Tillie and Gus (1933)

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 ... See full summary »

Director:

Francis Martin

Writers:

Walter DeLeon (screenplay), Francis Martin (screenplay),

Stars:

W.C. Fields, Alison Skipworth, Baby LeRoy

Cast

Complete credited cast:
W.C. Fields	...	Augustus Winterbottom
Alison Skipworth	...	Tillie Winterbottom
Baby LeRoy	...	The 'King'
Julie Bishop	...	Mary Sheridan (as Jacqueline Wells)
Phillip Trent	...	Tom Sheridan (as Clifford Jones)
Clarence Wilson	...	Phineas Pratt
George Barbier	...	Captain Fogg
Barton MacLane	...	Commissioner McLennan
Edgar Kennedy	...	Judge
Robert McKenzie	...	Defense Attorney
Ivan Linow	...	The Swede

Storyline

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.

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Plot Keywords:

missionary | inheritance | saloon | judge | uncle | 

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Passed

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 1933 (USA)

Also Known As:

Esperto Contra Sabido

Filming Locations:

Malibou Lake, Agoura, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

58 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Noiseless Recording)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Before the steamboat race, one of the boats used in the filming began to sink. The crew frantically tried to bail, but water was coming in as fast as they could bail it out. The fire department was called, and set their pumps to work until 1 AM, to no avail; the water was still rushing in. Director Francis Martin called the man who built the boat, who stated that it could not spring a leak. Martin ordered the man to come down to the set and see for himself. Seeing the boat list to one side, the builder repeated that it could not spring a leak. The following conversation is reported to have taken place, at that point: Francis Martin: "All I know is we've been pumping water out of her hold for nine hours and it comes in as fast as we pump it out." Builder: "She ain't got a hold." Francis Martin: "I don't care what the technical term is, all I know is we've been pumping water out of her interior for nine hours." Builder: "She ain't got an interior any more than a raft. She's flat on the bottom, sitting on drums. You've got all that heavy stuff on one side and that's what makes it lean over. You've been bailing Malibu Lake into Malibu Lake for nine hours."

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Quotes

Augustus Q. Winterbottom: The passing years have slowed you on the draw, my little chickadee.

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Soundtracks

"Long, Long Ago"
(1883) (uncredited)
Music by Thomas Haynes Bayley
Played by an unidentified pianist in Tillie's bar in Shanghai

User Reviews

Very funny

A light comedy, certainly, not on par with Fields' classics such as The Bank Dick, It's a Gift, and That Old-Fashioned Way, but Tillie and Gus is still a fine 1930s comedy. And Fields is in top form, with several great set pieces

• a crooked card game, making paint, and throwing firewood down to the

boiler room. Alison Skipworth is also quite good. The only major disappointment is Baby LeRoy, who, in his first pairing with Fields, was probably just too young. He's still cute and mischievous, but he and Fields never go at it in the same way as they do in That Old-Fashioned Way and It's a Gift. Even more creepy is the fact that Baby LeRoy's voice had to be dubbed, probably because he wouldn't make the required noises. This makes him seem like the antichrist - even more so. 8/10