DVD Review: Running Wild – W.C. Fields silent (1927)

W.C. Fields made many silent movies, and nearly all of them were lost or inaccessible for decades. Kino Lorber has released two of his finest on DVD and blu ray, including “It’s the Old Army Game” (reviewed here), and “Running Wild.” “Running Wild” is the best W.C. Fields silent movie.

Elmer Finch is a very timid man who is bossed around by his harridan of a second wife, and her fat, lazy son. Even his stepson’s dog attacks him. The only love he gets is from his young daughter from his first marriage. He is also a put-upon, poorly paid clerk in an office. Stumbling into a vaudeville house where a hypnosis act is going on, Elmer is hypnotized into being fearlessly confrontational. He secures an important contract for his firm with his aggressive behavior, takes over leadership in his home, and, when the hypnotist finally catches up with him and breaks the spell, his life is suddenly different.

It is interesting in the early scenes to see Fields play a character who is so completely timid, who responded to everyone with such cowardice. He would again in the future (some elements of this film were reworked for the sound feature Man on the Flying Trapeze), but this character continually shows the depth of Fields’ ability as an actor. While Fields employs all of his established comic gestures, he also extends to include actions and mannerisms that further define Elmer Finch. He winces, cringes, keeps his head down, shrugs his shoulders, and speaks to people without looking them in the eye. Then, when he is hypnotized, all of these elements are reversed. He jumps, he flails, he yells, and he completely dominates every situation.

This transition is both funny and triumphant. Elmer had been so cowardly that it almost reached a level of viewer frustration that he didn’t stand up to anyone. When hypnosis causes the opposite extreme, the entire rhythm of the movie shifts from pleasant and settled to outrageous and raucous. Fields’ performance is the axis of the film, and it is he who dictates the rhythm. He takes us as far as he can with Elmer’s timidity, then just as we become frustrated in our sympathies for the character, he makes the complete turn with the hypnosis scene and changes direction. This structure is most effective, making the later scenes that much more amusing than the earlier one. Mary Brian, who plays the daughter, lived into her 90s and recalled Fields fondly. He liked her so much that he used her as his daughter again when he reworked some elements of this movie as the talkie “Man on the Flying Trapeze.”

W.C. Fields responded well to Gregory LaCava’s original story, and realized he could do a lot with this character. He does. Since our appreciation for Fields is due pretty much exclusively for his later work in sound films, it is interesting to see how well he did in silent comedy. His voice certainly added another distinct element to his character, but a movie like “Running Wild” shows how much Fields was able to do with physical comedy. He conveys his character’s traits quite effectively, and easily meets the challenge of playing one in which the character traits change pretty significantly mid-film.

Kino Lorber’s print is beautifully restored in 2k from 35mm elements at the Library of Congress. It features a great piano score by Donald Sosin, and, among the special features, commentary by Yours Truly, author of “The W.C. Fields Films.”

Running Wild is available here.