W.C. Fields is one of my many gods of cinema. I've probably seen more of his films than most people, since I compulsively watched (and taped) all of his movies when he was TCM's Star of the Month last June. In fact, I did get a little sick of him from overexposure, and there are several I still need to watch. I just got the Criterion "6 Short Films" disc and watched the only two of them I hadn't seen, including The Pool Sharks. Well, this one is pretty lame. It's his first film, and it's a silent one. You would be absolutely right in thinking that the medium of silent films doesn't suit The Great Man at all. All this film is is gross slapstick. Some of it is funny, but nothing hilarious. It's very well worth seeing, especially for the surreal stop-motion animated pool ball scene. It's actually very difficult to tell what's going on in that sequence, but it looks neat. And if you watch it frame by frame, you will notice a goof: the animator's hands are caught in one of the shots on the left side of the screen! 6/10.
21 Reviews
Novelty Value Only
geoffparfitt20 March 2005
This silent movie is only really of interest to me as the first screen appearance of W.C. Fields. If Fields had not subsequently become the great movie comedian of twenty years later, I am sure this movie would be of no interest to me or others who have been drawn to watching it.
I hope that nobody comes to this movie expecting to see Fields' famous pool table routine that he frequently used through his successful stage career. Although the idea for this movie may have been to reproduce that routine for the screen, the final decision was to use animated shots of pool balls to create the comedy of that part of the film. For a screen appearance of Fields' pool table routine, go to the movie "Six of a Kind".
I hope that nobody comes to this movie expecting to see Fields' famous pool table routine that he frequently used through his successful stage career. Although the idea for this movie may have been to reproduce that routine for the screen, the final decision was to use animated shots of pool balls to create the comedy of that part of the film. For a screen appearance of Fields' pool table routine, go to the movie "Six of a Kind".
Early, Early Fields
Schlockmeister5 June 2001
This was, of course, the first moving picture featuring W. C. Fields. It is just so-so, if you didn't know who it was and if it wasn't so historical for being Fields' first, it probably would attract little attention. Fields truly was more a verbal performer, and it would take the advent of sound to truly cement his niche in motion picture history. But, as such, it is an interesting historical short, has a few chuckles, but little more. At the time Fields was working for the Ziegfeld Follies and was doing a similar trick pool table routine in his act (although how this could all have really been appreciated by a large audience in a huge theater, I have no idea...) and what is seen here is a camera trick version of what would have been accomplished mechanically on his rigged table. The pool game is the highlight of this short, the rest concerns vying for the attention of a woman at an outdoor picnic (no doubt using outdoors for the lighting). If you enjoy Fields and must see all of his work, or want to see his first efforts on film, definately worth seeking out.
Fields' first film
Marta4 September 2000
It's interesting to see this film finally. W.C. wears a bushy black mustache and looks a lot thinner than in his later movies. There's lots of slapstick and sight gags in this, since it's a silent film, and it even has the impressive use of stop motion in several scenes with the billiard balls. Incredibly, Fields looks a lot like Steve Martin, especially in the pool room sequence. Whether it's funny or not is hard to say. It was interesting, but not really funny. More of a curiosity piece, but worth seeing just the same.
Fields goes into the movies - some fun but still prehistoric
theowinthrop23 February 2007
Warning: Spoilers
"You Tube" offers an eight minute version of this film, which I watched tonight. POOL SHARKS is Field's first film role, and we see the man as a womanizer and a drinker. During a picnic, Fields sees his girlfriend, and tries to romance her - but so does his shorter, showier rival (who is wearing louder clothing). They both manage to destroy the girl's hammock (Fields gets eggs on the seat of his pants - not quite as funny as the sticky paper he got on his hands in THE GOLF SPECIALIST sixteen years later; his rival gets a needle in his pants). Both also put food from the picnic table onto the girl's plate, filling it up so that it is thoroughly inedible. Finally a boy shoots a spitball into Fields' eye causing him to poor coffee onto the girl's dress. While her friends comfort her and get her changed, the men at the party decide to have Fields and his rival play a pool game to settle the issue of who will get the girl.
The bulk of the film follows how Fields and his rival both play pool so well as to make it unlikely that either will win. This was the age of Mack Sennett, so that the pool balls are shown hitting the table and "stop - action" is used to make the balls split crazily, going into the pockets, but then reappearing and returning to their triangular initial position. Since the balls move so jerkily to us, the "special effects" are too prehistoric in practice to be good to us, and the joke (which probably was effective in 1915 to audiences then) is not good now. One wishes the film had an early master of such trickery like George Melies, but that is too much to wish for.
Finally the two rivals start using their pool cues as weapons on each other - with Fields seemingly the winner (he causes a pool ball to send his rival into a barrel of water outside the pool hall window). But another of the balls hits a fish bowl, spilling the contents on the girl. She comes in and starts belaboring Fields, but while the other men try to calm her down, Fields goes into the basement via a trap door. He finds booze downstairs, but hearing the people above trying to follow him, he leaves through the hurricane doors and walks away. That is how the film clip I saw ends.
Curious seeing him so young (born in 1879, Fields was all of 36 in this movie). He sports a disgusting looking mustache (almost like overgrown nose hair), and a "Cuthbert J. Twilly" top hat. He is adept at using his cane to hit his rival (like Charlie Chaplin, but not as poetic as Chaplin poking his rival Eric Campbell in the contemporary Mutual comedies). But his juggling abilities are not shown to great advantage except in one brief sequence when he is trying to re-stack some pool balls on a wall rack but they keep seeming to jump back out of their positions. Still one wishes more of that were in the film.
For an early look at the young Fields it is worth watching. To see the full blown comedian we came to love we would have to wait at least a decade - maybe fifteen years - to finally see him in fine form.
The bulk of the film follows how Fields and his rival both play pool so well as to make it unlikely that either will win. This was the age of Mack Sennett, so that the pool balls are shown hitting the table and "stop - action" is used to make the balls split crazily, going into the pockets, but then reappearing and returning to their triangular initial position. Since the balls move so jerkily to us, the "special effects" are too prehistoric in practice to be good to us, and the joke (which probably was effective in 1915 to audiences then) is not good now. One wishes the film had an early master of such trickery like George Melies, but that is too much to wish for.
Finally the two rivals start using their pool cues as weapons on each other - with Fields seemingly the winner (he causes a pool ball to send his rival into a barrel of water outside the pool hall window). But another of the balls hits a fish bowl, spilling the contents on the girl. She comes in and starts belaboring Fields, but while the other men try to calm her down, Fields goes into the basement via a trap door. He finds booze downstairs, but hearing the people above trying to follow him, he leaves through the hurricane doors and walks away. That is how the film clip I saw ends.
Curious seeing him so young (born in 1879, Fields was all of 36 in this movie). He sports a disgusting looking mustache (almost like overgrown nose hair), and a "Cuthbert J. Twilly" top hat. He is adept at using his cane to hit his rival (like Charlie Chaplin, but not as poetic as Chaplin poking his rival Eric Campbell in the contemporary Mutual comedies). But his juggling abilities are not shown to great advantage except in one brief sequence when he is trying to re-stack some pool balls on a wall rack but they keep seeming to jump back out of their positions. Still one wishes more of that were in the film.
For an early look at the young Fields it is worth watching. To see the full blown comedian we came to love we would have to wait at least a decade - maybe fifteen years - to finally see him in fine form.
This is a fun little silent film
SinjinSB16 February 2003
This is W.C. Fields' first movie. It's an 11 minutes short silent film that tells the story of two rivals vying for the affection of a girl. After some physical comedy that we'd later see the Three Stooges use (like grabbing the person's nose with one hand and smacking it off with the other), the two decide on a game of pool to settle the score. We get an amusing display of early special effects that is used to manipulate the pool balls in a humorous fashion. And speaking of humorous fashion, Fields has a very bizarre mustache. This is a fun little silent film, featuring a young and slimmer Fields.
Fallow Fields...
JoeytheBrit1 September 2005
This movie debut from W.C. Fields is a fairly nondescript affair that presents only fleeting glimpses of the comedy legend Fields would become on the screen. The 35-year-old comedian is far from the finished article here. The booze hadn't yet gone to work on those unmistakable features, but he already looked older than his years. He sports a bushy moustache in this one, that would be pruned back over the years before disappearing completely, and relies too heavily on some fairly unpleasant comic violence for laughs that don't often materialise. In one scene he holds open his love rival's eye between finger and thumb so that he can poke it precisely with an extended forefinger a coldly savage moment designed to appeal to the baser instincts of the film's target audience.
Although he's barely recognisable as the character with whom we would become familiar, Fields already displays his trademark animosity towards small children when he tips over the chair of a small boy, efficiently dispatching the child so that he can sit beside the woman whose affections he seeks. When he and his rival aren't antagonising each other, we are entertained by stop-motion photography of pool balls travelling around a table before returning to their original position, entering the pockets via impossible angles or flying onto a shelf on the wall. It probably knocked them out in 1915, but it's all familiar stuff now.
Of interest to curiosity seekers only
Although he's barely recognisable as the character with whom we would become familiar, Fields already displays his trademark animosity towards small children when he tips over the chair of a small boy, efficiently dispatching the child so that he can sit beside the woman whose affections he seeks. When he and his rival aren't antagonising each other, we are entertained by stop-motion photography of pool balls travelling around a table before returning to their original position, entering the pockets via impossible angles or flying onto a shelf on the wall. It probably knocked them out in 1915, but it's all familiar stuff now.
Of interest to curiosity seekers only
One Upsmanship At the Pool Parlor
bkoganbing14 June 2011
Pool Sharks was a short subject film made in New York while W.C. Fields was in the Ziegfeld Follies. It must have been work for a day or two when they didn't have matinées and Fields co-stars with another silent screen comedian Ben Ross who never quite had the career Fields did. These are the only two names in the cast. We don't even get to see the name of the girl these two are fighting over.
After some slapstick attempts of oneupmanship with the girl watching the two take it to a poolroom with her and a crowd watching Fields and Ross square off over the green felt table. Naturally we don't see the color.
At this point I was expecting to see something like the pool game that was prominent in Six Of A Kind. Instead I got to see some crude animation as both these guys make some impossible shots that even Minnesota Fats would have said were impossible.
Without the voice, but those famous reactions to life that Fields was later famous for in the Thirties are all present in Pool Sharks. A must for fans of the great comic cynic W.C. Fields.
After some slapstick attempts of oneupmanship with the girl watching the two take it to a poolroom with her and a crowd watching Fields and Ross square off over the green felt table. Naturally we don't see the color.
At this point I was expecting to see something like the pool game that was prominent in Six Of A Kind. Instead I got to see some crude animation as both these guys make some impossible shots that even Minnesota Fats would have said were impossible.
Without the voice, but those famous reactions to life that Fields was later famous for in the Thirties are all present in Pool Sharks. A must for fans of the great comic cynic W.C. Fields.
Interesting and uncharacteristic first film
knsevy24 December 2002
It is clear that Mr. Fields had not yet solidified his famous character in this pedestrian little silent effort. One wonders exactly how he was directed, since evidence indicates a totally different character in his stage routines than what he would portray in this film. Very disjointed, most stereotypical slapstick with no real inventiveness, this film is really interesting only in that it portrays a much younger W. C. Fields than modern audiences are accustomed to.
Shark Pool.
morrison-dylan-fan15 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
With a poll coming up on IMDbs Classic Film board for the best titles from 1915-1919,I started to search around for movies from that period.Taking a look at a W.C. Fields box set that my dad has recently been watching,I noticed that Fields 1915 first short film was included as an extra,which led to me jumping into the sea with the sharks.
The plot:
Sitting round a picnic table,2 men find themselves becoming interested in the same women.Due to both of them not wanting the other one to take the fair girls hand,they both decide to settle their score with a winner take all game of pool.
View on the film:
Making his acting debut, W.C. Fields gives a very good performance which still bellows even without his distinctive voice,thanks to Fields showing a real flamboyance as the whizz kid pool shark.Keeping the screenplay by Fields moving at a smooth pace,director Edwin Middleton gives the movie a great,unexpected touch of surrealism,as a stop- motion animation sequence shows the pool table to get a mind of its own! Which allows the film to really sink the pink.
The plot:
Sitting round a picnic table,2 men find themselves becoming interested in the same women.Due to both of them not wanting the other one to take the fair girls hand,they both decide to settle their score with a winner take all game of pool.
View on the film:
Making his acting debut, W.C. Fields gives a very good performance which still bellows even without his distinctive voice,thanks to Fields showing a real flamboyance as the whizz kid pool shark.Keeping the screenplay by Fields moving at a smooth pace,director Edwin Middleton gives the movie a great,unexpected touch of surrealism,as a stop- motion animation sequence shows the pool table to get a mind of its own! Which allows the film to really sink the pink.
Not especially memorable or well made but still fun
planktonrules22 July 2006
This W. C. Fields film truly is representative of the time in which it was made. In 1915, most silent comedies were pure slapstick--with lots of punching, slapping and pratfalls and hardly any plot. The films were mostly acted "off the cuff" with no detailed script and as a result, the movies seem rough and not particularly memorable in most cases. This movie is about average for the time--but in no way does it appear like the character Mr. Fields played in his later films. It's really a shame, as the movie could have just as easily starred any silent comedian of the day.
Fields and another guy inexplicably dislike each other (you can tell due to all the slapping and hitting). They challenge each other to a pool competition and both men proceed to make some totally impossible shots. This part was awfully silly and COULD have been good, but the trick cinematography was done poorly and looks totally fake--even by 1915 standards. If they had just sped up the film, it would have come off perfectly. Other than that, nothing else stands out in my mind. It's just another silent slapstick comedy.
Fields and another guy inexplicably dislike each other (you can tell due to all the slapping and hitting). They challenge each other to a pool competition and both men proceed to make some totally impossible shots. This part was awfully silly and COULD have been good, but the trick cinematography was done poorly and looks totally fake--even by 1915 standards. If they had just sped up the film, it would have come off perfectly. Other than that, nothing else stands out in my mind. It's just another silent slapstick comedy.
Formative Fields
richardchatten19 November 2022
According to William K. Everson "'Pool Sharks' must surely ranks as one of the most auspicious debuts by any of the major film comedians". To those familiar with W. C. Fields solely on the basis of the films that he made at the very end of his life it can come as a considerable shock just how handsome and agile he had been in his earlier years (films like this, like those of the young Robert Newton should be shown at A. A. meetings in double bills with films they made later to furnish a stern warning and get their clientele back on the straight and narrow).
The young Fields is surprisingly sprightly, smiles more cheerfully than he ever did in later years, deftly pushing a kid off a chair that he swiftly appropriates for himself. There's no credit for the costume designer, but the loud check suit worn by his rival is definitely one of the funniest things in the film.
The young Fields is surprisingly sprightly, smiles more cheerfully than he ever did in later years, deftly pushing a kid off a chair that he swiftly appropriates for himself. There's no credit for the costume designer, but the loud check suit worn by his rival is definitely one of the funniest things in the film.
it's a funny, very quick 8 minutes, no more no less
Quinoa198430 November 2016
In Pool Sharks, the debut for WC Fields back when he was doing vaudeville halls, he and another guy, who have a quasi-Three Stooges sort of relationship (one will tend to knock the other over the head if he gets out of line, and usually from Fields, who has a ridiculous and laughably in a good way bad fake mustache, it's funnier him hitting the other guy) as they try to court a girl at a lunch and then play a game of pool that involves... uh, them doing such spectacular pool moves that the balls go into stop-motion spins and at one point Fields is so good that the balls fly off the table on to the rack! This is very silly and yet it goes by so quickly that you don't have too much time to think about it.
I found the comedy to be stronger when it was more character based, such as that opening lunch scene at the table (even Fields just knocking a kid off from his chair to get a seat is funny), and when it gets to the main part in the pool room it's actually not as funny. There's a few laughs, but mostly it's watching these billiard balls going in their slow stop motion ways. But the last couple of minutes redeem it by it going back to Fields and the other guy beating the crap out of each other and getting into shenanigans (i.e. a ball flies out the window and breaks a fishbowl over a woman's head, as she has to pick fish out of her hair!)
I'd watch it again, but it mostly gets by on the charm on its lead - which, of course, is massive and Fields' don't-give-a-damn attitude is present even without dialog - and it doesn't have the brilliance of a Lloyd/Keaton/Chaplin kind of deal. It's coarser and rougher around the edges, but the filmmaking is always fine and is so snappy in how it goes from one beat to the next that it allows for the comedy to find a rhythm where a joke or gag will come if something else falls flat.
I found the comedy to be stronger when it was more character based, such as that opening lunch scene at the table (even Fields just knocking a kid off from his chair to get a seat is funny), and when it gets to the main part in the pool room it's actually not as funny. There's a few laughs, but mostly it's watching these billiard balls going in their slow stop motion ways. But the last couple of minutes redeem it by it going back to Fields and the other guy beating the crap out of each other and getting into shenanigans (i.e. a ball flies out the window and breaks a fishbowl over a woman's head, as she has to pick fish out of her hair!)
I'd watch it again, but it mostly gets by on the charm on its lead - which, of course, is massive and Fields' don't-give-a-damn attitude is present even without dialog - and it doesn't have the brilliance of a Lloyd/Keaton/Chaplin kind of deal. It's coarser and rougher around the edges, but the filmmaking is always fine and is so snappy in how it goes from one beat to the next that it allows for the comedy to find a rhythm where a joke or gag will come if something else falls flat.
Not funny or charming
AngelHonesty1 December 2020
Perhaps back in its day it was a good movie when film was just being made as WW1 was going on, but from seeing it in this era it comes off as very silly with no plot or sense to it. There's nothing in the show that makes me laugh or think to myself that I would want to see this film again. The only reason why this film is worth viewing is for its authentic vintage. It gives you a look at what filming used to be when it first started.
Of Historical Interest, & Not Bad In Itself
Snow Leopard8 June 2005
Given its significance in the career of the great comic W.C. Fields, "Pool Sharks" would certainly be worth seeing for its historical interest alone. In itself, it's probably just an average feature for its time and genre, and it doesn't give Fields the chance to shows his greatest strengths, but it is fun to see him in such an early screen appearance.
You can see the strong influence of Chaplin and Keystone, as the plot and all the characters are patterned after those styles. Fields plays one of two rivals for the hands of a girl, and his character gets involved in the kind of manic slapstick that characterized a great many short comedies in the mid-1910s. Nothing wrong with that at all, and while "Pool Sharks" in itself would not stand out, it probably would not have left too many of its original viewers disappointed, either.
Besides the slapstick, there are some visual effects with the pool table, and while the special effects technique is rudimentary, it's amusing enough.
For the most part, Fields himself just has to keep up with the madcap pace, and cannot do some of the things that he did best, yet you can see his talent when he has the chance to show it.
You can see the strong influence of Chaplin and Keystone, as the plot and all the characters are patterned after those styles. Fields plays one of two rivals for the hands of a girl, and his character gets involved in the kind of manic slapstick that characterized a great many short comedies in the mid-1910s. Nothing wrong with that at all, and while "Pool Sharks" in itself would not stand out, it probably would not have left too many of its original viewers disappointed, either.
Besides the slapstick, there are some visual effects with the pool table, and while the special effects technique is rudimentary, it's amusing enough.
For the most part, Fields himself just has to keep up with the madcap pace, and cannot do some of the things that he did best, yet you can see his talent when he has the chance to show it.
Merely a Curiosity
Hitchcoc19 January 2017
W. C. Fields, sporting a ridiculous mustache, is apparently interested in a young lady. As he comes on to her, an adversary in a checkered suit, confronts him. Soon they engage in a tit for tat thing, hitting each other, flipping over a hammock. As it escalates, a group of men drag the participants into a pool hall. It's hard to know for sure, but perhaps the one who wins the game gets the girl. The pool game presents us with a series of stop action film with pool balls moving around in strange ways. It's never clear how one wins the game. Ultimately, everything ends in a series of violent events. Other than the fact that this is the first film for Fields, it's hardly worth the time.
Better take a swim than watch this one
Horst_In_Translation29 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
"Pool Sharks" is a 9-minute live action short film from 1915, so it had its 100th anniversary last year already. It is certainly the most (maybe only) known work by director Edwin Middleton and the reason is that the lead actor here is W.C. Fields, a very early performance by the prolific and successful actor, even if he is in his mid-30s here already too. Fields made more short films around the age of 50 more than a decade later and these of course had sound, so this one here stands out somewhat being a silent film still, which should be no surprise looking at the date. Early on, a bunch of people are outside celebrating and eating, but two men are interested in the same girl and chaos ensues when they keep going against each other. Can a game of pool billiard solve the issue? You known the answer. This is a very wild and chaotic little movie, but it is never really interesting or funny and it also does not make an emotional impact as some of the silent films by the greats (Keaton, Lloyd, Chaplin) from that time did. I do not recommend the watch. Thumbs down.
Fields' Film Debut
Ron Oliver10 June 2001
A Gaumont Casino Star Short Subject.
A couple of rambunctious POOL SHARKS, rivals for the same sweetie's affections, battle it out at the billiard table.
With pure slapstick (and very little plot) this short film is notable chiefly as W.C. Fields' cinematic debut. Filmed in 1915, the same year the 35-year old vaudevillian switched to the Ziegfeld Follies, it is a valuable picture of what Fields' stage persona must have been like at the time. Wearing the filthy little fake mustache he sported for years, we only get to see a few scant seconds of his legendary juggling skills. Of his talents at the pool table we see virtually nothing - special camera effects are used to show the antics of the balls.
W.C. would need talking pictures to adequately highlight his unique personality. A silent Fields is a queer creature indeed. Still, this is a humorous little film, the tiny nut out of which a mighty oak of movie magic would eventually grow.
A couple of rambunctious POOL SHARKS, rivals for the same sweetie's affections, battle it out at the billiard table.
With pure slapstick (and very little plot) this short film is notable chiefly as W.C. Fields' cinematic debut. Filmed in 1915, the same year the 35-year old vaudevillian switched to the Ziegfeld Follies, it is a valuable picture of what Fields' stage persona must have been like at the time. Wearing the filthy little fake mustache he sported for years, we only get to see a few scant seconds of his legendary juggling skills. Of his talents at the pool table we see virtually nothing - special camera effects are used to show the antics of the balls.
W.C. would need talking pictures to adequately highlight his unique personality. A silent Fields is a queer creature indeed. Still, this is a humorous little film, the tiny nut out of which a mighty oak of movie magic would eventually grow.
Who's the co-star?
thav29 January 2004
This is a great film, I've had it on tape for some 20 years. By chance, could W. C. Field's co-star be the all time great Edgar Kennedy? There's no mistaking his bald head! While watching this, there's no hint that's him until the end when his hat comes off. Anyone out there correct me if I'm wrong, I think it's him. I think Edgar Kennedy is as good as an actor if not better than W. C. He has played in far many films and different roles than Fields. I've seen him play a gangster and in dramatic roles not as a comic. This guy deserves better recognition than he appears to have today. It's a real shame he died at a rather young age of 58 years in 1948; he really could of been a real hit on television. IMDb fails to point out the fact that he was the brother of Tom Kennedy who was almost as good as him.
Film Debut of W. C. Fields
springfieldrental16 June 2021
William Claude Dukenfield, aka W. C. Fields, was a popular stage comedian and juggler when he made his film debut in September 1915's "Pool Sharks." He made one other short film, "His Lordship's Dilemma," with the same film studio, Gaumont Company, at its Flushing, N. Y. studio in the same year, which is considered lost. Because of stage commitments, Fields next movie appearance wouldn't be for nine years later, when he was in 1924's "Janice Meredith."
W. C. Fields began in the late 1800's in vaudeville whose schtick was as a juggler/comedian. As his popularity grew, Field occassionally played to Broadway audiences in the early 1910's, even sharing the stage with the famous English stage actress Sarah Bernhardt. He was hired in 1915 to the Ziegfeld Follies revue, juggling, joking and displaying his slick billiard tricks on a pool table.
His skills on the green felt became the basis of Fields' first film, "Pool Sharks." Vying for the same woman, Fields and his rival eventually agree to settle their differences in a billiards competition. Using stop-motion animation, the film displays Fields' incredible talent knocking balls in all at once into the table pockets as well as showing an ability at lofting all the balls into a back wall's ballrack.
W. C. Fields' movie career would peak in the 1930's with the advent of sound. His famous quips about children, Philadelphia, liquor and women would make this vaudeville star legendary for generations to come.
W. C. Fields began in the late 1800's in vaudeville whose schtick was as a juggler/comedian. As his popularity grew, Field occassionally played to Broadway audiences in the early 1910's, even sharing the stage with the famous English stage actress Sarah Bernhardt. He was hired in 1915 to the Ziegfeld Follies revue, juggling, joking and displaying his slick billiard tricks on a pool table.
His skills on the green felt became the basis of Fields' first film, "Pool Sharks." Vying for the same woman, Fields and his rival eventually agree to settle their differences in a billiards competition. Using stop-motion animation, the film displays Fields' incredible talent knocking balls in all at once into the table pockets as well as showing an ability at lofting all the balls into a back wall's ballrack.
W. C. Fields' movie career would peak in the 1930's with the advent of sound. His famous quips about children, Philadelphia, liquor and women would make this vaudeville star legendary for generations to come.
Funny Short
Michael_Elliott13 May 2009
Pool Sharks (1915)
*** (out of 4)
W.C. Fields made his screen debut in this silent comedy, which not too many think very highly of. In the film Fields is doing battle with a rival over a woman they both have the hots for. To settle the fight, the two agree to play a game of pool, which goes rather strangely to say the least. Those expecting the classic Fields might be disappointed here because the film has more to do with some of the work Chaplin was doing at the time rather than what we think of when we think of Fields. Not too many people are very high on this short but I've always enjoyed it for the slapstick. Slapstick was the most popular thing in silent comedy and I think the work here is pretty well done, especially early on in the film. The pool game is where the comedy goes flat as we get some good looking stop-motion animated sequence, which, while pretty, are dull in terms of laughs.
*** (out of 4)
W.C. Fields made his screen debut in this silent comedy, which not too many think very highly of. In the film Fields is doing battle with a rival over a woman they both have the hots for. To settle the fight, the two agree to play a game of pool, which goes rather strangely to say the least. Those expecting the classic Fields might be disappointed here because the film has more to do with some of the work Chaplin was doing at the time rather than what we think of when we think of Fields. Not too many people are very high on this short but I've always enjoyed it for the slapstick. Slapstick was the most popular thing in silent comedy and I think the work here is pretty well done, especially early on in the film. The pool game is where the comedy goes flat as we get some good looking stop-motion animated sequence, which, while pretty, are dull in terms of laughs.
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