W.C. Fields and Me

This adaptation of W.C. Fields' life is a pretty good one which shows the great comic, warts and all. This is based on the book published by Field's mistress of many years, and she is played by Valerie Perrine, who does a splendid job. Steiger is very good, but I have to agree with a previous poster that he sort-of resembles a blown-up Van Johnson rather than Fields. The only technical flaw I could see in an otherwise splendid recreation of 30's Hollywood is one street scene where the street is dressed with the proper 1930s autos, but then a late 1960s Lincoln Continental Mark III passes by, followed by a 1973 Pontiac LeMans and a Volkswagen Beetle! After this gaffe, the parade of passing cars returns to the classic 1930s cars. The late Jack Cassidy does a pretty good job playing John Barrymore, and the Mancini score is, as always, an asset. This is streaming on Netflix in a gorgeous wide-screen copy.