My Little Chickadee (1940)

91% of critics liked it
(11 reviews)
67% of users liked it
(652 ratings)

The once-in-a-lifetime teaming of Mae West and W.C. Fields in My Little Chickadee had the potential for comic greatness: what emerged, though generally entertaining, was, in the words of critic Andrew Sarris, "more funny strange than funny ha-ha." Mae West dominates the film's first reel as… More The once-in-a-lifetime teaming of Mae West and W.C. Fields in My Little Chickadee had the potential for comic greatness: what emerged, though generally entertaining, was, in the words of critic Andrew Sarris, "more funny strange than funny ha-ha." Mae West dominates the film's first reel as Flowerbelle Lee, a self-reliant woman who is abducted by a mysterious masked bandit during a stagecoach holdup. Because she refuses to tell anyone what happened during her nocturnal rendezvous with the bandit, Flowerbelle is invited to leave her prudish hometown and move to Greasewood City. En route by train, Flowerbelle makes the acquaintance of con-artist Cuthbert J. Twillie (W.C. Fields), who carries a suitcase full of what seems to be large-denomination monetary notes. After a lively clash with marauding Indians, Flowerbelle tricks Twillie into a phony marriage; she does this so that she can arrive in Greasewood City with a modicum of respectability, and incidentally to get her hands on Twillie's bankroll. Once she discovers that Twillie's "fortune" consists of nothing but phony oil-well coupons, Flowerbelle refuses to allow Twillie into the bridal chamber (he unwittingly crawls into the marriage bed with a goat, muttering "Darling, have you changed your perfume?") Through a fluke, the cowardly Twillie is appointed sheriff of Greasewood City by town boss Joseph Calleila. The plot is put on hold for two reels while La West does a "schoolroom" routine with a class full of markedly overage students, and while Fields performs a bartender bit wherein he explains how he once knocked down the notorious Chicago Mollie. Jealous over the attentions paid to his "wife" by Calleila and honest newspaper-editor Dick Foran, Twillie decides to gain entry into his wife's boudoir by posing as the still-at-large masked bandit. His ruse is soon discovered by Flowerbelle, but the townsfolk capture Twillie as he makes his escape. They are about to lynch the hapless Twillie when Flowerbelle discovers that Calleia is the genuine masked bandit. She urges Calleia to save Twillie's life by making a surprise appearance at the lynching and by returning the money he's stolen. When all plot lines are ironed out, Flowerbelle and Twillie bid goodbye to one another. Borrowing a device utilized by ZaSu Pitts and Hugh Herbert in 1939's The Lady's From Kentucky, W.C. Fields invites Mae West to "come up and see me sometime," whereupon West appropriates Fields' tagline and calls him "My Little Chickadee." The script for this uneven comedy western was credited to Mae West and W.C. Fields, though in fact West was responsible for most of it. Fields willingly conceded this, noting that West had captured his character better than any other writer he'd ever met. Despite this seeming gallantry, it was no secret that West and Fields disliked each other intensely, a fact that had an injurious effect on their scenes together. My Little Chickadee has assumed legendary status thanks to its stars, and it certainly does deliver the laughs when necessary: still, it is hardly the best-ever vehicle for either Fields or West, two uniquely individual performers who should never have been required to duke it out for the same spotlight. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 31 min.
Directed By: Edward F. Cline
Written By: W.C. Fields, Mae West
Genres: Western, Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1939 Wide
On DVD: May 10, 2011
Studio: MCA Universal Home Video

Critic Reviews

Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
It's really not a good movie, but it had something special about it that defied a rational critique.
Steve Crum, Video-Reviewmaster.com
One of THE classic W.C. Fields films; includes adversary Mae West, a plus.
Eric Lurio, Greenwich Village Gazette
Two greats blow it. Both have done far better.
Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
Fields and West, two comic forces collide and both come out on town. A timeless treasure of comedy.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Neither Fields' nor West's best, but essential comedy all the same

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Featured Audience Ratings

Veronique K

even i do like mae west but i didn't enjoy this movie. the reason i choose to review it now is because i feel like to vent!
First L

The combination of W.C. Fields and Mae West winds up being not as good as it sounds. My Little Chickadee takes place in the old west. When Mae West falls for a "Zorro" type masked bandit, she's sent to live in another town to keep her honor intact (har har). On the… More
The combination of W.C. Fields and Mae West winds up being not as good as it sounds. My Little Chickadee takes place in the old west. When Mae West falls for a "Zorro" type masked bandit, she's sent to live in another town to keep her honor intact (har har). On the train ride, she meets W.C., and mistakes his satchel full of whiskey coupons for a sack full of money and agrees to marry him in order to get that money. Meanwhile, W.C. is appointed sheriff of the town by the local bar owner (who sort of controls the town), as he thinks W.C. will make a good patsy. Add to this the local newspaper publisher, who's on a crusade to clean up the town and make it wholesome. Of course, all of the above men are in love with the aging West. And who could help themselves? She doesn't recite her lines so much as purr and growl them. West is all affectation and innuendo, and it's not particularly good innuendo. Her performance is very flat, to say the least, and as she was nearing 50 at the time (albiet a very attractive and young-looking 50), her schtick isn't very convincing . W.C. gives it his best, but the material just isn't up to his usual standard. It's a typical cowboy type picture with very little enthusiasm from the cast. I can't remember any of the gags, other than West limp-wristedly shooting indians out the train car window with deadeye accuracy. Pretty forgettable.
MJS M

I?ll be honest, I was screwing around on the computer while I was ?watching? this, so I didn?t get a whole lot out of it. The film provides a fairly inspired on screen pairing of Mae West and W.C. Fields, two sort of old-timey vaudeville types both with a slightly raunchy (for the… More
I?ll be honest, I was screwing around on the computer while I was ?watching? this, so I didn?t get a whole lot out of it. The film provides a fairly inspired on screen pairing of Mae West and W.C. Fields, two sort of old-timey vaudeville types both with a slightly raunchy (for the time) edge. The film?s western storyline is pretty stupid, it?s mainly an excuse for the two to engage in their trademark banter. This might actually be the first time I?ve actually watched a Mae West film, though I was pretty familiar with her shtick, which has permeated pop culture. I can?t say I was very impressed by her, her signature way of speaking got old as hell pretty quick. I was a lot more familiar with Fields, but he doesn?t really seem to be ?on? here. Overall this was a big piece of meh.
Anthony V

Funny western spoof.

Cast

            Mae West as Flower Belle Lee

            W.C. Fields as Cuthbert J. Twillie

            Joseph Calleia as Masked Bandit

            Dick Foran as Wayne Carter

            Ruth Donnelly as Aunt Lou

            Margaret Hamilton as Miss Gideon

            Donald Meek as Amos Budget

            Fuzzy Knight as Cousin Zeb

            Willard Robertson as Uncle John

            George Moran as Clarence

            Jackie Searl as Boy

            Gene Austin as Himself

            Hank Bell
            
            William Benedict as Lem the Schoolboy

            Wade Boteler as Man

            Al Bridge
            
            Harlan Briggs as Hotel Clerk

            Eddie Butler as Henchman

            Lane Chandler as Porter

            Lita Chevret as Indian squaw

            Bing Conley as Henchman

            Jimmy Conlin as Bartender Squawk Mulligan

            William B. Davidson as Sheriff

            Jan Duggan as Woman

            Frank Ellis as Townsman

            Al Ferguson as Train Passenger

            Chester Gan as Chinaman

            Ben Hall as Schoolboy

            Russell Hall as Candy

            Bud Harris as Porter

            Edward Hearn
            
            Otto Heimel as Coco

            Otto Hoffman as Pete the Printer

            Dan Jackson
            
            Si Jenks as Deputy

            Walter McGrail
            
            Bob McKenzie
            
            Charles McMurphy
            
            James C. Morton
            
            Anne Nagel as Miss Ermingarde Foster

            Vester Pegg as Gambler Townsman

            Addison Richards as Judge

            Jack Roper as Henchman

            Dick Rush
            
            Dorothy Vernon as Diner

            Morgan Wallace as Gambler

            Delmar Watson as Boy

            Joe Whitehead
            
            Bill Wolfe
            
            Lloyd Ingraham as Leading Citizen

            John Kelly
            
            George Melford as Sheriff

            Robert Burns
            
            Bob Reeves as Barfly

            Buster Slaven as Boy

            Slim Gaut as Bowlegged man

            Charles Hart as Boy

            Georgie Billings as Boy

            Mark Anthony as Townsman
See full cast