"Godfrey Daniels" Where are the W.C.Fields DVD's??? (1 Viewer)

[Steve Meskell]

The Old Fashioned Way,

It's a Gift,

Man on the Flying Trapeze,

Poppy,

You Can't Cheat an Honest Man,

My Little Chickadee,

Never Give a Sucker an Even Break,

Where are these classics???

Any rumors in the wind???

 

[SteveGon]

I haven't heard anything, but I'll snap them up when they are released!

 

[Dick]

Just a matter of time. Universal has now done their Bob Hopes, so W.C., the Marx Brothers and more Abbott and Costello can't be far behind. Criterion might get a hold of a few more of them, though (suggestions: IT'S A GIFT; NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK).

 

[Mark Zimmer]

The Fields collector will want to snap up Image's Hidden Hollywood II, which contains the cut episode from Tales of Manhattan that features Fields at his finest. Very funny and definitely worth owning. "I could show you a snapshot of myself in a G string, with a wily platypus..."

 

[Peter M Fitzgerald]

Hmmmm, not enough Fields classics on DVD (I want them all too!)...there must an Ethiopian in the fuel supply...

 

[Roderick Gauci]

Below is a list of movies starring the inimitable W.C. Fields which I would really love to see released on DVD:

·MILLION DOLLAR LEGS (1932)

·IF I HAD A MILLION (1932)

·INTERNATIONAL HOUSE (1933)

·TILLIE AND GUS (1933)

·ALICE IN WONDERLAND (1933)

·SIX OF A KIND (1934)

·YOU’RE TELLING ME (1934)

·THE OLD FASHIONED WAY (1934)

·IT’S A GIFT (1934)

·MISSISSIPPI (1935)

·THE MAN ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE (1935)

·POPPY (1936)

·YOU CAN’T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN (1939)

·MY LITTLE CHICKADEE (1939)

·NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK (1941)

Since most of them were produced by Paramount, the buck stops at Universal’s door, who owns their pre-1950 catalog nowadays. Furthermore, the fact that the majority of these are fairly short, they would make ideal fare for a batch of super double-feature DVDs. In fact, if ALICE IN WONDERLAND is released separately (as well it should, being an all-star cast extravaganza rather than a vehicle for Fields’ antics), the rest could fit easily on 7 discs, and perhaps, also leave room to include some of Fields’ other short subjects and lesser known features, like:

·THAT ROYLE GIRL (1925)

·IT’S THE OLD ARMY GAME (1926)

·SO’S YOUR OLD MAN (1926)

·THE POTTERS (1927)

·RUNNING WILD (1927)

·TWO FLAMING YOUTHS (1927)

·TILLIE’S PUNCTURED ROMANCE (1928)

·FOOLS FOR LOVE (1928)

Unfortunately, I have seen very little of Field’s output: SIX OF A KIND, IT’S A GIFT, DAVID COPPERFIELD, MY LITTLE CHICKADEE, THE BANK DICK and the six shorts released on DVD by The Criterion Collection. However, he has already taken his place among my all-time favorite comics, along with (in no particular order) Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd, Laurel & Hardy, The Marx Brothers and Will Hay.

After all, Universal has recently given us a fine collection of Bob Hope classics on DVD so it is not as if there is not a market for such old films. Granted that Fields’ pungent, satrical style may be an acquired taste, more sophisticated than Bob Hope’s perhaps, and thus less popular. However, his genuine greatness and uniqueness should be treasured and remembered. Therefore, in conclusion: Godfrey Daniels, bring on more W.C. Fields on DVD!

 

[Mark Zimmer]

I'm pretty sure That Royle Girl and the 1928 Tillie's Punctured Romance are lost films so your chances of seeing them on DVD approximate zero. I don't know about some of the others on your list, but my understanding is that almost nothing of the silent Fields survives.

You don't list Sally of the Sawdust, which does survive, on your list of things you've seen. It is available on a very nice DVD from Image.