Jack Cunningham & J. P. MC evoy. This Issa. When Fields used the pen name Charles Bogle. Mahatma Kane Jeeves was his nom de plume on the bank dick and never give a sucker an even break, two of his last Motion Pictures.
because Fields has a soft spot in his heart.
I heard this scene written to win a bet. Someone bet WCF that he couldn't get people to laugh at a blind man. WCF made the blind man a threat so people wouldn't feel sorry for him and could laugh at him.
I can promise you Mr. Muckle is a record collector! I know at home he has a Victrola filled with hot jazz records from 1925 that he listens to every night through his hearing trumpet!
Field's Best Movie
@migrantbison Not to worry. I loved Fields when I was a kid, and now that I'm NOT a kid (64) I still love him. I know he abused booze, smoked, and hated kids, but that doesn't take away from his comic genius. In our PC world of today, many would poo poo his genius, but I HATE PC and love everything he ever did. This was a man before his time.
Just for the record, Fields, the man, did not hate children.
Just give him the gum. I can't take it. He calls him Dear and Honey!
My favorite WC movie!
Love to see those Ford Model A's in a 1930s movie. 😁
That old tiller fire truck!!!
Incomparable......
Open the DOOOOOORRRR!!!!!!!!!!
Tha best above all!!
I live in the middle east, 'my dear' is an common way of addressing other men, even in business meetings. I don't but the locals do.
@HELLO2YOU3: It's just you. This is a riot. Comic genius.
The house detective!
Prying yourself out of the trash lol
2:25 - Nothing but wrapping paper, the gum pack is on the counter, lol.
I'm very tolerant and understanding when it comes to physical handicaps given that I possess a few myself. Mr. Murkle or Merkle or whatever his moniker has shown me my limitations on that subject. The character is cast and performed brilliantly, superbly. That decrepit curmudgeon makes me forget my considerations and caring feelings, and brings out the fist clinching frustrations I have obviously been saving for a person like Mr. Murkle.
The actor deserves an Oscar.
Much like Talk Like a Pirate Day, January 29th (Fields's birthday) is International Talk Like W. C. Fields Day. If you're on Twitter, use the hashtag #TalkLikeWCFieldsDay. If you're on Facebook, check it out here: facebook.com/events/689887441123983
“Sit down Mr. Muckle!, Sit down honey!”
“KUMQUATS!”
This was beautifully restored, does anyone know when and how it was done?
Brilliant
That's how I store my lightbulbs
When he takes his cane and waves it around right above the bulbs....i lose it every time.