Borgarkeri A bit overrated, but still an amazing film

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Cassandra Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

smatysia This was a fairly enjoyable W. C. Fields film. While the plot, such as it is, meanders aimlessly, that wasn't really the point of films like this in those days. Back then, famous comedians played their persona, with plotting as a distant afterthought. The same holds largely true of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, The Marx Brothers, etc. Previous commenter "The_Film_Cricket" hit the nail on the head about the current popularity, or lack thereof, of Fields. His dipsomania, and his misanthropy are now totally politically incorrect. Erelong, he will likely be put down the memory hole, along with Amos & Andy, and "The Song of the South". But for now, we have his good, old-fashioned comedy.

mike48128 Actually one of his more "coherent" films, as the story-line is much easier to follow than many of his other "adventures", which were heavily censored and cut for time. He is always plagued with a terrible and unappreciative family. Always the teller of tall tales, he clumsily and accidentally foils an armed bank robbery, recovers the stolen money and exaggerates the entire thing. "He attacked me with a sword that long...") He is then given the lowly "position of "special officer", "A bank dick!" Grady Sutton is also at his best as the inept bank teller and suitor of his 18 year old daughter. Also a small part for Shemp Howard as the proprietor of the "Black Pussy Cafe" Saloon. Fields gets robbed at the bank and becomes driver and hostage with one of the same robbers. Also contains many famous scenes including "Is that gun loaded?" (Field's to a little kid in a cowboy costume.) "The movie director". "The bank examiner meets Michael Finn". Another trademark ending where the getaway car is totally destroyed in an improbable and wild chase scene, like in some of his other films. As the car falls apart, the brakes fail, the engine falls out and a wheel comes off! Best running gag: The Bank Manager's cold and unfeeling "Allow me to give you another hearty handshake". Fields wins it all in the end: A $10,000 movie contract, A $5,000 reward for capturing the bank robber, and the thought-to-be-worthless Beefsteak Mining Stock. He becomes rich and "a changed man". Wonderful ending, as Fields, all resplendent in fine garments, calls and runs after Shemp who is whistling (like "The Pied Piper") "Listen to the Mockingbird".

The_Film_Cricket W.C. Fields was invaluable as a comedian simply because he doesn't fit. Like Groucho or The Tramp or Mae West or Buster Keaton's stone face, Fields was such a strong personality that any situation or plot was simply an excuse to let him loose and see what kind of damage he could do.The first time that I saw Fields was in a bizarre 1933 short called The Fatal Glass of Beer. That was the one where he goes to the door of his snowbound cabin and proclaims "And it ain't a fit night out for man nor beast." Then is rewarded with a face-full of fake snow. That's also the one where he utters the immortal words "I think I'll go milk an Elk." From there, I set out to see everything of Fields that I could get my hands on. I have noticed an interesting thing: In nearly every film, in nearly every short film, he always plays the same character, the same irascible, mean-spirited little man who hates children and dogs and whose entire existence is the endless pursuit of the drink and the misadventure therein. The experience is something akin to hanging out with the bad kids at school, you can see them getting away with doing bad stuff but it is a fun journey even if you only sit on the sidelines.Of his features, The Bank Dick is my favorite. He wrote the screenplay himself but the credit went under his pseudonym Mahatma Kane Jeeves (say that name out loud slowly). Like most of the great comedians of the time, he was given control over his own project but still had to battle the Hays office over content. For instance, the Black Pussy Cat Cafe was written in the original script as The Black Pussy Cafe and Snack Bar. Joe Breen and the Hays office changed the name even though somehow the film's title remained.He plays henpecked Egbert Sousé, his usual lecherous drunk who accidentally foils a bank robbery and is offered a job as the bank's guard. A light bulb goes off in his brain to employ his good-for-nothing future son-in-law in an embezzlement scheme to siphon bank funds into a fly-by-night mining enterprise. From there, it is just one damn thing after another. The movie has no real structure and in any other comedy that would be a problem but for Fields it's just a series of set ups and comic pay-offs that have no real connection. Like The Marx Brothers, the plot is more or less an afterthought. The problem in describing Fields is that he can't really be described in words, he's an experience, not an explanation.The persona that Fields created has, today, fallen out of favor. After a brief revival in the 70s, the generation that followed has yet to discover him and I don't think they ever will. Today, in these politically correct times, Fields drunk act doesn't fit. We take alcoholism seriously and a man whose happy pursuit of the sauce frames his very existence doesn't seem in step with the times. But for me, I am bound to see comedy for what it is. If is makes me laugh, it's not my business whether it's politically correct or not. That's why Hollywood had such a problem with Fields, he didn't fit the good-natured mold they wanted to fashion for him.

MartinHafer Apart from IT'S A GIFT, this is among W. C. Fields' greatest films--with tons of laughs. He plays Egbert Sousé (pronounced 'soo-zay', not 'souse'--a great play on words) and the film is filled with more Fields bizarre names than usual. My favorite is the bank examiner, 'J. Pinkerton Snoopington' but 'Filthy McNasty' and 'Og Oggilby' are also dandy! Plus the script credit which goes to 'Mahatma Kane Jeeves' (a pseudonym for Fields himself)). But there is far more to the film than just silly names. Like almost all of Fields' films, it's about a likable small-time blow-hard who somehow makes it big by the end of the film. In this film, Fields accidentally foils a bank robbery and is rewarded with a job working in the bank. Later, he once again saves the day and is the town hero. In between he manages to make a mess of things, but in Fields fashion, it all manages to work itself out as well.What helps this film is that in addition to an excellent Fields performance is some excellent support from the likes of Grady Sutton, Shemp Howard, Franklin Pangborn and Una Merkel and they're all in top form. Overall, the film shows that you can take a very simple plot and just let Fields act--that's really all you need for an excellent comedy. The only negative is the rear projection used during the police chase--it was very obviously fake--too fake to be funny.