The major films of W.C. Fields are almost surreal, with sketchy plots that discard continuity whenever a scene loses his interest. Fields is always the same character: a drunk, a windbag, and an incompetent fool. However, he is surrounded by single-minded, exaggerated characters even more foolish (in their own way) than he is.

The exceptions are his confederates, the bartender (Shemp Howard of the Three Stooges) and the quack doctor (Harlan Briggs). The Fields comic persona drifts through life semi-conscious, with outlandish events occurring around him that suck him into their vortex.

As a filmmaker, Fields was completely without religion or philosophy. He looked for the worst in human nature, extracted it, and made it comic. The bank president (Pierre Watkin) is a smug fop, the bank examiner (Franklin Pangborn) is a prissy, the prospective son-in-law (Grady Sutton) is a dolt. They are all foils for Fields, because they are clueless that he is a con artist. Once the bank examiner wises up, Fields no longer has use for the character, and he disappears from the story.

In The Bank Dick, Fields is unflappable when confronted with bank robbers and examiners, because he knows he can fool them. He has more to fear from middle-aged ladies, who are invariably loud, hypocritical shrews. They see Fields for what he is. Fields is also plagued by an incorrigibly bratty little girl (Evelyn Del Rio), whose habit of beaning Fields with objects becomes a running gag.

The Bank Dick works because it is funny. It is funny because of the characters, situations and timing. We see the boy with his toy gun long before Fields does. We know that Fields will eventually spot him, and tackle him, making a fool of himself. We see it all coming, and laugh anyway. What makes the scene work so well is its bizarre punchline: the mother facetiously tells her son, "You'd like to have a nose like that full of nickels, wouldn't you?"

Fields also manages to work into the 'plot' a satire of filmmaking. He becomes a director for a day, and quickly turns the set into anarchy. The 'English drawing room drama' is to become an outdoor football movie, with the lead still formally dressed. The leading man is two feet taller than the leading woman, and both are hopelessly prim and shallow.

Having spent some time setting up this subplot, Fields' character incongruously walks away from it, despite the naive producer calling after him. The abandonment of story ideas and the short running time is consistent with the film's construction as a series of thinly related sketches.

The Bank Dick was followed by an even better Fields film the next year, Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941). Both movies end in the same manner, with a wild, impressively staged chase scene. Yet a remake of either film is inconceivable. No one could pull it off except W.C. Fields, whose odd, drawled remarks were often more funny than any of Henny Youngman's one liners. (72/100)

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Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening
Suitability For Children: Suitable for Children up Ages 8