It's a Gift

If W.C. Fields is the funniest comedian in sound films, and perfectly hilarious in starring vehicles (Bank Dick) and guest shots (International House), why is this one is his best? Because Fields' antagonists are, for once, as grand as The Great Man himself. Aside from an evil blind man, and a cheerfully homicidal baby (ever reliable Baby Leroy), there is the ultimate Spouse from Hell. Former Vogue editor turned actress Kathleen Howard is pure outraged selfishness (Fields' mirror image) as the wife; her declamatory style of acting would be at home in a John Waters epic. She is divine, and so is the film.

In "It's A Gift", W.C. Fields delivers enjoyable silliness as only he could do it. It's quite a showcase for his brand of humor, and this movie has it all, from sight gags to dry wit to hilarious predicaments to a put-upon hero. There have been few comedians like Fields who could get so much mileage out of simple ideas, or who could make outrageous ideas work so well.

The plot ostensibly concerns store owner Harold Bissonette (Fields), who dreams of owning an orange ranch in California, but very little actually happens in terms of a story - the emphasis is on the trials of daily life that Harold must endure. The movie is a series of comic set pieces in which Fields takes a simple situation and turns it into a stream of gags and laughs. His ability to find endless sources of humor in the most mundane of settings is an impressive contrast with the labored and often inappropriate efforts of so many of today's comic actors.

In this one, Fields also manages to create a pleasant atmosphere that, despite all the disorder in Harold's life, makes you feel at home with the characters. Many of the scenes also give one of the other cast members a chance for some good moments, and Kathleen Howard helps out a lot, too, as Harold's nagging wife. There's nothing to take seriously here, but if you're in the mood not to take anything seriously, this is a very enjoyable way to spend an hour or so.

I finally cracked the first WC Fields set that Universal put out a few years ago. I got the second set for Christmas and figured I should probably start watching the films.

I started with Its A Gift, the story of a put upon grocer in New Jersey who buys an orange farm and heads west. Of course everything goes wrong.

One of Field's classics, this is cinema of cruelty as the put upon Fields has to deal with a world that won't leave him in peace. His wife is a nag, his employee at the store is a moron, his customers-including Mr Muckle,the blind man- are self centered vortexes of destruction. Fields is not a bad guy he just has bad luck as everyone wants something from him. I hadn't seen the film in years and I never noticed how cruel it is. I laughed but I also felt really bad for Fields since he clearly deserved better than he got. Personally I'm mixed about its classic status. Yes Fields is wonderful and the set pieces from attempts to shave while his daughter invades the bathroom, to the day in the grocery store, to trying to sleep on his porch to everything that follows is pure comic genius. Its masterfully put together comedy in a way that very few people today understand, no one does set pieces like this any more its all throw away lines and two second gags.On the technical level it is a classic, but at the same time I didn't laugh enough to be a "classic". Perhaps its the fact fields' plight was also very sad at times. I don't know something kept it from crossing into classic status. Certainly this is a four star film, better than most modern comedies and it really should be seen and enjoyed but I don't if its a classic like some of Keaton, Chaplin or the Marx brothers films.

But I'm quibbling- no doubt the result of not seeing the film in too long a time. See this film for a really good laugh and to reacquaint yourself with a semi-forgotten master of comedy 7.5 out of 10

If you can spell Carl LaFong, you can spell laugh....that's capital "L', small "a", small "u", small "g", small "h"!!! And Carl LaFong is only one of many bits that will have you weeping with laughter. This is, without a doubt, the best of Fields and it is more than 70 years old!! Watch some of the old comedies of the early 30's and be bored to death; very few stand the test of time as this one does. The story is simple - man inherits money, buys his dream, the dream turns bad, and then turns good, end of story. Fields' movies don't need much story; only something to frame his talents and the talents of his supporting players who are all spot-on in this film. The picnic scene will have you rolling in the aisles (or off the couch), the aforementioned Carl LaFong scene (in fact, the whole porch scene) and "Sit down, Mr. Muckle,honey" is a riot. Almost every set piece in "It's a Gift" will evoke laughter and as usual, the names of the characters are pure Fields madness. I give this classic a 10 and recommend it to all those comedy buffs who think that all humor has to have sexual or political content to succeed.

I think only in The Bank Dick was W.C. Fields more henpecked than he is in It's A Gift. He also has a perfect foil for his brand of humor in Kathleen Howard as his wife in the second of three films she did with the man from Philadelphia.

In this film more than most of Fields's films I think the real secret of his comedy comes out. I can't think of a single funny line from It's A Gift worth remembering. But what does stick with you are all the gestures and expressions with his body and face that Fields gives us to show the hellhole of his married state.

Kathleen Howard in fact doesn't let the poor guy get a word in edgewise. What a motormouth that woman had, constantly finding fault and running him down from the first to the last minute of the movie. Right at the beginning of the film the poor guy can't even have the bathroom to himself as kids and wife just barge in on him with their problems and complaints.

In that scene where Fields is trying to shave, to later on when he goes out on the porch hammock to get some peace and quiet, it's nothing in what he says, but in all the reaction shots where the comedy comes from. Even in the famous scene at the general store with the blind man Mr. Muckle. The comedy is all in Fields's reactions to Muckle running amuck. Trying not to say anything to observe political correctness. Remember Muckle is also identified as the house detective in the hotel across the street.

Kathleen Howard serves as Fields's greatest foil, no wonder he did three films with her. Note how Hyacinth like she is in insisting that her name Bissonette be pronounced Bissonay.

Still Fields pursues the American dream and when Uncle Bean dies and wills him some California property, he loads up the truck and moves to, well not Beverly Hills, but close enough so he can get an orange grove and grow them. It comes about in an interesting way that you have to see the film for.

It's A Gift is one of the finest efforts of America's most beloved misanthropes.