Movie Description The great W.C. Fields wrote and stars in this zany Universal comedy. He plays Egbert Sousé (pronounced "Soo-zay"), a genial, unemployed lush who endures a miserable family life until the day he accidentally trips up a bank robber and becomes the town hero. The bank manager rewards him with a detective job and Egbert takes advantage of this new situation by embezzling funds in order to buy stock in a beefsteak mine. All hell breaks loose when a determined bank examiner (Franklin Pangborn) shows up in town to go through the books, and the mayhem ends in a hilarious car chase. The film also features Shemp Howard as the local bartender, Una Merkel as Field's daughter, and Grady Sutton as her whining boyfriend. This was one of Field's last, and best comedies, directed in typically uninhibited fashion by Eddie Cline.
| Credits | | Cast: | Dick Purcell, Franklin Pangborn, Grady Sutton, Shemp Howard, Una Merkel |
Notes Theatrical release: November 29, 1940.
THE BANK DICK was added to the Library of Congress National Film Registry in 1992.
Screenwriter Mahatma Kane Jeeves was the pseudonym for star W.C. Fields. The name was reportedly derived from the stuffy English plays that Fields suffered through as a child. These plays invariably featured characters saying "M'hat, m'cane, Jeeves."
Director Eddie Cline has a long history of helming comic films. He began working in early silent comedies with Mack Sennett, and helped direct two of Buster Keaton's features, THE THREE AGES and SHERLOCK JR. Ralph Ceder is listed in the credits as collaborating director.
Editorial Reviews "...Probably Fields' best film..." Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (12/10/2000)
4 stars out of 5 -- "Often hailed as WC Fields' finest, funniest comedy....The humor still works wonders..." Total Film - Samuel Wigley (04/01/2008)
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