W. C. Fields’ THE OLD FASHIONED WAY Screening
W.C. Fields‘ co-stars, friends, and family members will talk about the comedian on Friday, May 11, at 7:30 p.m. at the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The discussion will be followed by a screening of a new print of Fields’ 1934 comedy The Old Fashioned Way. The event will be hosted by film critic Leonard Maltin, and the panel discussion will include grandson Ron Fields, historian Joe Adamson, writer Hal Kanter, and Fields’ co-stars Jean Rouverol Butler (It’s a Gift), Gloria Jean (Never Give a Sucker an Even Break), Delmar Watson (You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man), and Jane Withers (It’s a Gift).
The Old Fashioned Way was directed by William Beaudine and written by Garnett Weston and Jack Cunningham from a story by “Charles Bogle” (a Fields pseudonym). As per the Academy’s press release, the film stars Fields “as The Great McGonigle, the manager of a 19th century theatrical troupe, who secures financing for his staging of ‘The Drunkard’ by manipulating a wealthy stagestruck widow.” Also in the cast are Joe Morrison, Baby LeRoy, Judith Allen, Jan Duggan, Nora Cecil, and silent film leading man — by then reduced to bit roles — Jack Mulhall.
Following The Old Fashioned Way, ticketholders will be able to take advantage of special viewing hours for the Academy’s Fourth Floor Gallery exhibition, “The Peregrinations & Pettifoggery of W.C. Fields,” described as “a historical, biographical and geographical survey of Fields’ career that includes personal memorabilia and items never before seen outside the Fields family.” Regular viewing hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m. This exhibition will close on Sunday, May 13.
The panel discussion and screening are presented under the banner of the Academy’s Jack Oakie Celebration of Comedy in Film. The program is named in memory of actor Jack Oakie, whose career encompassed vaudeville, Broadway musicals, and 87 motion pictures, most of them comedies or musical comedies, including Once in a Lifetime, Million Dollar Legs (with frequent co-star Fields), and It Happened Tomorrow. Oakie received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of a Mussolini-like head of state in Charles Chaplin’s The Great Dictator (1940).
Tickets to the W.C. Fields screening are $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with a valid ID. Doors open at 7 p.m. Seats are unreserved. The Samuel Goldwyn Theater is located at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. Free parking is provided in the garages located at 8920 and 9025 Wilshire Boulevard. For additional information, call (310) 247-3600.
Photos: © A.M.P.A.S.
W. C. Fields Exhibit in Beverly Hills
Poster Exhibition of Oscar-Winning Foreign Language Films
Harold Lloyd Photos at the AMPAS
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Was there ever a worse comedian than W. C. Fields? Well, come to think of it, there’ll always be Ben Stiller and Jim Carrey and Jack Black at the bottom of the ladder.
I would love to hear who Paul above approves of for his comedy.