Even though comedian W. C. Fields was a well known dipsomaniac, he never let his drinking get in the way of a good performance in front of the movie camera. Mae West, 46, who hadn't made a film in over two years, was asked to co-star with Fields in February 1940 "My Little Chickadee." Frowning upon drinking and drinkers, West was hesitant to accept the assignment. She insisted Universal Pictures write a clause in her contract that if Fields was drunk on the set, she could step away until he sobered up. The studio agreed.
That began what both acknowledge was an acrimonious production between the two. Fields had previously described West as "a plumber's idea of Cleopatra." They never talked to one other except when on camera together. Edward Cline, who had directed Fields in a couple of earlier movies including his 1939 "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man," described the atmosphere on the set of "My Little Chickadee" as " I'm not directing them, I'm refereeing." Fields was known to take a nip or two between takes as well as several drinks during lunch. One day, returning to his dressing room to get a noontime refreshment, he saw his new whiskey bottle opened and half empty. He stormed out to the set and yelled to the film crew, "Who took the cork out of my lunch?" In a later interview Mae claimed she did close down the filming because of W. C.'s tipsiness. But actor Dick Foran defended Fields, saying "the fellow drank all the time, but I never saw him drunk."
The script process was also an ordeal. West and Fields were normally writers of their own dialogue and screen treatments. For "My Little Chickadee," both tried to dominate the content within the screenplay. Producer Lester Cowan compromised by giving West the ability to write the framework of the script, with each drawing up their own scenarios and dialogue. Humphrey Bogart remembered reading the script when he was offered the part of the Masked Bandit/Jeff Badger, ultimately played by Joseph Calieia. The actor noticed while reading his character's lines a note would be inserted, "'The following ten pages to be supplied by W. C. Fields.,'" Bogie said. "Then I would read more of the lines followed with another note, 'The following ten pages to be supplied by Mae West.'" Fields drove West nuts when they shared the same scenes together. He loved to ad-lib while she was always carefully prepared, insisting on saying every word as it was written in the script.
Universal Pictures executives wanted to duplicate the great box office results of James Stewart and Marlene's Dietrich's wildly successful light-hearted Western, 1939's "Destry Rides Again." They felt with the two top comedians acting in a similar vein, "My Little Chickadee" would be a surefire hit (In fact, Universal used the same saloon set seen in its Jimmy Stewart movie.). Their hunch was correct. The comedy proved to be Fields' biggest financial bonanza in his movie profession. Film reviewer Patrick Nash wrote, "Mae West and W. C. Fields were a comedy dream team. I can't think of another movie that starred two such completely unique powerhouse comics."
West plays Flowers Belle Lee, a singer from Chicago who is traveling out west to visit relatives when her stagecoach is held up by a masked bandit. He kidnaps Flowers, and later returns her to the nearest town. She describes her ordeal with a smile. "I was in a tight spot but I managed to wiggle out of it." She boards a train where, after personally taking charge of fending off an Indian raid, sees card shark Cuthbert J. Twillie (Fields) with a bag of money from his winnings. She arranges a fake wedding to obtain the cash, which leads to a hilarious honeymoon and very unusual sleeping arrangements-including one with a goat. Margaret Hamilton of "The Wizard of Oz" plays a busy-body who snitches on Flowers' nightly rendezvous with the Masked Bandit.
Mae West hoped "My Little Chickadee's" success would rejuvenate her career just as Dietrich's enjoyed with "Destry Rides Again." Unfortunately for the former burlesque entertainer, her next movie, 1943's 'The Heat's On,' which she had no script input, was a flop. She turned to lucrative acts on the stage and in nightclubs, avoiding Hollywood for the next 27 years until her return in 1970's 'Myra Breckinridge,' when she was in her mid-80s. "My Chickadee" would always be remembered for Field's closing line "Why don't you come up and see me sometime," a quote West made famous in her 1933 "She Done Him Wrong."
That began what both acknowledge was an acrimonious production between the two. Fields had previously described West as "a plumber's idea of Cleopatra." They never talked to one other except when on camera together. Edward Cline, who had directed Fields in a couple of earlier movies including his 1939 "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man," described the atmosphere on the set of "My Little Chickadee" as " I'm not directing them, I'm refereeing." Fields was known to take a nip or two between takes as well as several drinks during lunch. One day, returning to his dressing room to get a noontime refreshment, he saw his new whiskey bottle opened and half empty. He stormed out to the set and yelled to the film crew, "Who took the cork out of my lunch?" In a later interview Mae claimed she did close down the filming because of W. C.'s tipsiness. But actor Dick Foran defended Fields, saying "the fellow drank all the time, but I never saw him drunk."
The script process was also an ordeal. West and Fields were normally writers of their own dialogue and screen treatments. For "My Little Chickadee," both tried to dominate the content within the screenplay. Producer Lester Cowan compromised by giving West the ability to write the framework of the script, with each drawing up their own scenarios and dialogue. Humphrey Bogart remembered reading the script when he was offered the part of the Masked Bandit/Jeff Badger, ultimately played by Joseph Calieia. The actor noticed while reading his character's lines a note would be inserted, "'The following ten pages to be supplied by W. C. Fields.,'" Bogie said. "Then I would read more of the lines followed with another note, 'The following ten pages to be supplied by Mae West.'" Fields drove West nuts when they shared the same scenes together. He loved to ad-lib while she was always carefully prepared, insisting on saying every word as it was written in the script.
Universal Pictures executives wanted to duplicate the great box office results of James Stewart and Marlene's Dietrich's wildly successful light-hearted Western, 1939's "Destry Rides Again." They felt with the two top comedians acting in a similar vein, "My Little Chickadee" would be a surefire hit (In fact, Universal used the same saloon set seen in its Jimmy Stewart movie.). Their hunch was correct. The comedy proved to be Fields' biggest financial bonanza in his movie profession. Film reviewer Patrick Nash wrote, "Mae West and W. C. Fields were a comedy dream team. I can't think of another movie that starred two such completely unique powerhouse comics."
West plays Flowers Belle Lee, a singer from Chicago who is traveling out west to visit relatives when her stagecoach is held up by a masked bandit. He kidnaps Flowers, and later returns her to the nearest town. She describes her ordeal with a smile. "I was in a tight spot but I managed to wiggle out of it." She boards a train where, after personally taking charge of fending off an Indian raid, sees card shark Cuthbert J. Twillie (Fields) with a bag of money from his winnings. She arranges a fake wedding to obtain the cash, which leads to a hilarious honeymoon and very unusual sleeping arrangements-including one with a goat. Margaret Hamilton of "The Wizard of Oz" plays a busy-body who snitches on Flowers' nightly rendezvous with the Masked Bandit.
Mae West hoped "My Little Chickadee's" success would rejuvenate her career just as Dietrich's enjoyed with "Destry Rides Again." Unfortunately for the former burlesque entertainer, her next movie, 1943's 'The Heat's On,' which she had no script input, was a flop. She turned to lucrative acts on the stage and in nightclubs, avoiding Hollywood for the next 27 years until her return in 1970's 'Myra Breckinridge,' when she was in her mid-80s. "My Chickadee" would always be remembered for Field's closing line "Why don't you come up and see me sometime," a quote West made famous in her 1933 "She Done Him Wrong."