W.C. Fields and Me (1976)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Arthur Hiller

Writers:

Bob Merrill (writer)
Carlotta Monti (novel)

Release Date:

11 January 1978 (France)

Genre:

Biography | Drama

Tagline:

Even a man who hates children and dogs has to love someone.

Plot Keywords:

Interurban Railway | Vaudeville Comedian | Movie Comedian | Florenz Ziegfeld | Period In Title

Cast

Rod Steiger	...	W.C. Fields
Valerie Perrine	...	Carlotta Monti
John Marley	...	Studio Head Bannerman
Jack Cassidy	...	John Barrymore
Bernadette Peters	...	Melody
Dana Elcar	...	Agent Dockstedter
Paul Stewart	...	Florenz Ziegfeld
Billy Barty	...	Ludwig
Allan Arbus	...	Gregory LaCava
Milt Kamen	...	Dave Chasen
Louis Zorich	...	Gene Fowler
Andrew Parks	...	Claude Fields
Linda Purl	...	Ingenue

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Pasadena, California, USA

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The red Pacific Electric interurban rail car (1058) seen in the film had in reality been rescued from the scrapper and was fitted with an internal-combustion engine, rubber tires and a steering mechanism. It appeared in several period Los Angeles-area films, but this movie shows it off to its best advantage. In a happy twist of fate, in 2001 it was refitted with its historic steel wheels and electric traction motors and controls to operate on a new rail line serving San Pedro, CA.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Hollywood Rocks the Movies: The 1970s (2002) (TV)

I hope this film is released to DVD

I had the unique perspective of living at the set in La Canada, California at the time this movie was being filmed.(I was working at nearby JPL in Pasadena) I appreciated the director's attention to detail and was able to meet Rod Steiger and Valerie Perrine between "takes." The sets were fantastic, as were the performances. The crew spent about three weeks preparing the house and bringing in the properties that were used to re-create W.C. Fields's home. The crew painstakingly stenciled 1930s designs near the ceiling of the room. Since that would make the living room stand out, they carried the design into several other rooms that were not used during the production! There is a scene of the outside of the house that shows the room that I was living in.

One of the rules on the set was that no one could imitate W.C. Fields while Rod Steiger was on the set. I believe that Rod worked very hard to portray W.C. Fields in a realistic way. (He was one nasty character!)

Please bring this movie out on DVD!