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Movies / On DVD / Never Give a Sucker An Even Break
Never Give a Sucker An Even Break

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Never Give a Sucker An Even Break (1941)

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Reviews Counted:10

Fresh:10

Rotten:0

Average Rating:8.1/10

Runtime: 71 mins

Genre: Comedies

Synopsis: In his last starring role, W.C. Fields plays himself, having a typical day at his studio, Esoteric Pictures. Director Eddie Cline masterfully imparts a certain level of surreal spontaneity to... In his last starring role, W.C. Fields plays himself, having a typical day at his studio, Esoteric Pictures. Director Eddie Cline masterfully imparts a certain level of surreal spontaneity to Field's digressions and misadventures. Fields eats breakfast, spars with a sarcastic waitress (Jody Gilbert), and then pitches his fractured script to studio head Franklin Pangborn. The script reading becomes a film within a film, commencing with the hero of the tale (Fields again playing himself) leaping out of an airplane in hot pursuit of a flask of whiskey. He lands on the bed of an innocent young girl and tries to seduce her before her mom (Margaret Dumont) comes crashing in. Fields then escapes over a cliff in a basket. Things get even more bizarre before Pangborn throws him out, and back into a "reality" that culminates in a lengthy, frenetic car chase. There's also some musical interludes courtesy Gloria Jean, a singing star Universal was grooming for success at the time. Though Fields undoubtedly bristled at the studio's insistence he share the bill, the two actually display a touching rapport in their scenes together; just another small miracle in this truly unique and hilarious film. [More]

Starring: W.C. Fields, Margaret Dumont, Gloria Jean, Leon Errol

Starring: W.C. Fields, Margaret Dumont, Gloria Jean, Leon Errol, Anne Nagel, Franklin Pangborn, Mona Barrie, Susan Miller, Charley Lang, Nell O'Day, Claude Allister, Leon Belasco, Emil Van Horn, Billy Wayne, Minerva Urecal, Jody Gilbert, William Gould, Emmett Vogan, Jack Lipson, Dave Willock, Duke York, Ed Bruce, Kay Deslys, Kathryn Sheldon, Michael Visaroff, Irene Colman, Carlotta Monti, Francis Morris, Frank Austin, Jack Roper, Charles McMurphy, Emma Tansey, James Brick Sullivan, Harriette Haddon, Marcia Ralston, Bill Wolfe, Jean Porter, David Sharpe, Victor Potel, Charles Lang, Prince the Dog

Director: Edward Cline

Director: Edward Cline
Screenwriter: John T. Neville
Composer: Frank Skinner
Screenwriter: Prescott Chaplin
Story: W.C. Fields

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Apr 11, 1987

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Reviews for Never Give a Sucker An Even Break

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N/R

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Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
03/26/09
Variety
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N/R

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Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
08/08/06
New York Times
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
01/26/06
Time Out
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Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
09/26/05
Christopher Null
Christopher Null
Filmcritic.com

Refreshingly bizarre.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
04/18/05
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

No review available.

comment Comment
02/27/04
Daniel M. Kimmel
Daniel M. Kimmel
Worcester Telegram & Gazette

No review available.

comment Comment
09/05/03
Carol Cling
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
05/24/03
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Nearly brilliant, nearly surreal, mostly funny

comment Comment
10/22/02
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

No review available.

comment Comment
09/19/02
Jeffrey Westhoff
Jeffrey Westhoff
Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL)

Classic Fields! No story really, just a series of vignettes, but it has you rolling on the floor.

comment Comment
08/30/02
Bob Bloom
Bob Bloom
Journal and Courier (Lafayette, IN)

Just plain funny.

comment Comment
08/13/02
John Urbancich
John Urbancich
Sun Newspapers of Cleveland

one of the many reasons Fields is still acclaimed as a comic genius

comment Comment
07/29/02
James Sanford
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette

Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941) is a tour de force of W.C. Fields off-beat humor, double-takes, and priceless lines and sketches.

Full Review Source: Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films | comment Comment
01/01/00
Tim Dirks
Tim Dirks
Tim Dirks' The Greatest Films
 
 
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