The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Clyde Bruckman

Writers:

Release Date:

3 March 1933 (USA)

Genre:

Short | Comedy

Plot:

The prodigal son of a Yukon prospector comes home on a night that "ain't fit for man nor beast."

Plot Keywords:

Prodigal Son | Spoof | Bonds | Soup | Canadian Northwest

Cast

W.C. Fields	...	Mr. Snavely
Rosemary Theby	...	Mrs. Snavely
George Chandler	...	Chester Snavely the wastrel son
Richard Cramer	...	Officer Posthlewhistle Canadian Mounted Police (as Rychard Cramer)

Also Known As:

It Ain't a Fit Night Out for Man or Beast (USA) (working title)

Runtime:

21 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Photophone System)

Certification:

Australia:G | UK:U

Company:

Mack Sennett Comedies

Trivia:

In Fields' first sound film, The Golf Specialist (1930) there is a wanted poster of Fields which shows him in his "Fatal Glass of Beer" costume. It evidently was taken from an earlier stage presentation of the classic Fields sketch.

Quotes:

Mr. Snavely: I think I'll go milk the elk.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Old Fashioned Way (1934)

W.C. Weird

This early short subject, beloved to some of us; really shows one of the great qualities that would set his (best) comedy apart: he was strange. Not exactly verbal comedy, nor really slapstick, W.C. seemed to create his own oddball universe much like, but never quite, ours.

I loved this short from the first time I saw it as a kid, and I think it's one of a kindness really makes it his best (though others are quite funny.) Mack Sennett wanted something more in the way of conventional slapstick; Feilds had to fight for this; which is in part a spoof of sentimental wilderness poetry about Alaska.

Nobody liked it at the time. Fields himself said, "maybe it's not good. But I like it." Thank Godness he stuck by his guns and went on to create his own one of a kind comedy world.