Poppy (1936)

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Poppy is the film version of the Dorothy Donnelly musical comedy which made W.C. Fields a Broadway star back in 1923 (an earlier, less-faithful version, also starring Fields and retitled Sally of the Sawdust, was directed by D. W. Griffith in 1926). The Great Man is cast as Professor Eustace… More Poppy is the film version of the Dorothy Donnelly musical comedy which made W.C. Fields a Broadway star back in 1923 (an earlier, less-faithful version, also starring Fields and retitled Sally of the Sawdust, was directed by D. W. Griffith in 1926). The Great Man is cast as Professor Eustace McGargle, a small-time carnival confidence trickster. Accompanied by his adopted daughter Poppy (Rochelle Hudson), McGargle joins a travelling sideshow, fleecing as many of the local yokels as time will permit. During one stopover, Poppy falls in love with Billy Farnsworth (Richard Cromwell), the son of the town's mayor (Granville Bates), while McGargle pitches woo at the faded but alluring Countess de Puizzi (Catherine Doucet). When he finds out that the "Countess" is a phony claimant to the valuable Putnam estate, McGargle conspires with local lawyer Whiffen (Lynne Overman) to pass off Poppy as the genuine, long-lost heir. As it turns out, Poppy really is the heir, a felicitous turn of events which enables McGargle to avoid being tarred and feathered by the angry townsfolk. Finishing Poppy on schedule was quite a trial for W.C. Fields, who, in addition to breaking a vertebra while filming a chase sequence, further damaged his spine in a household accident. As a result, he could barely stand up during shooting, and many of his scenes had to be completed by a stunt double. One would never know that Fields was in excruciating pain throughout the film, however: Comedy-wise, he's at the top of his form, especially when he sells a "talking dog" to a gullible rube and finagles a free lunch from an equally dense hot-dog vendor. Poppy is also the film in which Fields imparts a sage bit of advice to his screen daughter: "Never give a sucker an even break." ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 15 min.
Directed By: A. Edward Sutherland
Written By: Waldemar Young, Virginia Van Upp
Genres: Classics, Comedy

In Theaters: Jun 19, 1936 Wide
On DVD: Mar 20, 2007

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Cast

            W.C. Fields as Prof. Eustace P. McGargle

            Rochelle Hudson as Poppy

            Richard Cromwell as Billy Farnsworth

            Lynne Overman as Attorney E.G. Whiffen

            Catherine Doucet as Countess Maggie Tubbs De Puizzi

            Rosalind Keith as Frances Parker

            Granville Bates as Mayor Farnsworth

            Adrian Morris as Constable Bowman

            Ralph M. Remley as Carnival Manager

            Dewey Robinson as Calliope Driver

            Tammany Young as Joe

            Bill Wolfe as Egmont

            Jack Baxley
            
            Jerry Bergen as Gardener

            Wade Boteler as Bartender

            Nora Cecil as Woman

            Maude Eburne as Sarah Tucker

            Grace Goodall as Gossip

            Dell Henderson as Yokel

            Tom Herbert as Astonished Barfly

            Charles McMurphy as Constable

            Cyril Ring
            
            Dick Rush as Deputy Sheriff

            Frank Sully
            
            Gertrude Sutton
            
            Malcolm Waite
            
            Eddy Waller
            
            Doc Stone
            
            Tom Kennedy as Hot Dog Vendor
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