Running Wild (1927)
*** (out of 4)
Elmer Finch (W.C. Fields) is one of the biggest cowards that you're ever going to meet. He's had the same job for twenty-years and has never gotten a raise yet he's too scared to say anything. Even worse is his life at home where his second wife and stepson push him around. All of this changes when he's hypnotized and believes that he's a lion, which brings out a tough side he never knew he had.
RUNNING WILD is a film that can easily be called classic Fields. I know a lot of people are just so familiar with that wonderful voice that they never warm up to his silent pictures but I'm curious if those people have seen this film because it's quite funny and it perfectly uses Fields' talents to get some great laughs throughout the short running time.
The film clocks in at just 67-minutes and the first forty-minutes are devoted to seeing what a wimp this character is. We get a long stretch at his house where we see him getting pushed around by the wife and one of the most annoying jerks of a child that the screen has ever seen. We then see him getting pushed around by his boss as well as a man who owes the company a lot of cash. Throughout these scenes there is a nice and steady pace of laughs but there's no question that the highlight of the film is when the lion comes out.
Fields basically turns into a madman as he runs around with boxing gloves on, screams he's a lion and beats everyone up who confronts him. The maniac-style that Fields brings to the role was quite hilarious and just look at his eyes and see how crazy he really does seem. These scenes were certainly hilarious and I think they'd sell everyone on the fact that Fields could perfectly handle a silent movie. The supporting players are good but there's no question that the film belongs to Fields.
RUNNING WILD is a bit uneven at times and the first portion doesn't have many huge laughs but there's no question that fans of Fields should enjoy this.