DVD Review: Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)

Kino Lorber has released, on blu ray, W.C. Fields in his last starring film, "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break." Fields plays himself, an established movie star who opens the film admiring a billboard for his latest movie, the 1940 classic "The Bank Dick." The film then moves into its disjointed plot with Fields presenting his latest script to a studio executive (Franklin Pangborn) who reads it, as it plays before us. It is a surreal tale about Fields and his niece (Gloria Jean) traveling by plane. Fields' liquor bottle falls out of the plane and he jumps out after it, landing on the outdoor furniture of a woman (Margaret Dumont) who lives atop a mountain with her young daughter (Susan Miller). The daughter has never seen a man before.

While the film cuts away regularly to Pangborn's amusingly frustrated reaction to a script that makes no sense at all, the footage we see as he is reading is actually a delightfully surreal experience that has Dumont falling for Fields, who considers marrying her for her money, and includes the very funny Leon Errol as Fields' rival. Every player in the film is operating at full capacity and all seem to be having a great time with the craziness.

Gloria Jean anchors the proceedings as the niece, always appealing with her beautiful singing voice and her sweet manner. Margaret Dumont is wonderful as the shrewish recluse who moved to the mountain to get away from all men, but still happens to immediately fall for both Fields and Errol. Franklin Pangborn might actually offer the best performance of his long, delightful career as the outraged studio executive, whose frustrations with Fields' script builds with each sequence.

Attesting to its surrealism, "Never Give a Sucker An Even Break" has scenes that don't even connect with what exists of a plot or narrative. One of the true highlights is a tete-a-tete Fields has in a diner with a wisecracking waitress (Jody Gilbert). Another is when he walks into an ice cream parlor, looks directly at the camera, and states, to the viewer, "this scene was supposed to be in a saloon but the censor cut it out." And the chase scene that concludes the movie has been compared to the Keystone classics, but I think, by now, we can also favorably compare it to what we find in "Bullitt," "The French Connection," and "To Live and Die in L.A." Only along with the excitement, the Fields chase is filled with gags.

Fields was in rather poor health when he filmed this movie, due to problems of long duration. He had fallen ill while filming "Poppy" at Paramount in 1936, and was offscreen for all of 1937. Despite getting a contract with Universal and offering some of his best movies, he was clearly slowing down. His previous film, "The Bank Dick," while considered a timeless classic today, was not a hit in its time. His other Universal productions, including "You Can't Cheat an Honest Man," which brought his radio feud with Charlie McCarthy to movies, and his pairing with Mae West in "My Little Chickadee," had fared slightly better. "Never Give a Sucker an Even Break," with its unbridled surrealism, was considered such a hard sell by the studio, they tossed it into theaters as a second feature on double bills where it often played with Alfred Hitchcock's "Suspicion" as the top liner. It was not a hit, and didn't get much respect until Boomers discovered Fields in the late 60s and understood its approach as one of the true comedy classics of its era.

Today, in the 21st century, as we look at W.C. Fields in Paramount classics like "It's a Gift" and "The Old Fashioned Way," we see his Universal films in a better perspective. Fields responds to the fact that he is older, and less spry. He still carries on, and is every bit as hilarious, if not perhaps even more curmudgeonly, while also coming off as a put-upon Everyman. He might be slower but he is no less funny.

Kino Lorber's blu ray is sharp and wonderful, offering the best quality on this movie thus far. Special features include an enjoyable and interesting commentary track by Eddy Von Mueller and a fun documentary where Wayne and Shuster take an affectionate look at Fields. This is interesting as being done in 1964 before the late 60s/early 70s Fields cultural renaissance happened.

"Never Give a Sucker An Even Break" is a surreal masterpiece, and the fact that it is making its debut on blu ray is worth celebrating. It is available at this link:

Fields-Sucker.