I'm a big fan of classic films. I count, "A Nous La Liberte", "The Third Man" and "Vertigo" as some my very favourites. But, classic films are a product of their time and that means that, occasionally, they feature moments that are awkward or just plain offensive. Those moments are often the product of views and values that we, in 2019, have for the most part, thankfully, discarded. For the most part. Ahem.
Now, I know there's a counter argument always lurking in the grass somewhere that says, "Well, those were the times." I've used that same argument with my girlfriend whenever she has expressed her dislike of sexism in an old black and white film. Ah, but how would you feel if you were the target and a historically discriminated against demographic?
That brings me to WC Fields' film from 1939 called, "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man." 1939...the beginning of WWII; pre-Martin Luther King and his transformative effect on American society; pre-second wave feminism. In other words, a long, long time ago. So, when Edgar Bergen applied shoe polish to his dummy Charlie McCarthy's face just so the wooden puppet could make a joke about being all "...blacked out", well, that, for me, landed about as well as a turd in a bowl of soup.
WC Fields plays Larson E. Whipsnade (get it?), the owner of a circus up to its' eyeballs in debt. Edgar Bergen and Charlie play an act in the failing circus as well as Whipsnade's constant irritants.
Much of the very slim, barely plotted, 79 minute running time is set at the circus and chronicles the raucous battle between Larson E. and the Bergen-McCarthy twosome. And some of it is funny. And some of it is not. The highlight being when Larson E. feeds Charlie to an alligator. Ha! A raucous game of ping pong, late in the film, is also a delight. This was the first time around for me in the deliriously bent world of WC Fields. His cantankerous, cynic, con-man character, who spits out venom at pretty much everyone he interacts with, was, mostly, a delight. His nihilism is in your face. There's no sugar coating it for him. He is who he is and too bad for you.
He taps into the cynic in all of us who can easily remember a day - month? year? - where we, too, came to the sorry conclusion that life was a sham and adopted a "to hell with all of it" attitude.
That brings us back to the blackface scene which just sunk any goodwill or kindness I'd otherwise show towards the flim for its' missteps and shortcomings. Slight, occasionally bright, with offensive material that taints the entire movie.
Now, I know there's a counter argument always lurking in the grass somewhere that says, "Well, those were the times." I've used that same argument with my girlfriend whenever she has expressed her dislike of sexism in an old black and white film. Ah, but how would you feel if you were the target and a historically discriminated against demographic?
That brings me to WC Fields' film from 1939 called, "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man." 1939...the beginning of WWII; pre-Martin Luther King and his transformative effect on American society; pre-second wave feminism. In other words, a long, long time ago. So, when Edgar Bergen applied shoe polish to his dummy Charlie McCarthy's face just so the wooden puppet could make a joke about being all "...blacked out", well, that, for me, landed about as well as a turd in a bowl of soup.
WC Fields plays Larson E. Whipsnade (get it?), the owner of a circus up to its' eyeballs in debt. Edgar Bergen and Charlie play an act in the failing circus as well as Whipsnade's constant irritants.
Much of the very slim, barely plotted, 79 minute running time is set at the circus and chronicles the raucous battle between Larson E. and the Bergen-McCarthy twosome. And some of it is funny. And some of it is not. The highlight being when Larson E. feeds Charlie to an alligator. Ha! A raucous game of ping pong, late in the film, is also a delight. This was the first time around for me in the deliriously bent world of WC Fields. His cantankerous, cynic, con-man character, who spits out venom at pretty much everyone he interacts with, was, mostly, a delight. His nihilism is in your face. There's no sugar coating it for him. He is who he is and too bad for you.
He taps into the cynic in all of us who can easily remember a day - month? year? - where we, too, came to the sorry conclusion that life was a sham and adopted a "to hell with all of it" attitude.
That brings us back to the blackface scene which just sunk any goodwill or kindness I'd otherwise show towards the flim for its' missteps and shortcomings. Slight, occasionally bright, with offensive material that taints the entire movie.