Has there ever been a better satire on the hypocrisies of small-town life before the Second World War than this comic masterpiece of 1940? W.C. Fields as Egbert Sousé, accent grave on the e, is the victim of female tyranny and American matriarchy triumphant: his wife, his mother-in-law and his dreadful brat of a daughter all abuse him both verbally and physically; he bears their insults stoically with no other escape than the sanctity of the local saloon, poetically labeled The Black Pussy Café, the only place in town where he is treated with any semblance of respect by a bartender, Shemp Howard, one of the Three Stooges minus his other two brothers. Into this sanctuary wander bizarre representatives of the outside world, the real world a sissified bank examiner (Franklin Pangborn); a slick traveling salesman peddling shares in the Beef Stake mine (Pierre Watkins); a harassed assistant director (Pat West) looking for a replacement for a drunken director.
Fields deals with them all with his usual nonchalance and cunning. He is existentially alone, mumbling asides to himself along the way, caring not if anyone listens, rarely complaining, making the best of whatever good or bad fortune that comes his way. In this American Dream turned on its head and upside down and sideways, Sousé, the forgotten man, turns out in the end to be a true hero through no fault or skill of his own, and is rewarded with a contract to direct a movie as well as a hearty hand clasp! A film not to be missed if you want to understand what this crazy nation is all about.
Fields deals with them all with his usual nonchalance and cunning. He is existentially alone, mumbling asides to himself along the way, caring not if anyone listens, rarely complaining, making the best of whatever good or bad fortune that comes his way. In this American Dream turned on its head and upside down and sideways, Sousé, the forgotten man, turns out in the end to be a true hero through no fault or skill of his own, and is rewarded with a contract to direct a movie as well as a hearty hand clasp! A film not to be missed if you want to understand what this crazy nation is all about.