Stage comedian W. C. Fields spent years on the vaudeville circuit perfecting his comedic dialogue and his juggling tricks. As his popularity grew, so did his presence on the Broadway stage, especially his skits with the Ziegfeld Follies from 1916 until 1922. He starred in the wildly successful Broadway musical comedy 'Poppy' in 1923, playing his schtick for over 340 straight performances.
It was this play that Fields secured his first feature film lead in D. W. Griffith's August 1925 "Sally of the Sawdust." Fields plays a circus juggler and hustler who's left with a little girl. As she lay dying, her mother, a good friend of Professor McGargle (Fields), gave him her daughter, Sally, to raise. The little girl grows up to be a circus dancer (Carol Dempster). Griffith pours on his trademark sentimentality when the two return to the mother's hometown in Connecticut, where her father, a judge, had years earlier thrown out her daughter because she was marrying a circus performer. The movie also allowed Fields to showcase his juggling talent, whipping balls and objects to the amazement of the circus crowd.
Fields by this time had developed his acting persona that would carry him throughout his film career, with the exception of a clip-on mustache he gave up after his first talking pictures. He adopted his fake mustache on stage to aggravate his audiences since he knew they hated it on him. The other exception to his future screen personality was in "Sally of the Sawdust" the script called for him to be a loving surrogate parent to the young Sally. In his later movies children gave him the heebe-jeebies. "Sally of the Sawdust" was a big hit and launched Fields' career in film. He made eight more silent movies before being one of the few actors of that era to make a successful transition into sound films.
After Griffith left United Artist, Paramount Pictures hired the director, with the proviso that his tight scripts had to be completed on time and under budget. The director had seen Fields on stage in 'Polly,' and adapted the play for film. In Griffith's next movie, the now-lost December 1925 'That Royle Girl,' he brought in Fields in the middle of the production for comic relief. Fields' character is Dempster's inebriated stepfather. Paramount loved Fields' performance so much in that movie as well as "Sally of the Sawdust" the company signed the actor for lead roles in a series of feature films.
It was this play that Fields secured his first feature film lead in D. W. Griffith's August 1925 "Sally of the Sawdust." Fields plays a circus juggler and hustler who's left with a little girl. As she lay dying, her mother, a good friend of Professor McGargle (Fields), gave him her daughter, Sally, to raise. The little girl grows up to be a circus dancer (Carol Dempster). Griffith pours on his trademark sentimentality when the two return to the mother's hometown in Connecticut, where her father, a judge, had years earlier thrown out her daughter because she was marrying a circus performer. The movie also allowed Fields to showcase his juggling talent, whipping balls and objects to the amazement of the circus crowd.
Fields by this time had developed his acting persona that would carry him throughout his film career, with the exception of a clip-on mustache he gave up after his first talking pictures. He adopted his fake mustache on stage to aggravate his audiences since he knew they hated it on him. The other exception to his future screen personality was in "Sally of the Sawdust" the script called for him to be a loving surrogate parent to the young Sally. In his later movies children gave him the heebe-jeebies. "Sally of the Sawdust" was a big hit and launched Fields' career in film. He made eight more silent movies before being one of the few actors of that era to make a successful transition into sound films.
After Griffith left United Artist, Paramount Pictures hired the director, with the proviso that his tight scripts had to be completed on time and under budget. The director had seen Fields on stage in 'Polly,' and adapted the play for film. In Griffith's next movie, the now-lost December 1925 'That Royle Girl,' he brought in Fields in the middle of the production for comic relief. Fields' character is Dempster's inebriated stepfather. Paramount loved Fields' performance so much in that movie as well as "Sally of the Sawdust" the company signed the actor for lead roles in a series of feature films.