You Can't Cheat An Honest Man (1939)

You Can’t Cheat An Honest Man (1939) – A circus owner (W.C. Fields) with a tendency to run out on his debts, has to deal with various issues at the circus and his daughter’s love life.

Directed by George Marshall                         Starring: W.C. Fields, Edgar Bergen, and                                                                                                            Charlie McCarthy

Fields is an acquired taste for some.  His humor is rapid fire, emphasizing physical comedy and overblown dialogue.  The characters he portrayed over his career had several traits in common.  They were generally fans of alcohol and not fans of children or dogs.  As a general rule, they were also a bit paranoid, prone to at least threats of violence, and perfectly willing to bend the truth to their own advantage.  Yet there was still something charming about those characters.  The feeling is that it’s all a bluff, a facade to protect an insecure personality that simply wants to be liked.

The one thing you commonly won’t find in a Fields movie is much of a plot.  Here the story revolves around various law enforcement agencies trying to serve legal papers on Larson E. Whipsnade (oh yes, Fields characters usually sport rather Dickensian names), and the love life issues of his daughter Victoria (Constance Moore).  You watch this movie to see and hear Fields.  Here he duels with a favorite opponent, the ventriloquist’s dummy Charlie McCarthy.

An interesting side note is that Bergen was paid as much as Fields for this movie.  The ventriloquist was a huge radio star and had given Fields a regular opportunity to appear.  The comedian’s life had suffered from his actual alcoholism for several years, and he wasn’t getting any movie work.  The “feud” between Fields and Charlie McCarthy had taken the public’s imagination.  This movie was simply a way to cash in on the popularity.  After Paramount had dropped him because of his drinking, Universal signed him.  The result was four of his greatest and best-known movies, this one, followed by “My Little Chickadee” (with the incomparable Mae West), “The Bank Dick“, and “Never Give a Sucker An Even Break”.  He would only make guest appearances four times after “Sucker” before his death in 1946.

Also worth adding to your list is the 1935 George Cukor directed “David Copperfield” where Fields plays Mr. Micawber.

The lack of a plot and the attempt to create a romantic sub-plot between Bergen and Moore slows the movie down.  When McCarthy and Fields are going at it, the movie is a delight.

Why You Will Like It – Fields is a true one of a kind.

Rating – **** Recommended.