The Old Fashioned Way (1934) watch online HD

I love this movie! Ever since I first saw it as a kid I've counted it among my favorite W.C. Fields comedies, and when I saw it again recently it was just as funny, warm, and entertaining as ever, maybe all the more so with the passage of time. While it may not be the funniest film he ever made, The Old Fashioned Way is perhaps Fields' most autobiographical work, as it recreates the life of the traveling player at the turn of the last century, a life he experienced personally as a vaudeville juggler. (A newspaper indicates that the story takes place in April 1897, which makes the "new-fangled horseless carriage" mentioned at one point very new indeed.) Fields' early years on the road were said to be pretty rough. He and his fellow performers were forever at the mercy of unscrupulous managers, forced to live in crummy lodgings where they ate poorly, in towns where they were generally regarded as no better than tramps and whores by the disapproving townsfolk. It was not unheard of for those unscrupulous managers to abscond with the box office receipts, stranding the actors in hostile territory without a penny. Yet somehow, with the advantage of hindsight, Fields was able to turn these unhappy memories into great comedy, comedy that also serves as something of a history lesson -- albeit a pleasant one -- for viewers interested in the American stage.

Because Fields was in his mid-50s when he made this film he was able to turn the tables, in a sense: instead of reprising his real-life role as a starving young actor he'd graduated by this time to the role of the unscrupulous manager, known here simply as The Great McGonigle. McGonigle leads a ragtag troupe of players who are touring the hinterland in that ever-popular temperance warhorse, "The Drunkard." As our story begins this troupe is fleeing a town one step ahead of the sheriff, and heading for their next engagement in the village of Bellefontaine, where prospects don't look much better. In desperate need of cash, McGonigle is compelled to woo a local wealthy widow who aspires to the stage, the magnificently named Cleopatra Pepperday (played with appropriate magnificence by Jan Duggan), while in the meantime his daughter is wooed by a college boy who also dreams of performing. The boarding house where the troupe stays serves as the locale for two hilarious comic set-pieces, back-to-back: first, McGonigle's lunch is ruined by Mrs. Pepperday's rowdy toddler Albert, who flings food in his face, grabs his nose, and dunks his pocket watch in molasses. And then, as if he hadn't been punished enough already, McGonigle must listen to Mrs. Pepperday's spirited rendition of "The Sea Shell Song."

These two sequences alone are reason enough to make this movie a must-see comedy classic, and, interestingly, in each of them Fields himself plays victimized straight man: first to Baby LeRoy, then to Jan Duggan, whose rendition of the song is a show-stopping triumph. Fields' reactions to both of these characters are priceless, but it's also worth pointing out that in this instance the notoriously paranoid, cantankerous W.C. Fields, who was said to be deeply jealous of other comedians, generously shared the spotlight with not one but two fellow players -- one of whom was a baby! -- and permitted each to temporarily steal the spotlight, to the ultimate benefit of the project.

The movie's finale consists of the troupe's performance of "The Drunkard" plus a sentimental song or two, and, best of all, McGonigle's juggling act. This extended sequence feels like an authentic recreation of just what an evening at a small-town theater of the period would have been like, from the cheap-looking sets and declamatory acting styles to the heavy curtain that hits the stage with a crash after each scene. The juggling routine is a special treat, as it represents the most complete filmed record of Fields' legendary feats of legerdemain. My only complaint is that there are a few too many cut-away shots showing audience members' reactions; I'd have been perfectly happy to watch the whole routine in a couple of uninterrupted takes, with no reaction shots at all. But in any event, the juggling act is wonderful.

According to a recent biography of W.C. Fields by James Curtis The Old Fashioned Way suffered through a troubled gestation process. Just as the film was going into production Fields' original screenplay, entitled "Playing the Sticks," was found to be somewhat jumbled and too brief to sustain a feature-length movie. Apparently the savior of the project was an unheralded screenwriter named Jack Cunningham, then known primarily for his earlier work on Westerns such as The Covered Wagon and a couple of Douglas Fairbanks vehicles. It was Cunningham who reworked and expanded Fields' original script into the seamless story it became, and who chose to interpolate the sequences from "The Drunkard." He also persuaded Fields to dust off his old juggling act for the finale. If this background information is correct, then viewers owe a debt of thanks to Mr. Cunningham for his important contribution to this terrifically entertaining, funny, and nostalgic slice of theatrical Americana.

The Great McGonigle, ham actor extraordinaire, cares for his troupe of performers in THE OLD FASHIONED WAY, thorough chicanery, larceny & skullduggery...

Here is W. C. Fields in all of his pompous, vulgar glory: evasive, duplicitous, sneaky - utterly wonderful. Delivering dialogue in his unique buzz saw rasp, he gives out so many familiar lines that at times he almost seems to be performing a self-parody. This film brilliantly shows why Fields needed the sound cinema to let him be fully appreciated, and with Paramount giving him free rein to develop his material as he wished, it is not surprising that the film is a classic. Fans need look no further to find the essential Fields.

The romance between Judith Allen & Joe Morrison is a rather dull affair, although the young man sings well. Tammany Young plays Fields' loyal amanuensis. Movie mavens will recognize comedian Billy Bletcher as the tomato thrower & sour-visaged sheriff Clarence Wilson, both uncredited. Legend has it that Hollywood's first movie star, Florence Lawrence, derelict & forgotten, made one of her last unbilled appearances here before her 1938 suicide.

Fields found it useful to populate his films with at least one she-dragon, a female of frightful aspect against whom he could bounce off some of his best humor. This film has two: rail-thin, Nora Cecil - prim & dour as the troupe's suspicious landlady; and most especially silly Jan Duggan, horridly bejeweled & curled, as Field's wealthy target. Here was an actress, now nearly forgotten, who could easily equal in hilarity even Fields himself. It is generally overlooked how important her contribution is to the celebrated supper table scene with Fields & Baby LeRoy - one of the funniest sequences ever to appear in an American film. And her rendition of `Gathering Up The Shells On The Seashore' is a wonderful spoof of such sentimental songs as `When You And I Were Young, Maggie,' which were so popular in that era. Miss Duggan would return to briefly plague Fields in three additional films, including THE BANK DICK (1940). (She died in 1977 at the age of 95.)

Fields has included the old melodrama The Drunkard into the plot and to his credit he plays it ‘straight,' letting its honest antique sentiment speak for itself. In his own private olio, Fields makes a curtain call to show off his astonishing talent of legerdemain. It is wonderful to have his routine captured on film as he really is quite amazing - it is easy to see how at one time he was considered the world's greatest juggler. Now he is remembered as one of cinema's supreme comics.

One of my favorite things about this one is seeing W.C. juggle. He started out his show business career as a juggler, and in this movie you get to see some of his act. Even after a couple of decades of drink, he still does a creditable job, to say the least. The cigar box routine is a sight to remember.

It also contains one of the oddest-named characters in any movie, Cleopatra Pepperday, played wonderfully by Jan Duggan. The scene where she sings Gathering Up The Shells By The Seashore is wonderful. Or when she's rehearsing her "line" in the play, "Here comes the prince!" There is also a fascinating little cultural artifact within the movie -- a production of The Drunkard, a 19th century hit, no doubt popular when William Claude was a mere lad.

As per usual, W.C. Fields is incredible. The fascinating thing about him, to me, is the subtlety of his performance. It doesn't LOOK subtle, I'll grant you, but what strikes me is that there are many layers to his performing in movies. On the one hand, there are the huge gestures and loud, familiar voice, but on the other hand there are the muttered asides, the precise facial reactions, the absurd failure to accomplish the simplest tasks, like put his hat on his head without getting it caught on a cane. That's what I mean by subtle, you almost miss it and then you can't explain to yourself what it is that is so incredibly funny about what he's doing.

There's a bit of controversy about the scene where he kicks Baby LeRoy in the bottom, knocking him across the hall. There are many stories of W.C.'s working with Baby LeRoy. Apparently, on one occasion, Fields poured gin into Baby LeRoy's bottle, and when the child began throwing up and falling over, W.C. snorted, "I told you he was no trouper!"

I think it's awful that so many of W.C. Fields' films are not yet released on DVD. This is an oversight that should be rectified soon, we hope!

This is the only time that W.C.Fields captured his brilliant juggling skills in a prolong scene in a feature film he starred in. In some of his late films, in decline, like SONG OF THE OPEN ROAD, he would do a portion of his billiard routine or some such work, but here he was fully involved doing the juggling as an encoure to his performance in THE DRUNKARD. And it fits neatly in that position too. Even into the 1920s it was not unusual for a stage star or manager to alter the mood of the evening by doing something unusual and opposite to what he or she had just done. While performing as Hamlet John Barrymore would do an occasional saxophone solo between acts. So why shouldn't Fields (or "the Great McGonigal") do a bit of juggling for an audience in the sticks?

Normally Fields character dominates his comedy, like Laurel and Hardy's personaes dominate their films, or like the Marx Brothers dominate theirs. But here the story line manages to blend everything better than in most of Fields films. Compare it with POPPY, where Fields (as Eustace McGargle) has to balance two story lines: his attempts to pass off his beloved adopted daughter Poppy as a missing heiress, and his attempt to hoodwink the yokels at a local fair. It would not be too hard to split that film into two movies. But here the story deals with the tribulations of a down-at-the-heels stage manager trying to hold his troop together, despite declining revenues. Actually, although it is a funny movie, THE OLD FASHIONED WAY is a study of tragic frustration. For, in the end, despite all his partial victories, McGonigal can't save his troop. He does put on the play THE DRUNKARD, but he fails to maintain the plays' "angel" Cleopatra Pepperday (Jan Dugan) as backer - he fails miserably in this, probably because he can't bring himself to put her into even one small scene as she is so bereft of talent. She is led to believe that her key line is "Here comes the Prince!", and is seen practicing it before the eyes of her friend the sheriff, who can't believe she is going to be on stage. She never does appear on stage, and is last seen crying with the sheriff trying to comfort her. McGonigal realizes he can't pay his troops salaries, nor the cost of their lodgings. And his daughter is going to leave him to marry the man she loves. Look at his face as he embraces her for what he knows is the last time. Who says Fields couldn't act? He is last seen selling some nostrum to the public, pretending to be hoarse until he drinks it. Only the faithful Tammany Young, as his shill, remains from his days of glory.

It's a real downer ending, but the comedy is superb. The scene of the trapped Fields forced to hear Dugan singing "the Sea Shell Song" is a triumph, and it is frequently forgotten that when McGonigal's daughter's boyfriend offers to audition, he says he knows the "Sea Shell Song" , almost causing Fields to have a stroke! Fields run-ins with Baby LeRoy (who even spoils his juggling routine) are a panic. It is a great little film, and one wishes it were shown more often.

Curiously enough the play THE DRUNKARD (written in the 1840s) was a leading melodrama of the 19th Century, and it would be brought back to the screen by another comic legend a few years later. Buster Keaton, as young Willum, confronted Alan Mowbray (as Lawyer Cribbs) in THE VILLAIN STILL PURSUES HER. That film too is rarely revived on television, and it would be interesting to see it and THE OLD FASHIONED WAY to compare versions of THE DRUNKARD. It is a hokey play by our standards, but in the 1840s, when temperance was such a major topic, it was very important. Still, one can't get out of one's mind the comment of a forgotten supporting bit player in THE OLD FASHIONED WAY. He's a young man, with his girlfriend, watching this play because it is the only entertainment in this one horse town. He looks somewhat more sophisticated than she does...she just looks star struck. He's observing her. "Oh, isn't it wonderful!", she gushes. "You think this is a good play?", he asks (emphasizing "this"). "Oh yes!", she responds. Well what can one say to that kind of reaction - probably quite a common one in the boondock areas of the United States in 1880 or so.

Quintessential W.C. Fields comedy (again, billed as Charles Bogle, he provided the story himself) boasting a pleasant period setting and a plot that revolves around a troupe of traveling players led by The Great McGonigle. The star is given yet another memorable introduction - being signaled by his daughter of the presence of the law, representing their creditors, on his way to the train which is to take them to the next town; here, again, we have a daughter who is willing to forgive her rascally father his every whim and foible.

The film, as such, relies more on atmosphere than the typical Fields 'sketches' and this, perhaps, lends it a charm - and a freshness - that it wouldn't otherwise possess. Among its many notable scenes are: Fields thinking the military reception waiting at the train station is for his troupe's benefit; the dinner sequence with a rampaging, famished troupe and Fields' hilarious encounter with Baby LeRoy (who throws food at him and drops his watch into a jar of molasses) - Fields manages to get even with the child by kicking him when no one's watching!; the rich old lady's cringe-inducing singing audition, with the star reacting accordingly (he's hoping to secure her financial backing for the play the troupe will be presenting in town by promising her a role in it - this is eventually whittled down to a single line, which she's never even called upon to deliver!); Fields falling off the stage during rehearsals, etc.

"The Drunkard" set-piece occupies a good deal of the second half: a hoary melodrama which the troupe performs with gusto - with Fields as the mustachioed and hissable villain of the piece who, at one point, reprises the immortal line from his short THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER (1933) "'T ain't a fit night out for man nor beast". With the closing of each act, the curtain comes crashing down making a loud thumping sound; still, the film is clearly intended as a valentine to the days of vaudeville - and even includes a wonderful juggling routine towards the end that showcases Fields' amazing dexterity (in spite of his advancing age, corpulent physique and propensity for booze).

The final sequence finds The Great McGonigle keeping busy as a medicine showman - having left his daughter behind, so as not to interfere with her happiness alongside a stage-struck boy emanating from a respectable family. Typically, for comedies from this era, romance and songs have been incorporated into the narrative as much as a device by which to counterbalance the star's antics as for purely commercial reasons (since these films were largely intended for family consumption).

I've seen this film at least a dozen times over the past half century and never tire of it. Fields is at his best, and the movie is hilarious. It ranks with You're Telling Me, It's A Gift, The Bank Dick, and My Little Chickadee. It seems incredible that this film gem has not appeared in either VHS or DVD. But such is the blockheadedness of the ruling powers in the media these days.

I agree that Jan Duggan was superb in this movie. It was actually the scene that made me become a W.C. Fields fan. I would love to have an original copy of the movie. I did record it but quality is bad but not so bad that I cannot see "Cleopatra" sing and dance to "The Sea Shell Song." I think I laugh harder every time and that dress & wig could not have been any better for here character. I would even wake my children up when they were small singing this song. Of course they hated it but now that they have gotten older, they will actually ask me to sing it but I just cannot master it like Jan Duggan. I wonder if she was in anymore of his movies as I have not seen her in anything else but what a lady!

There is very little that hasn't been said about the great W. C. Fields. "The Old Fashioned Way" would have been prosaic had it starred anyone else other than WCF. Fields was one of the few comic actors in the history of cinema who could produce priceless jocularity out of a boring script. Unlike perhaps 99% of all the other comic actors of his and our time, Fields never had to work very hard for a laugh. His humor was brought about through subtlety. Watch him very closely and you will discover in essence what natural humor is all about: his mutterings; his facial gestures; his body language; the inflection of his voice; his slight of hands. W. C. Fields doesn't just look and act funny-- he IS funny.

I saw "The Old Fashioned Way" about 30 years ago for the first time and, except for the juggling act and Baby Leroy scene, thought it was pretty innocuous. Of course, I was only a teenager back then and actually thought that "Billy Jack" was the greatest dramatic movie of the 20th century. I'm also ashamed to say that I thought Chevy Chase was actually funny. Ugh! As my tastes matured, I began to realize that so many aspects of life are beyond our control, and all one could ever hope to do was to learn not to take life so seriously. That, I believe, is why W. C. Fields' sense of humor is timeless and continues to relate to future generations.

The next time you watch a W. C. Fields movie, look closely and you may find certain aspects of yourself within Fields' character. Why do you think Homer Simpson has lasted so long??? If you take what has been said in this review into consideration, you will cherish this film for years to come. Fix yourself a dry Martini and enjoy the movie.

A great Fields film in which he gets to juggle, kick a baby, and ham it up. One of the great things about Fields was that he was not afraid of being upstaged, and The Old-Fashioned Way provides the wonderful Jan Duggan (as Cleopatra Pepperday)a scene stealing musical number in which she sings Gathering Shells at the Shore and brings down the house. A superb grotesque, Duggan was also memorable in the underrated A Damsel in Distress as one of the madrigal singers. I hadn't seen this film in 35 years but it was still the comic gem I remembered. Cheers to Fields and Duggan!

If anything, this film is a must-see for two of W.C. Field's scenes: 1) Fields' first meeting with Baby Le Roy (who also appears in It's a Gift), which is easily one of the best comedy scenes in the movies, and 2) Fields' juggling routine, for which he was very famous when he was a vaudevillian, justly so. There are several other great moments of slightly lesser value. Also, the plot and the supporting characters are consistently entertaining and endearing, so this one's a real winner. 9/10

This is one of the top 2 or 3 movies I recommend when someone wants an introduction to the films of W. C. Fields. Classic wisecracking Fields, interaction with Baby LeRoy (including a well-placed kick), the Fields juggling act, and Fields classic costume as he gets off the train and leads (he thinks) a parade, the oversized, ballooning coat. Hi slines are priceless, his interaction with Jan Dugan as Cleopatra Pepperday, singing a song about gathering shells on the seashore brings tears to my eyes with laughter, Nora Cecil does very, very well as the hatchet-faced boarding room landlord Mrs Wendelschaeffer. Very good look at turn of the century melodrama as they present "The Drunkard" onstage. If you see one full-length W. C. Fields movie as an introduction to this comic genius, make it this one! Recommended highly!

"The Old-Fashioned Way" (Paramount, 1934), directed by William Beaudine, ranks alongside "It's a Gift" (1934) and "The Bank Dick" (1940), as W.C. Fields in top form of his comedy profession.

Set at the turn of the century, Fields plays The Great McGonigle (no first name given), head of the McGonigle Repertory, who gets his acting troupe into financial difficulties, spending most of his time trying to leave town before the sheriff could catch up with him. Supporting Fields are Judith Allen as Betty, McGonigle's daughter; Joe Morrison as Wally Livingston, a college student whose wealthy father (Oscar Apfel) detests show people. Wally leaves college to not only join the McGonigle troupe, but to be near Betty. Then there's Baby LeRoy as the mischievous little boy named Albert who not only calls McGonigle "Da Da," but also has his pleasure of placing the old man's expensive watch into a jar of molasses, but McGonigle later shows little Albert that "he got a kick out of that." Jan Duggan, in possibly her best known and expanded screen role in a Fields comedy, plays the homely Cleopatra Pepperday, the richest woman in Bellefontaine, who, according to McGonigle, "dresses up like a well-kept grave." She tries endlessly to audition to get into McGonigle's act by singing "The Seashell Song," and he tries to "win her affections" by "promising" to get her a part in the upcoming show so to get her financial support. He gets the money to put the show on, but ....

The second half of "The Old-Fashioned Way" is then devoted to a play within a play, THE DRUNKARD, first with the burlesque skit in which McGonigle plays the conniving Squire Cribbs, who quips the famous line, "It ain't a fit night out ... for man nor beast," then to young Wally singing a traditional song, "A Little Bit of Heaven Known as Mother." After the play, there is an added bonus (especially for Fields fans) spotlighting McGonigle doing his juggling act (a rare Fields act on film in which The Great Man made famous in vaudeville, and presented on screen in its entirety). The classic and lengthy act is climaxed by a tomato thrown from the audience by Albert to McGonigle, who gets his last laugh.

"The Old-Fashioned Way" is virtually a one-man show for Fields, and even shows his sentimental side near the conclusion when he grants his daughter permission to marry the college boy, in spite the fact that he'd be lost without her. There are many priceless comedic moments in this Fields comedy that's not to be missed. And wait till the end and see how he manages to get his luggage out of the boarding house where he and his troupe are staying without paying the bill.

Also in the cast of character actors are Nora Cecil as Mrs. Wendelschaffer, the boarding house proprietress; Clarence Wilson as Sheriff Friddlewilly; Tammany Young as Marmaduke Gump; Richard Carle as the Sheriff of Barnesville; and Jack Mulhall as Dick Bronson. Joe Morrison, possibly Paramount's answer to Warner Brothers' own singing Dick Powell, is an obscure performer who has a pleasing singing voice and likable personality who succeeds in not wearing the movie down too much. Aside from the song mentioned above, Morrison auditions for McGonigle singing a nice little tune titled "Rolling in Love." Like Morrison, Judith Allen would drift to obscurity by the end of the 1930s, and whose names would only be recalled today by avid film buffs.

Out of TV circulation for over a decade or so, "The Old-Fashioned Way" was resurrected on Turner Classic Movies in June 2001 as part of its Star of the Month tribute to W.C. Fields. (***)

"The Old Fashioned Way" is a valuable piece of Fieldsian history. Filmed in 1934, it portrays the "Flim Flam" side of Fields as he leads his little theatrical troupe past sheriff and the general public in order to perform melodramas, and other feats of vaudeville. Always on a shoestring, this time McGonigle (Fields) enlists a local (Cleopatra Pepperday) to assist him in the play to keep it afloat. Her funds are enough to keep it running another time. WC is at his best in this comedy, and it is especially valuable, because Fields gets to do his old vaudeville juggling act at the end of the movie. Those of us who were aware of Fields' prowess as a juggler gets this only movie to show just how good he was, and a few years before his drinking would start to take its toll on him. This movie has never been released by Universal as a video, which owns the rights to it. Perhaps they are saving the release for an in-house party, for except for the occasional television viewing, there is no other way to see it. Come on, Universal, let's start releasing all of your Fields movies out of your dark and dingy vault! We promise to buy all of them if you do!

This is one of my favorite movies, and it hasn't been on the tube for a very long time; one of my favorite comments was the line when Fields describes Cleopatra Pepperday in his inimitable voice as: "All dressed up like a well kept grave!". According to the IMDb site it was originally produced and released by Paramount Pictures - does anyone know who has the rights to this? Why wasn't this on the WC Fields collection with My Little Chickadee and others (that was a blend of Paramount and Universal features)? I'd like to see this one and "The Big Broadcast of 1938" packaged together - there'd be the extra bonus of Bob Hope and Shirley Ross doing "Thanks for the Memory". Anyone know how to get a letter writing campaign started??

There will never be another W.C. Fields in the entertainment world. He was one of a kind, an original, and unique in his style of comedy. He never played sympathetic characters like his peer comedians like Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, or Harold Lloyd. In this film, he plays the head of a traveling theater company. They stop in a small town where his daughter falls in love. He often plays father figures to the young women. In order for his show to succeed, he conned a local widow which I thought was wrong in how it ended up. The film is a comedy and sometimes light-hearted. W.C. Fields was a comic genius and one of the great old time performers and movie stars of his day. It's worth watching this film at least once to appreciate his comedic genius.

When W.C. Fields set out to make THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY in the spring of 1934, he had quite recently reached super-stardom in the movies, although having been a well-known stage presence for decades, both as a juggler and comedian. As such, it may not come off as surprising that he chose for his next story to look back upon his rough past, which partly consisted of humiliating treatment from managers, lousy payment, and less than average living conditions. At the turn of the last century, unless you had the name of Sarah Bernhardt, the theatre business, and vaudeville in particular, was regarded as the prime of indecency, a profession to which shame was associated.

Playing The Great McGonigle, Fields here pokes fun at the prejudices of which he probably was victimized in his youth; just like all of the characters he portrayed in his comedies, McGonigle has to suffer a constant lack of respect from everybody, except for the few poor fools who take his mask of sincerity and self-assurance seriously. Preparing his rather mediocre play in a small-town, he acquaints Mrs. Pepperday, wealthiest lady in town. Determined to have the woman pay for the set-up, he pretends to be in awe of her singing talents (or may I say attempts at singing). Meanwhile, his less eccentric daughter is gradually falling in love with a rich and charming boy who won't leave her, despite his own father's skepticism.

The story may sound simple, and so it is, but no less does Fields manage to perform quite a few of his funniest routines ever, while always remaining conscious of the old-fashioned setting which is essential to the mood of the film. Most well-known is probably McGonigle's noble attempts at hiding his understandable contempt for Mrs. Pepperday's baby boy Albert, who during dinner dips one of McGonigle's few valuable belongings, a watch, in a glass of molasses. Reminding himself of Pepperday's wealth, McGonigle drenches his fury behind a forced grin; "You should see him when nobody's around!" "Yeah, I'd like to catch, er, meet that li'l fellow when nobody's around..." Finally alone with the lad, Fields does a stunt which has come to symbolize his attitude towards children on film: kicking the baby in the rear end. Paramount was not pleased with this bit, fearing that the public would get upset, and sadly decided to add a glimpse of the baby smiling following the kick, in order to assure us that he's all right. This may diminish the big laugh somewhat, but it also demonstrates how Fields's frank humor was ahead of its time, forcing him to truly fight for his best ideas to be permitted once in a while, unlike today when comics can pretty much get away with anything. I like it better in the Fields manner, as he is able to show us exactly how vulgar he's inside without being overly vulgar from the outside; this is what makes his comedy timeless in my eyes, as it continues to suit our current era despite being faithful to the expectations of Fields's own time.

Anyway, shortly after McGonigle's revenge, Mrs Pepperday persuades him to attend an unforgettable ("unforgettable" being emphasized) singing performance of her's; it gets me in stitches every time how Fields repeatedly fails to subtly put an end to the horrible experience. However, despite all the hilarious sequences, including the parody on typical melo-dramas of the era which seems to be spot-on, the highlight of the film is not really a comedy act; towards the end, Fields gives room for what is the best documentation of his juggling skills we are likely to ever see. As a boy, Fields reportedly wanted to become the world's greatest juggler, and while I possess absolutely no talent whatsoever whereas juggling is concerned, this performance should make him at least a worthy candidate in my book.

There's no way getting around that THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY includes several of the very best moments with Fields, of which I have here only mentioned a few. In entirety, however, the film isn't quite on the same level as IT'S A GIFT and MAN ON THE FLYING TRAPEZE, which I consider to be his very best work. As was the case with the Marx Brothers, and Laurel & Hardy at another studio, apparently Paramount did not feel confident that Fields's routines alone could do a feature-length film; in part they were right, as Fields did not bother to pay attention to story structure and such, preferring to write the comedy sequences only, and in that respect one should be grateful that other writers were hired to fill in the gasps. The sad thing is that these writers always chose to use the same sub-plot over and over again, involving a stereotypical romantic conflict which, in startling contrast to Fields, appears very dated today; one almost begs for the comedian to turn up again when he is not present. On the plus side, however, in THE OLD-FASHIONED WAY the sub-plot at least comes off as being relevant to the main story, at one point even providing Fields with an opportunity to reveal a softer, more complex aspect of his twisted character.

This is a film which deserves more recognition, just like The Great Man himself, by the way.

An interesting Fields film, not his best. There was a lot that was really good, but I thought that too much of the film involved the performance of "The Drunkard" which I did not care for. Apparently, Fields was known earlier in his career as a vaudeville juggler, and at the end of this film is a vignette of him reprising this. Even much older, he was phenomenal at it, and it is good to have it on film.

A W.C. Fields comedy and drama, in which he plays the lead, as The Great McGonigle, of a smalltime traveling vaudeville group, who seldom pay their boarding bill before disappearing from town, and try to get others to pay for their performance expenses, so they can keep most of the receipts. The sheriff is at the train, waiting for W.C. to show up, to serve him a warrant. But W.C. has a hot idea how to destroy the warrant and board the train with the rest of his troupe.

W.C. is having dinner with the troupe in Mrs. Wendelschiffer's boarding house, when the wealthy widow Cleopatra Pepperday(Jan Duggan) shows up with her young son, Albert(Baby LeRoy). They join the feast, with Albert sitting in a high chair next to W.C., who becomes the victim of several baby pranks. Albert takes his watch and dunks it in a bowl of molasses, then tweaks W.C.'s bulbous nose. Next, he throws some oatmeal on W.C.'s face. In retaliation, after the others have left, W.C. kicks Albert in the butt lightly, so as not to make him cry.

W.C. gets Cleopatra to sponsor the troupe's play "The Drunkard" by flattering her awful singing(Gathering the Shells at the Seashore" and by promising to give her a small part, with one line, in the play. She's excited by this prospect, but is disappointed when the final curtain closes, without having been on stage. The play is a dull affair: late 19th century styled, and takes up a significant amount of time. However, it is followed by the highlight of the film: an exhibition of W.C.'s juggling talent. Juggling was the chief showbiz skill of W.C. in his early career. It's said he used to juggle oranges and apples when not tending customers to his father's street fruits and vegies cart.

W.C.'s film daughter, Betty(Judith Allen), has an admirer(Wally), who has been following the troupe wherever they go. She's hesitant to accept, because his parents are wealthy upper class, who typically look down on theatrical performers. In fact, Wally's father, who comes to see what Wally is up to, says he doesn't want his son to merry her. Fortunately, he later changes his mind, and gives his blessing to their engagement. However, he doesn't want to see W.C., whom he considers a low life. W.C overhears this conversation, and announces he's quitting the troupe, and moving to NYC. But, he doesn't say what he will do there. I have the impression he has done some of this before.

Overall, not one of my favorite W.C. comedies, but worthwhile to see his juggling skill.

A comedian like W.C Fields remains good in films but the quality is uneven. Most of his yarns contain very good moments but the plots and pace are a bit lacking. His most consistently funny comedy is "The Bank Dick" in my opinion. "The Old Fashioned Way" has little in the way of a coherent story and the film moves along fairly slowly. The setting is late 1890s which does work. Fields is the one to watch by far. He plays a rather shady character who travels with a troupe of actors and other show business types. He is shady because he fails to pay his rent in various boarding houses and is wanted by the law (as Fields invariably was). The second half of "The Old Fashioned Way" plays more like a variety act. It is quite good but the part where W.C Fields demonstrates his juggling skills is something to marvel at! No camera trickery involved, just expert timing and sleight of hand. Goodness knows how long it must have taken the comedian to master his art. I was very impressed. The scenes with that woman with the dreadful singing voice are very funny, Fields showed good comic timing. An interesting film but not as funny as I was expecting.

It certainly shows the seamier side of vaudeville at the turn of the century, concerning a third-rate traveling show. "The Great "McGonigle" (Fields) is at it's best when on-stage and at the boarding house. He is full of hot air, blustering his way through all situations and just a hair-breath away from bankruptcy and the local sheriff. Always with a pretty daughter, in love with a rich fiancée. Too much singing, like some of the Marx Bros. films. A play within-a-play, as "The Drunkard" is performed on stage. It's a classic melodrama from 1844 and predates "Uncle Toms' Cabin". "Albert" (Baby Leroy) livens up dinnertime. ("Give them only soup and lots of crackers and bread") His juggling act with classic blocks and pins is first-rate. As in other Fields stories, he "steps aside" and disappears, for his daughter's sake. His "skipping out" is hilarious, as he skips out while pretending to be checking in yet another stage trunk at the boarding house! He goes to NYC and survives as a "snake oil" salesman!

There's genuinely little in the way of plot but tons of laughs anyway in this gaslight era study of a traveling theater group and the various scrapes they get into thanks to their leading comic W.C. Fields. One of three films in which Fields encountered Baby LeRoy, this is famous for the sequence where Fields gets delicious revenge on the prankster tot. It is also extremely memorable for the scene where he romances a wealthy but untalented singer (Jan Dugan) and the finale during the show within the show where he performs his hysterically funny juggling act. The typical young romance is there (between actor Joe Morrison and Judith Allen, playing Fields' daughter) , but when Fields is off-screen, the film sags, but only a bit because he's on for most of it.

While there's not much plot to speak of, W.C. Fields is wonderful as the Great McGonigle, leading his rag tag troupe of awful actors from town to town, performing the stuffy melodrama 'The Drunkard'.

Fields pulls off playing a misanthrope you can't help but love, because his hostility seems to only be there to protect his bigger than life heart.

A lot of the supporting cast is very funny as well, especially a little kid named 'Baby Le Roy', who couldn't be more than 2, but who manages to be coaxed into all sorts of great comic takes.

A love letter to the theater and vaudeville, we see Fields do a whole bunch of juggling and other tricks, which don't have much to do with the story (such as it is), but are a lot of fun to watch.

A lot of smiles and a some real laughs. A large number of critics dismiss this as lesser Fields, but it didn't feel that 'lesser' to me.

The Old Fashioned Way has W.C. Fields as the head of a troupe of strolling players who are just above the poverty level and Fields has to stay one step ahead of the law to dodge his many creditors. Part of that troupe is his daughter Judith Allen and she's got a young man played by Joe Morrison who wants to leave college and go on the stage in pursuit of her.

This is a period film and it goes back to the turn of the last century right about the time when a young juggler named W.C. Fields was going into vaudeville. The Old Fashioned Way offers us a rare treat to see Fields doing the juggling act which he started in show business with. I'm sure Fields drew from his experiences way back when to both write the original story on which the film is based and to give his usual good performance.

The film has a musical score of mostly old public domain standards, but the songwriting team of Mack Gordon and Harry Revel wrote a couple of original songs for the film. Gordon and Revel were with Paramount at the time, but would soon move to 20th Century Fox where they wrote a number of songs Alice Faye introduced. Morrison has a nice tenor voice and a pleasing, but somewhat limp personality. He does the best known song from the film, Poor Folk well with his tenor, but I have a bootleg radio recording of Russ Columbo doing it on one of his radio shows. Russ's baritone is far more suitable to the number than Morrison's tenor.

Still the show in this film is Fields and no one comes near stealing this film from him. Actress Jan Duggan plays the rich spinster who has stage ambitions and who Fields courts relentlessly, even putting himself through the torture of hearing her sing a really stupid song about gathering sea shells. Duggan would play Bill Fields's foil in several more film after The Old Fashioned Way.

Fans of the eternal Fields will like The Old Fashioned Way and if you see it you'll become a fan of W.C. Fields.

The very slender plot of this unusual W.C. Fields vehicle centers on the antics of the "Great McGonigle" (Fields), a con artist in charge of a theatrical troupe that tours the country performing that staple of late 19th century melodrama, "The Drunkard." Always one step ahead of the law, McGonigle and Company arrive in a small town where they encounter Cleopatra Pepperday, a wealthy widow with acting ambitions (played by Jan Duggan, one of the funniest and most memorable of Fields's female foils) who bankrolls the struggling thespians in exchange for a part in the play; meanwhile, McGonigle's daughter (Judith Allen) is pursued romantically by a wealthy college student (Joe Morrison) and Fields gets the opportunity to show off his physical schtick with Duggan, Baby LeRoy and others. This offering is divided into three chunks: the plot itself, several scenes from "The Drunkard" enacted in what appears to be an attempt to recreate the manner in which a fifth-rate company would have performed such a piece at that time in history, and an extended epilogue of sorts in which Fields demonstrates the juggling prowess he mastered over his decades in vaudeville. No matter. Fields delivers consistent belly laughs and toward the end a marvelously understated bit of fatherly emotion.

W.C. Fields' films are a mixed bag. When they are great, they are among the funniest films made. Despite having seen "It's a Gift", "The Bank Dick" and "You're Telling Me" several times each, I still enjoy seeing them again as they are almost perfect comedies. However, Fields also made a lot of middle of the road films--mostly because the films were bogged down by too much plot and too much sentimentality. "The Old Fashioned Way" manages to have a bit too much plot and a bit too much sentimentality but it still manages to work...despite being a bit of a mixed bag.

This movie finds Fields as a cheap traveling showman--a very familiar plot for him. He's 'The Great McGonigle'--the leader of a traveling troop of not particularly talented actors who always seem to be just a few steps ahead of the law and creditors. Too much of the film concerns the troop and their lame performances. However, there also is a lot to like. First, while it seems to have nothing to do with the rest of the film, Fields put on a wonderful show towards the end of the film when he entertains the audience with juggling. While there are certainly better jugglers in the world, he was certainly no slouch! And, seeing an accomplished actor like Fields showing such dexterity and grace is quite entertaining. He apparently was quite the juggler in his vaudeville days, yet here in his 50s he's amazing spry! Second, while there is a lot of sentiment (yeck), the sentimentality is handled well--especially at the end when McGonigle makes a bit sacrifice for his daughter's future (the same ending, by the way, in his film "Poppy"--where he plays 'Professor McGargle').

Overall, while it's not as funny as Field's best and there is perhaps too much plot, the film is still a gem for anyone liking W.C. Fields films.