Movie #126- "The Bank Dick" (1940)

You've got to hand it to W.C. Fields.  Where the Marx Brothers relied on their crazy antics and Charlie Chaplin had his Tramp character, Fields went the direction of alcoholic curmudgeon.  He could effortlessly trade sharp barbs with anyone his path, unless it was his wife, in which the comments were generally under his breath.  And if that sour aspect in his character made him an unlikely hero, he also displayed a strong dislike for children, usually a less than endearing quality.  Kids appeared to be the enemy and Fields wasn't afraid to unload his insults toward them.  One has to wonder if someone could repeat such a character in today's climate without some dark undertone or apologetic stance.  Yet Fields made it all work.
In "The Bank Dick", Fields plays the humorously named Egbert Souse (accent on the e), and while the title implies his role as a bank detective, that is only part of the plot.  He briefly dabbles as a movie director (purely on accident) and gets caught up in an embezzlement scheme (due to his own greed).  The situations provide Fields the opportunity to flex his ability at verbal sparing.  However, he was adept to slapstick too, as evidenced in playful bar scene involving his hat.  Modern slapstick just doesn't hold a candle to the early classics. 
Another common thread I've noticed about the early comedies is the love of a car chase.  As long as there have been automobiles and films, high speed thrills is part of the equation.  And "The Bank Dick" follows with a comedic car chase involving Souse, the police, and crooks.  The sheer timing and mayhem that goes into these elaborate sequences is quite impressive.
Fields was not just the star of this film, but also wrote the screenplay, using the name Mahatma Kane Jeeves (read it fast).  It's a shame that Fields would make only four more films following "The Bank Dick" as he died in 1946.  Fields was another early comedian who I knew for his style and manner, yet not his film work.  My love of early film comedy is continuing to grow due to films like this.


Rating: 8/10
Movies I've previously seen: 6
First time viewings: 120