Poster

Never Give a Sucker an Even Break ()

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A filmmaker attempts to sell a surreal script he has written, which comes to life as he pitches it.
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19 photos

Cast verified as complete

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The Great Man
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Gloria
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The Rival
Billy Lenhart ...
Butch (as Butch)
Kenneth Brown ...
Buddy (as Buddy)
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Mrs. Hemogloben
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Ouilotta Hemogloben
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The Producer
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The Producer's Wife
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Pete Carson
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Madame Gorgeous
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The Salesgirl
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The Soda Jerk
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The Waitress
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The Cleaning Woman
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The Engineer
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Receptionist
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
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Builder on Sound Stage (uncredited)
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Burly Man (uncredited)
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Bitten Englishman (uncredited)
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Diner with High Blood Pressure (uncredited)
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Pianist (uncredited)
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Cameraman (uncredited)
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Stewardess (uncredited)
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Mrs. Wilson (uncredited)
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Doorman (uncredited)
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Redhead (uncredited)
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Russian Villiager (uncredited)
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Man (uncredited)
Jack 'Tiny' Lipson ...
Huge Turk (uncredited)
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Police Officer (uncredited)
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Nurse (uncredited)
Charles Phillips ...
Sound Stage Workman (uncredited)
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Passerby (uncredited)
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Russian Magistrate Clines (uncredited)
June Preston ...
Little Blonde Girl Dancing (uncredited)
Prince ...
A Great Dane (uncredited)
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Stewardess (uncredited)
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Stewardess (uncredited)
Jack Roper ...
Joe - Jamo Drinker (uncredited)
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Irate Automobile Driver (uncredited)
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Spinster Passenger (uncredited)
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Builder on Sound Stage (uncredited)
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Firetruck Driver (uncredited)
Emma Tansey ...
Old Lady with Newspaper (uncredited)
Emil Van Horn ...
Gargo the Gorilla (uncredited)
Michael Visaroff ...
Village Coachman (uncredited)
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Stage 6 Foreman (uncredited)
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Assistant Director Johnson (uncredited)
Bill Wolfe ...
Aspiring Actor (uncredited)
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Tough Guy (uncredited)

Directed by

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Edward F. Cline ... (as Edward Cline)

Written by

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John T. Neville ... (screen play) &
Prescott Chaplin ... (screen play)
 
W.C. Fields ... (original story) (as Otis Criblecoblis)

Produced by

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Jack J. Gross ... producer (uncredited)

Music by

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Frank Skinner ... (musical score)
Charles Previn ... (uncredited)

Cinematography by

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Charles Van Enger ... director of photography

Editing by

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Arthur Hilton

Art Direction by

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Jack Otterson

Set Decoration by

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Russell A. Gausman ... (as R.A. Gausman)

Costume Design by

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Vera West ... (gowns)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director

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Ralph Ceder ... associate director
Howard Christie ... assistant director
Melville Shyer ... assistant director

Art Department

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Richard H. Riedel ... associate art director

Sound Department

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Bernard B. Brown ... sound supervisor
Charles Carroll ... technician

Stunts

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David Sharpe ... stunts (uncredited)
Duke York ... stunts (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department

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Jerome Ash ... photography

Costume and Wardrobe Department

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Eugene Joseff ... costume jeweller (uncredited)

Music Department

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Charles Previn ... musical director
Crew verified as complete

Production Companies

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Distributors

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Special Effects

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Other Companies

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Storyline

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Plot Summary

Fields wants to sell a film story to Esoteric Studios. On the way he gets insulted by little boys, beat up for ogling a woman, and abused by a waitress. He becomes his niece's guardian when her mother is killed in a trapeze fall during the making of a circus movie. He and his niece, who he finds at a shooting gallery, fly to Mexico to sell wooden nutmegs in a Russian colony. Trying to catch his bottle as it falls from the plane, he lands on a mountain peak where lives the man-eating Mrs. Hemogloben. When he gets to the Russian colony he finds Leon Errol (father of the insulting boys and owner of the shooting gallery) already selling wooden nutmegs. He decides to woo the wealthy Mrs. Hemogloben, but when he gets there Errol has preceded him. The Mexican adventure is the story that Esoteric Studios would not buy. Written by Ed Stephan

Plot Keywords
Taglines IT'S A FIELDS-DAY OF FUN! (original poster-all caps) See more »
Genres
Parents Guide Add content advisory for parents »
Certification

Additional Details

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Also Known As
  • The Great Man (United States)
  • The Great Man (India, English title)
  • What a Man (United Kingdom)
  • Passez muscade (France)
  • El pelele no tiene suerte (Spain)
  • See more »
Runtime
  • 71 min
Country
Language
Color
Aspect Ratio
Sound Mix
Filming Locations

Did You Know?

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Trivia In the soda-shop scene, W.C. Fields turns to the camera and announces that the scene was supposed to have been filmed in a saloon "but the censor cut it out." He was telling the truth. See more »
Goofs When the ladder of the fire truck lifts the car into the air, a shadow on the front of the building reveals the rigging and crane that actually did the lifting. See more »
Movie Connections Edited into In Society (1944). See more »
Soundtracks Estrellita See more »
Crazy Credits The film opens with W.C. Fields' credit as star over a cartoon caricature of him. Then the chest of the character expands to bloated proportions, and the title of the film is printed on Fields' huge cartoon chest. See more »
Quotes The Great Man: I didn't squawk about the steak, dear. I merely said I didn't see that old horse that used to be tethered outside here.
Waitress: You're as funny as a cry for help.
See more »
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