***SPOILERS***YOU WERE WARNED***
Pretty funny short film based on a skit from Fields' stint with the Ziegfield Follies, and a remake of part of a longer silent film, 'It's the Old Army Game'.
A collection of classic Fieldsiana centered around Mr. Dilweg, proprietor of a drug store. People who haven't seen this movie in decades remember the customer who demands a 'clean' postage stamp, leaving Fields to scissor his way through the entire sheet to get one out of the middle, then wraps it in about twenty square yards of butcher paper and a mile of twine.
Elise Cavanna is my favorite of Fields' female co-stars; it's a shame she didn't get to play his screen wife in any of his more famous long subjects, though her turn as a patient in his short film, 'The Dentist' is pure comedy gold. In this film, she's the perfect mix of languid disinterest and frowning disapproval towards Fields.
I can't speak for other prints, but the copy I have of this film has poor sound quality, even for an early sound film. The dialogue is often overshadowed, even by background noises. People who don't know the film well often miss many of the jokes because they can't be heard.
Among his best sound silents, but not as good as 'The Barbershop'. If you can get a decent sound quality, you'll enjoy this.
Pretty funny short film based on a skit from Fields' stint with the Ziegfield Follies, and a remake of part of a longer silent film, 'It's the Old Army Game'.
A collection of classic Fieldsiana centered around Mr. Dilweg, proprietor of a drug store. People who haven't seen this movie in decades remember the customer who demands a 'clean' postage stamp, leaving Fields to scissor his way through the entire sheet to get one out of the middle, then wraps it in about twenty square yards of butcher paper and a mile of twine.
Elise Cavanna is my favorite of Fields' female co-stars; it's a shame she didn't get to play his screen wife in any of his more famous long subjects, though her turn as a patient in his short film, 'The Dentist' is pure comedy gold. In this film, she's the perfect mix of languid disinterest and frowning disapproval towards Fields.
I can't speak for other prints, but the copy I have of this film has poor sound quality, even for an early sound film. The dialogue is often overshadowed, even by background noises. People who don't know the film well often miss many of the jokes because they can't be heard.
Among his best sound silents, but not as good as 'The Barbershop'. If you can get a decent sound quality, you'll enjoy this.