Tillie and Gus

Tillie and Gus was the last film directed by Francis Martin. Alison Skipworth and W C Fields star in this tale of two swindlers who have come to help out their family after a relative has died. In this, we get to see a lot of Fields' tricks with props - the hat and cane bits, cards, rolling the coin along his knuckles. And of course, he teams up with Clarence Wilson (the lawyer) again, from several of his previous films. Gotta love the "make your own paint" bit, when he adds in a scoop of lead, (which we now know is poisonous when ingested) as directed by the radio host. Did people really mix up their own paint ?? Baby LeRoy steals the show once again (Fields would make four movies with him-- has an interesting bio on IMDb). In Tillie and Gus, it all comes down to the big race to see who gets the job as ferryboat for the town. While quite a good, plain, fun, simple story, it's not the usual hilarious, non-stop antics that we see in some of the other W C Fields flicks.

Tillie And Gus has Alison Skipworth and W.C. Fields respectively in the title roles in this shortest of the feature films of W.C. Fields. It runs slightly less than an hour, but a lot of laughs get packed in. I also think if the term can be applied to Fields, he's at his most heroic in this film that is too rarely seen.

Fields and Skipworth worked well together in their part of the Paramount classic If I Had A Million so Adolph Zukor decided to give them a shot at a feature. I only wish they had done more joint projects.

Skipworth is unusual because she's an equal partner with Fields in chicanery. Usually Fields is married to a bossy tyrant like Kathleen Howard, but Skipworth is more an equal. She loves him despite his ways, but doesn't take anything off him either.

Aunt Tillie and Uncle Gus are called in by their niece Julie Bishop and her husband Phillip Trent who've been the victim of a bottom feeding shyster played deliciously by Clarence Wilson. All they have left is a ferry boat that has seen better days and Wilson is determined to get his hands on that too.

It all gets settled in a boat race and Fields sabotages the opposing boat as nicely as the Marx Brothers sabotaged La Traviata in A Night At The Opera. Seeing Fields in one of those old diving suits is funny enough, what he does to the boat is hilarious.

Bishop thinks her uncle and aunt are missionaries, they're actually a pair con artists. But they never had a greater mission than helping a family member. Blood is thicker, just ask the Corleones.

In any event this film proves you don't mess with Tillie And Gus.

Let's get this over with right now: I'm a lifetime W. C. Fields fan. Having read every recognized biography about him, I believe Fields's comedic genius as a performer and writer should be lionized in 24K gold and featured at the Smithsonian. We shall not see another bombastic comedian like Fields for many decades to come, which is precisely why his films continue to entertain and delight old and new generations of movie fans.

The Tillie and Gus plot is thin and straightforward but holds up substantially (in 2021) even though it was first released more than 88 years ago in 1933. Tillie and Augustus find mean old Phineas Pratt attempting to cheat a young couple out of her father's inheritance, including the rights of a ferry franchise and a ferry boat. The only way to keep the franchise is to win a race against Pratt's boat. And we're off!

No spoilers here. Watch this film as soon as possible. This is the way comedy was meant to be seen, heard, and enjoyed.

TILLIE AND GUS was one of three films (four with the "all star" ALICE IN WONDERLAND) where he appeared with Alison Skipworth. It was the only time in his talking films where Fields was actually built into a co-starring situation with a partner. The only similar situation he faced were in those now obscure silent comedies he made in the late 1920s co-starring Chester Conklin. But here, in SIX OF A KIND (where pairs of male/female partners were enhanced by Burns and Allen and Charlie Ruggles and Mary Boland), and IF I HAD A MILLION (in the "road hog" sequence) the chemistry and balance between "Uncle Claude" and "Skippy" was amply demonstrated. Skipworth was nobody's fool in her comic roles, and here she fully demonstrates that she is capable of confronting her thoroughly untrustworthy partner, and even (occasionally) controlling him.

Fields and Skipworth are married relatives of a young woman (Julie Bishop) who has inherited some property, including an old ferry boat. Unfortunately, the estate is in the hands of a crooked lawyer (Clarence Wilson), who is trying to gain legal ownership by every trick he knows. Fields and Skipworth return to assist their niece, her husband (Philip Trent) and their baby son (Baby Leroy - his first film with Fields). Despite Fields' grumblings, his own dislike for Wilson makes him stick it out to assist the young people.

The film is funny, but in episodes. At the beginning we see Fields, before he returns to the town where Bishop is) facing a trial in another jurisdiction. His repartee with the Judge (the great Edgar Kennedy) is a marvel. Another high spot (in a bit that other comedians have used - like Lou Costello on his television show), is when Fields is trying to repair part of the ferry boat, listening to instructions on the radio, but in leaving the room misses an important piece of information that the radio repairman is now discussing another thing to repair, and so Fields gets hopelessly befuddled trying to understand the logic of what he is accomplishing by these instructions.

Skipworth had a nice moment or two also. Wilson has purchased a modern ferry boat to drive the old one out of business. George Barbier is it's captain. Skipworth goes at night to spy out the new craft, and possibly find some way to damage it. Barbier, also on the watch sees her, and goes down to confront this interloper.

Barbier: "Do you know who I am?" Skipworth: "No! Isn't there somebody around to tell you?" Barbier hesitates - he did not anticipate that answer. He continues. Barbier: "I'm the Captain of the "Keystone"." Skipworth (looking him over): "Then what are you worried about?!" Barbier, slightly confused about the way the conversation has gone, but deciding to try once more. Barbier: "You don't understand...." Skipworth (without missing a beat): "I'm not the one who is lost!"

TILLY AND GUS is truly a very amusing movie to watch

During his early years in talkies, W. C. Fields was searching for the right on-screen personality to attract a national audience. After two feature sound films where he had to share credit with other headliners and four shorts, the former vaudeville star finally found his niche in October 1933's "Tillie and Gus." One two-reeler example of his adversarial relationship with viewers, produced by Mack Sennet, now employed by Paramount Pictures, was 1932's 'The Dentist.' Fields is a hot-tempered dentist who abuses his patients and staff, cheats at golf, and assaults his caddies.

One film historian noted,"Fields must have known that 'The Dentist, presented a serious flaw for a comedy image that was intended to endure." "Tillie and Gus" showcased his warmer side, albeit still somewhat crusty personality. Some say the movie was inspired by Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery's 1933's "Tugboat Annie." Fields is teamed up with veteran actress Alison Skipworth as Tillie, who had a similar build to Dressler. Tillie and Gus are both con artists in Asia posing as missionaries. The two get wind that Tillie's brother died and may have left her an inheritance. Arriving in Northern California, the two noticed the executor of the brother's will, Phineas Pratt (Clarence Wilson), has swindled everything from the family, except an old steamboat. They decide to get even by rehabbing the boat and staking everything they have on a thrill-a-second steamboat race.

Time Magazine appreciated the turn of direction of Fields playing a kinder, more benevolent character who saves Baby LeRoy from drowning. Fields recalls one scene where the year-old baby was crying repeatedly. "I quietly removed the nipple from Baby LeRoy's bottle, dropped in a couple of noggins of gin, and returned it to Baby LeRoy," he said. "After sucking on the pacifier for a few minutes, he staggered through the scene like a Barrymore." The script makes fun of the fact Fields wasn't exactly enthralled with children and babies. Tillie asks Gus upon meeting her baby grandson for the first time, "Do you like children?" Gus replies, "I do if they're properly cooked."

Actress Skipworth, after her appearance with Fields in 1932's "If I Had A Million," displayed an on-screen chemistry with the comedian, playing in four movies together. Skipworth's acting career stretched back to 1894 when she appeared in her native-London stage at 31. Her film debut was in 1912, but she favored live acting until talkies arrived. Her busy movie career ended in 1938, but she lived until 1952.

For Fields, "Tillie and Gus" shaped the screen persona for the 53-year-old actor. His fans, old and new, appreciated his wit so much more without the abrasive behavior of his past characters.