W.C. Fields
Biography: William Claude Dukenfield was the eldest of five children born to Cockney immigrant James Dukenfield and Philadelphia native Kate Felton. He went to school for four years, then quit to work with his father selling vegetables from a horse cart. At eleven, after many fights with his alcoholic father (who hit him on the head with a shovel), he ran away from home. For a while he lived in a hole in the ground, depending on stolen food and clothing. He was often beaten and spent nights in jail. His first regular job was delivering ice. By age thirteen he was a skilled pool player and juggler. It was then, at an amusement park in Norristown PA, that he was first hired as an entertainer. There he developed the technique of pretending to lose the things he was juggling. In 1893 he was employed as a juggler at Fortescue's Pier, Atlantic City. When business was slow he pretended to drown in the ocean (management thought his fake rescue would draw customers). By nineteen he was billed as "The Distinguished Comedian" and began opening bank accounts in every city he played. At age twenty-three he opened at the Palace in London and played with Sarah Bernhardt at Buckingham Palace. He starred at the Folies-Bergere (young Charles Chaplin and Maurice Chevalier were on the program). He was in each of the Ziegfeld Follies from 1915 through 1921. He played for a year in the highly praised musical "Poppy" which opened in New York in 1923. In 1925 D.W. Griffith made a movie of the play, renamed Sally of the Sawdust (1925), starring Fields. Pool Sharks (1915), Fields' first movie, was made when he was thirty-five. He settled into a mansion near Burbank, California and made most of his thirty-seven movies for Paramount. He appeared in mostly spontaneous dialogs on Charlie McCarthy's radio shows. In 1939 he switched to Universal where he made films written mainly by and for himself. He died after several serious illnesses, including bouts of pneumonia.
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: January 29, 1880
Deathday: December 25, 1946
Popularity:
Known For
The Bank Dick
1940-11-29
The Bank Dick
Overview: Egbert Sousé becomes an unexpected hero when a bank robber falls over a bench he's occupying. Now considered brave, Egbert is given a job as a bank guard. Soon, he is approached by charlatan J. Frothingham Waterbury about buying shares in a mining company. Egbert persuades teller Og Oggilby to lend him bank money, to be returned when the scheme pays off. Unfortunately, bank inspector Snoopington then makes a surprise appearance.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-11-29
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Hollywood on Parade No. B-7
1933-01-01
Hollywood on Parade No. B-7
Overview: Features Chico Marx and W.C. Fields
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-01-01
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The Movie Orgy
1968-01-01
The Movie Orgy
Overview: Clips from assorted television programs, B-movies, commercials, music performances, newsreels, bloopers, satirical short films and promotional and government films of the 1950s and 1960s are intercut together to tell a single story of various creatures and societal ills attacking American cities.
Genres: Comedy Documentary History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1968-01-01
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International House
1933-05-27
International House
Overview: Foreign investors converge on a luxury hotel in China to bid on a new kind of radioscope. But, this is a hotel where Burns and Allen are the in-house medical staff, a measles risk sends the whole building into quarantine, and a madcap millionaire crashes dinner in his autogyro. Hotel and radioscope become a stage for an all-star cast of comedians and musicians, from vaudeville to the new generation.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-05-27
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Alice in Wonderland
1933-12-18
Alice in Wonderland
Overview: In Victorian England, a bored young girl dreams that she has entered a fantasy world called Wonderland, populated by even more fantastic characters.
Genres: Family Fantasy Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-12-18
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I Know A Riddle
2004-04-01
I Know A Riddle
Overview: Old fashioned riddles and answers are flashed on the screen, together with non-stop film clips of vintage comedy routines in the background. Cameos from Abbott and Costello, The Three Stooges, and many more.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-04-01
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Follow the Boys
1944-05-05
Follow the Boys
Overview: During World War II, all the studios put out "all-star" vehicles which featured virtually every star on the lot--often playing themselves--in musical numbers and comedy skits, and were meant as morale-boosters to both the troops overseas and the civilians at home. This was Universal Pictures' effort. It features everyone from Donald O'Connor to the Andrews Sisters to Orson Welles to W.C. Fields to George Raft to Marlene Dietrich, and dozens of other Universal players.
Genres: Music Comedy War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-05-05
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Tales of Manhattan
1942-08-05
Tales of Manhattan
Overview: Ten screenwriters collaborated on this series of tales concerning the effect a tailcoat cursed by its tailor has on those who wear it. The video release features a W.C. Fields segment not included in the original theatrical release.
Genres: Drama Comedy Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1942-08-05
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The Hollywood Clowns
1979-03-23
The Hollywood Clowns
Overview: Glenn Ford narrates this hilarious look back at the greatest comedians in movie history.
Genres: Documentary Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1979-03-23
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It's a Gift
1934-11-30
It's a Gift
Overview: After he inherits some money, Harold Bissonette ("pronounced bis-on-ay") decides to give up the grocery business, move to California and run an orange grove. Despite his family's objections and the news that the land he bought is worthless, Bissonette packs up and drives out to California with his nagging wife Amelia and children.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1934-11-30
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You Can't Cheat an Honest Man
1939-02-17
You Can't Cheat an Honest Man
Overview: Fields plays "Larsen E. Whipsnade", the owner of a shady carnival that is constantly on the run from the law. Whipsnade is struggling to keep a step ahead of foreclosure, and clearly not paying his performers, including Bergen and McCarthy, who try to coax money out of him, or in McCarthy's case, steal some outright.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1939-02-17
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Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
1941-10-10
Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
Overview: Never Give a Sucker an Even Break is a 1941 film about a man who wants to sell a film story to Esoteric Studios. On the way he gets insulted by little boys, beaten up for ogling a woman, and abused by a waitress. W. C. Fields' last starring role in a feature-length film.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1941-10-10
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Poppy
1936-06-17
Poppy
Overview: Carny con artist and snake-oil salesman Eustace McGargle tries to stay one step ahead of the sheriff but is completely devoted to his beloved daughter Poppy.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1936-06-17
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Fools for Luck
1928-06-11
Fools for Luck
Overview: Wealthy Sam Hunter is approached by scheming Richard Whitehead about investing in oil. There appears to be no oil, and everyone is angry until oil is re-discovered.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1928-06-11
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My Little Chickadee
1940-02-09
My Little Chickadee
Overview: While on her way by stagecoach to visit relatives out west, Flower Belle Lee is held up by a masked bandit who also takes the coach's shipment of gold. When he abducts Flower Belle and they arrive in town, Flower Belle is suspected of being in collusion with the bandit.
Genres: Comedy Western
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-02-09
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The Big Broadcast of 1938
1938-02-11
The Big Broadcast of 1938
Overview: The Bellows family causes comic confusion on an ocean liner, with time out for radio-style musical acts.
Genres: Comedy Music Romance
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1938-02-11
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The Golf Specialist
1930-08-22
The Golf Specialist
Overview: At a Florida hotel, absconding miscreant J. Effingham Bellweather goes slapstick golfing with the house detective's flirtatious wife and an incompetent caddy.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1930-08-22
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David Copperfield
1935-01-18
David Copperfield
Overview: Charles Dickens' timeless tale of an ordinary young man who lives an extraordinary life, filled with people who help and hinder him.
Genres: Drama Romance Adventure
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1935-01-18
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Two Flaming Youths
1927-12-17
Two Flaming Youths
Overview: Sheriff Ben Holden is in love with hotel owner Madge Malarkey when down-and-out carnival man Gabby Gilfoil shows up hoping to take her for some money. Gilfoil is mistaken for the wanted man Slippery Sawtelle. Neither suitor gets Malarkey but manage to take her husband (wealthy Simeon Trott) for a bundle.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1927-12-17
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The Pharmacist
1933-04-21
The Pharmacist
Overview: A henpecked but stoic pharmacist tries to maintain his precarious balance while dealing with demanding customers and his dysfunctional family.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-04-21
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Pool Sharks
1915-09-19
Pool Sharks
Overview: Two romantic rivals play a game of pool for the hand of their lady love. W.C. Field's debut film.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1915-09-19
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The Dentist
1932-12-09
The Dentist
Overview: An unconventional dentist deals with patients in slapstick fashion.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1932-12-09
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The Fatal Glass of Beer
1933-03-03
The Fatal Glass of Beer
Overview: The prodigal son of a Yukon prospector comes home on a night that "ain't fit for man nor beast."
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-03-03
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The Barber Shop
1933-07-28
The Barber Shop
Overview: An inept barber maintains his good-humored optimism in his small town shop despite having a hen-pecking harridan for a wife and a total lack of sartorial skill.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-07-28
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Man on the Flying Trapeze
1935-08-03
Man on the Flying Trapeze
Overview: Hard-working, henpecked Ambrose Ambrose Wolfinger takes off from work to go to a wrestling match with catastrophic consequences.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1935-08-03
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Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
1934-10-28
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch
Overview: The Wiggs family plan to celebrate Thanksgiving in their rundown shack with leftover stew, without Mr. Wiggs who wandered off long ago an has never been heard from. Do-gooder Miss Lucy brings them a real feast. Her boyfriend Bob arranges to take Wiggs' sick boy to a hospital. Their other boy makes some money peddling kindling and takes the family to a show. Mrs. Wiggs is called to the hopsital just in time to see her boy die. Her neighbor Miss Mazy wants to marry Mr. Stubbins who insists on tasting her cooking. Mrs. Wiggs sneaks her dishes past Stubbins who agrees to marriage. Mr. Wiggs appears suddenly, in tatters, with just the amount of money (twenty dollars) needed to save the family from foreclosure. Miss Lucy and Bob get married.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1934-10-28
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If I Had a Million
1932-11-18
If I Had a Million
Overview: An elderly business tycoon, believed to be dying, decides to give a million dollars each to eight strangers chosen at random from the phone directory.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1932-11-18
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Her Majesty, Love
1931-12-15
Her Majesty, Love
Overview: The wealthy von Wellingens are shocked when the father of their son Fred's fiancée Lia juggles desserts at a formal dinner. They encourage Fred to break the engagement. Lia goes to Berlin to marry a Baron von Schwarzdorf, and Fred arrives too late to stop the marriage.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1931-12-15
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Six of a Kind
1934-02-09
Six of a Kind
Overview: The Whinneys share expenses for their trip to Hollywood with George and Gracie and their great Dane. A clerk in Whinney's bank has put fifty thousand dollars in a suitcase, hoping to rob Whinney on the road, but instead Whinney takes another road and is himself arrested in Nevada.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1934-02-09
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Janice Meredith
1924-12-08
Janice Meredith
Overview: It is 1774, the eve of the American War of Independence. Janice comes from a Tory household. She cavorts with American and British alike, is pursued by Charles Fownes, patriot and friend of General Washington.
Genres: Drama History Romance War
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1924-12-08
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Tillie and Gus
1933-10-13
Tillie and Gus
Overview: Tillie and Augustus Winterbottom are thought to be missionaries when they arrive to find Phineas Pratt trying cheat the Sheridans out of her father's inheritance, including a ferry franchise and a boat. The only way to keep the franchise is to win a race against Pratt's boat.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-10-13
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You're Telling Me!
1934-04-06
You're Telling Me!
Overview: Sam Bisbee is an inventor whose works (e.g., a keyhole finder for drunks) have brought him only poverty. His daughter is in love with the son of the town snob. Events conspire to ruin his bullet-proof tire just as success seems near. Another of his inventions prohibits him from committing suicide, so Sam decides to go on living.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1934-04-06
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Mississippi
1935-03-22
Mississippi
Overview: A young pacifist after refusing on principle to defend her sweetheart's honor and being banished in disgrace, joins a riverboat troupe as a singer, acquires a reputation as a crackshot after a saloon brawl in which the villain of the piece accidentally kills himself with his own gun, falls in love with his former fianceé's sister and finally bullies an apprehensive family into accepting him.
Genres: Music Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1935-03-22
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Million Dollar Legs
1932-07-08
Million Dollar Legs
Overview: A small country on the verge of bankruptcy is persuaded to enter the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics as a means of raising money.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1932-07-08
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So's Your Old Man
1926-10-25
So's Your Old Man
Overview: Gregory La Cava directs this comedy of errors, starring W.C. Fields as a hen-pecked, inebriated inventor who triumphantly creates unbreakable windshield glass while struggling to gain the respect of his social-climbing daughter and nagging wife.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1926-10-25
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Sally of the Sawdust
1925-08-01
Sally of the Sawdust
Overview: Judge Foster throws his daughter out because she married a circus man. She leaves her baby girl with Professor McGargle before she dies. Years later Sally is a dancer with whom Peyton, a son of Judge Foster's friend, falls in love. When Sally is arrested McGargle proves her real parentage.
Genres: Comedy Romance Drama
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1925-08-01
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Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1982-01-01
Oops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
Overview: A collection of bloopers and outtakes from an enormous selection of Hollywood classic productions spanning from the 1930s through the 1980s.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1982-01-01
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Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983-02-25
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Overview: Out-takes (mostly from Warner Bros.), promotional shorts, movie premieres, public service pleas, wardrobe tests, documentary material, and archival footage make up this star-studded voyeuristic look at the Golden age of Hollywood during the 30s, 40, and 50.
Genres: Documentary Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1983-02-25
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It's the Old Army Game
1926-07-10
It's the Old Army Game
Overview: Druggist Elmer Prettywillie is sleeping. A woman rings the night bell only to buy a two-cent stamp. Then garbage collectors waken him. Next it's firemen on a false alarm. And then a real fire.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1926-07-10
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Running Wild
1927-06-10
Running Wild
Overview: Cowardly Elmer Finch is browbeaten by his wife, daughter, fat son and the family dog. After hypnosis he is domineering. He enters a contract with a fifteen-thousand dollar payoff, so his courage can last beyond the hypnosis.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1927-06-10
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Sensations of 1945
1944-06-30
Sensations of 1945
Overview: As dancer Ginny Walker performs on stage, a veiled woman in the audience stands up, accuses Ginny of stealing her husband and then fires a gun at her. After Ginny collapses and is taken to her dressing room, the woman, Julia Westcolt, a friend of Ginny's, dashes backstage, discards her veil, and then congratulates her friend on their successful publicity stunt. When Ginny's press agents, Gus Crane and his son Junior, visit their client backstage, she brags about her feat and chides them for not being more creative in promoting her. Horrified at Ginny's brashness, Junior, a conservative Harvard graduate, chastises her and leaves the room.
Genres: Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-06-30
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W.C. Fields: Straight Up
1986-01-02
W.C. Fields: Straight Up
Overview: Documentary directed by Joseph Adamson.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1986-01-02
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Going Hollywood: The '30s
1984-01-01
Going Hollywood: The '30s
Overview: Robert Preston hosts this documentary that shows what people of the 1930s were watching as they were battling the Depression as well as eventually getting ready for another World War.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1984-01-01
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Hollywood: The Selznick Years
1961-12-31
Hollywood: The Selznick Years
Overview: Henry Fonda hosts this retrospective on the career and films of iconic filmmaker David O. Selznick, who epitomized the era of the auteur producer in the 30s and 40s.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1961-12-31
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Song of the Open Road
1944-06-21
Song of the Open Road
Overview: A beautiful child star tires of life in the spotlight and so disguises herself and sneaks off to join a Civilian Conservation Corps camp to work with normal kids. It doesn't take her long to discover that being "normal" isn't easy as it looks. When a crop is in danger of being ruined because there are not enough people to harvest it, the girl employs some of her famous colleagues to lend a hand. Songs include: "Too Much in Love," "Here It Is Monday," "Delightfully Dangerous," "Hawaiian War Chant" and "Notre Dame."
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1944-06-21
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The Circus: Premiere
1928-01-13
The Circus: Premiere
Overview: Footage from the premiere of Charlie Chaplin's 1928 film 'The Circus'.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1928-01-13
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Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths
1990-01-01
Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths
Overview: Welcome behind the closed doors of a Hollywood that only a select few will ever get to see -- a Hollywood of tragic lives and tragic deaths. Some of the worlds brightest stars are hiding deep, dark secrets that - once revealed show a life of unhappiness, heartbreak and torment that has been so carefully hidden behind the glamour and glitter of the big screen. See the true lives behind some of Hollywoods most iconic stars and learn why, for some, it was as if the act of dying itself was a final performance.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1990-01-01
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Tillie's Punctured Romance
1928-03-03
Tillie's Punctured Romance
Overview: The ring master is plotting to get the circus owner done away with in a lion cage so he can take over.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1928-03-03
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The Old-Fashioned Way
1934-07-13
The Old-Fashioned Way
Overview: The Great McGonigle and his troupe of third-rate vaudevillians manage to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors and the sheriff.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1934-07-13
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Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her
1994-08-09
Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her
Overview: As the first "blonde bombshell," Mae West reigned supreme and changed the nation's view of women, sex and race — on stage, in films, on radio and television.
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1994-08-09
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The Big Parade of Comedy
1964-09-02
The Big Parade of Comedy
Overview: Film clips highlight the funniest scenes and brightest comic stars in MGM's history.
Genres: Comedy Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1964-09-02
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W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films
2000-01-01
W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films
Overview: A Criterion compilation of "six gems that feature the comic genius at his peak: The Golf Specialist, Pool Sharks (silent), The Pharmacist, The Fatal Glass of Beer, The Barber Shop, and, of course, the notorious The Dentist." Pool Sharks is his first film ever, released in 1915; the rest are all five of Fields’ talking shorts, released from 1930 to 1933.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-01-01
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How to Break 90 #3: Hip Action
1933-06-23
How to Break 90 #3: Hip Action
Overview: Bobby Jones is playing golf with his buddies, oblivious to the fact that they are being watched by a drunken juggler.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1933-06-23
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Show-Business at War
1943-05-21
Show-Business at War
Overview: A multi-studio effort to show the newsreel audience the progress of the Hollywood war effort.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1943-05-21
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Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940-07-31
Cavalcade of the Academy Awards
Overview: This 1940 presentation features highlights of earlier (1928 onward) Oscar ceremonies including Shirley Temple and Walt Disney, plus acceptance speeches for films released in 1939 with recipients and presenters including Vivien Leigh, Judy Garland, Hattie McDaniel, Fay Bainter, Mickey Rooney, Thomas Mitchell, Sinclair Lewis, and more, with host Bob Hope.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1940-07-31
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Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
1975-08-06
Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?
Overview: Period music, film clips and newsreel footage combined into a visual exploration of the American entertainment industry during the Great Depression.
Genres: Documentary History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1975-08-06
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That's Entertainment, Part II
1976-05-16
That's Entertainment, Part II
Overview: Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire present more golden moments from the MGM film library, this time including comedy and drama as well as classic musical numbers.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1976-05-16
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The Potters
1927-01-15
The Potters
Overview: Pa Potter invests four thousand dollars in worthless oil stock. Or is it worthless?
Genres: Comedy Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1927-01-15
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The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
1997-11-01
The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
Overview: A film scrapbook, images, phrases from our past, hiding their meanings behind veils. Let's lift those veils, one by one, to find how images, at one time seeming innocent, have revealed, after decades, to have homosexual overtones.
Genres: History Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-11-01
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That Royle Girl
1925-12-07
That Royle Girl
Overview: Joan Royle, beautiful but naive model who came from the slums, falls for Fred Ketlar, the leader of a dance band. When Fred's estranged wife Adele is murdered, Fred is arrested and convicted of the crime. Joan believes that the real murderer is Baretta, a gangster who was keeping Adele as his mistress
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1925-12-07
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Down Memory Lane
1949-08-01
Down Memory Lane
Overview: This film is a compilation, with narration by Steve Allen, of comedies from the old Mack Sennett silent studio. Sennett, himself, appears in a cameo at the end of the film.
Genres: Comedy History Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1949-08-01
Popularity: