Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (What A Man) (1941)
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100% of critics liked it
(10 reviews) -
81% of users liked it
(504 ratings)
W.C. Fields heads to Esoteric studios to pitch a story idea to producer Franklin Pangborn. The producer wants to make a conventional romantic musical starring Fields' niece, teen-aged soprano Gloria Jean, but "The Great Man" has other ideas. As Pangborn sits in dumbfounded silence,… More W.C. Fields heads to Esoteric studios to pitch a story idea to producer Franklin Pangborn. The producer wants to make a conventional romantic musical starring Fields' niece, teen-aged soprano Gloria Jean, but "The Great Man" has other ideas. As Pangborn sits in dumbfounded silence, Fields unravels an incoherent farrago which begins with him travelling to a Russian colony in Mexico--by way of an airliner with an open observation platform. Fields dives from the plane when his precious flask of gin falls overboard; he lands safely at the mountaintop mansion of the formidable Mrs. Hemoglobin (Margaret Dumont). Playing a kissing game with Hemoglobin's beauteous daughter (Susan Miller), who has never seen a man before, Fields decides to make a quick exit when Mama wants to get in on the game too. Reunited with Gloria Jean in the Russian colony, Fields learns that Mrs. Hemoglobin is worth millions, so he climbs back up the mountain, ignoring such obstacles as a displaced African gorilla. Disposing of his rival Leon Errol, Fields is about to wed Mrs. Hemoglobin, but is talked out of it at the last moment by Gloria Jean. At this point in the narrative, producer Pangborn can stand no more. He tells Fields to take his nonsensical screenplay and vacate the premises. After a brief episode at a soda fountain ("This scene was supposed to be in a saloon, but the censors made us cut it out"), Fields drives off to new adventures with his niece--but not before a zany slapstick car-chase finale, prompted by Fields' mistaken belief that he's rushing a corpulent middle-aged lady to the maternity hospital. W. C. Fields' original screenplay for Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (written under the fanciful pseudonym of Otis Criblecoblis) made a lot more sense than what ended up on screen, but Fields' extended absences from the studio, coupled with Universal's desire to reshape the film into a vehicle for their new star Gloria Jean, necessitated a complete restructuring of the plot. While hardly Fields' best or most representative film, Sucker is an excellent example of the sort of nonsensical "nut" humor in vogue in 1941 thanks to Olsen and Johnson's Hellzapoppin'. And, occasionally, the film stands still long enough to allow W. C. Fields to mutter a priceless aside or toss off a perfectly timed double-take. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Directed By
- Edward Cline, Edward F. Cline
- Written By
- John T. Neville, Prescott Chaplin
- Genres
- Musical & Performing Arts, Classics, Comedy
Unrated,
- In Theaters
- Oct 10, 1941 Wide
Critic Reviews
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Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews
Refreshingly bizarre.
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Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Nearly brilliant, nearly surreal, mostly funny
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Bob Bloom, Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)
Classic Fields! No story really, just a series of vignettes, but it has you rolling on the floor.
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John Urbancich, Sun Newspapers of Cleveland
Just plain funny.
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James Sanford, Kalamazoo Gazette
one of the many reasons Fields is still acclaimed as a comic genius
See more critic ratings and reviews on Rotten Tomatoes
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Cast
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W.C. Fields
as The Great Man
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Gloria Jean
as His Niece
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Margaret Dumont
as Mrs. Hemoglobin
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Leon Errol
as The Rival
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Susan Miller
as Ouliotta Delight Hemogloben
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Franklin Pangborn
as Producer Esoteric Studios
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Mona Barrie
as The Producer's Wife
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Charles Lang
as The Young Engineer
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Anne Nagel
as Madame Gorgeous
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Nell O'Day
as Salesgirl
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Irving Bacon
as Tom soda jerk
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Jo Gilbert
as Tiny the waitress
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Minerva Urecal
as Mrs. Pastrami Cleaning Lady
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Emmett Vogan
as Steve Roberts Engineer
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Carlotta Monti
as Receptionist
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Bill Wolfe
as Himself
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Claud Allister
as Bitter Englishman
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Frank Austin
as Diner
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Leon Belasco
as Pianist
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Eddie Bruce
as Cameraman
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Kay Deslys
as Mrs. Wilson
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William Gould
as Doorman
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Billy Lenhart
as Heckler
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Jack Lipson
as Huge Turk
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Charles McMurphy
as Officer
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Frances Morris
as Nurse
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Jean Porter
as Passerby
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Victor Potel
as Mr. Clines Russian Magistrate
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Marcia Ralston
as Stewardess
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Jack Roper
as Joe
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David Sharpe
as Ubiquitous Stunt Double
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Kathrun Sheldon
as Spinster Passenger
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Michael Visaroff
as Coachman Russian Village
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Billy Wayne
as Foreman Stage 6
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Dave Willock
as Johnson Assistant Director
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Duke York
as Tough Assailant
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Ken Brown
as Heckler
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Charles Lane
as Man
- Prince the Dog
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Irene Colman
as Stewardess
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Harriette Haddon
as Redhead
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Emma Tansey
as Old Lady
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Emil VanHorn
as Gargo Gorilla
