Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch

Paramount really reached back in time going to the Theodore Roosevelt years for material in Mrs. Wiggs Of The Cabbage Patch. A film I doubt we'll see a fourth version of. Where would you find a W.C. Fields of today.

This story first came to Broadway in 1905 and it had a silent film version and another talkie after this one. Though W.C. Fields is in this film it is only maybe for about 15 minutes toward the end and he's part of a side story involving the Wiggs neighbor Zasu Pitts's quest for a husband. W.C. Fields has come a callin' in that regard. Can you imagine Fields as the answer to a woman's prayer?

The main story involves Mrs. Wiggs and her five children who live in a ramshackle house that they still owe $25.00 on. But Donald Meek the husband has left to seek fame and fortune in the Klondike and the mother and the kids fend for themselves or depend on the kindness of neighbors like Pitts, Evelyn Brent and Kent Taylor.

First billed above Fields is Pauline Lord who was a premier stage actress of the day whose credits on Broadway include Eugene O'Neill works like Anna Christie and Strange Interlude. She's got the firmest upper lip on this side of the Atlantic and is firmly convinced that husband Donald Meek will make it back to home and hearth.

One of the kids is George Breakston who is best known for playing Andy Hardy's best friend Beezy in that series. He's seriously ill and his scenes with Lord are the high point of the film.

In a very sad story Bill Fields truly is the comic relief. It's a pity he and Zasu Pitts never did a film of their own. I suspect Fields did not want to work with a scene stealer like her again. As for Fields there's a great example of his comic genius with body language and all and no dialog him trying to cut over a barbed wire fence leading to Pitts's home. Physical comedy at its finest.

Mrs. Wigss Of The Cabbage Patch is a quaint curiosity of a film that is interesting mainly for fans of W.C. Fields. For the historically minded it is a chance to see Pauline Lord in a rare film appearance.

Mrs. Wiggs Of The Cabbage Patch was based on a novel, about the exploits of a fatherless family trying to survive, at least through Thanksgiving. Starring Pauline Lord, she plods on with her little brood, looking hopefully to the future. If the story ended with this, then we wouldn't be noting it here.

Paramount had to do something to liven it up, and make it more worthy, so they added a few trump cards, notably W.C. Fields and Zasu Pitts, with a budding romance between the two to make things a bit more interesting. That worked. Pitts is now just a remembered funny name of movies, but we tend to forget that her career was long, fruitful and funny, all of the way into television. Her sense of comic timing was legendary. Bill Fields in his role is somewhat subdued, but as a supporting actor, he dresses up the production greatly. Let's not give anything away here, but this is why I have a copy! Hard to find, (on Goodtimes), and at a budget price, try to find this one.

With her husband in the Klondike searching for gold, MRS. WIGGS OF THE CABBAGE PATCH (the poor part of town) valiantly strives against heavy odds to care for her five children.

Based on the book by Helen Hegan Rice, this is a wonderfully sentimental look at a bygone era of Americana. While it is easy and perhaps even fashionable to scoff at films which touch the emotions, there is absolutely nothing wrong with sentimentality if the sentiment expressed rings honest & true. There are no false notes here.

Noted stage actress Pauline Lord (1890-1950), in the first of only three film appearances, is heartrending in the title role. Gentle & patient, she is the very epitome of loving motherhood. ZaSu Pitts (1898-1963), with vague voice & fluttering fingers, gives a noteworthy performance as the Wiggs' spinster neighbor. Had events proceeded differently and her contributions to von Stroheim's GREED justly appreciated, Miss Pitts would have been recognized as one of the screen's greatest tragediennes. Instead, she orbited into comedic roles, constantly portraying a nervous, scatterbrained female, a sort of living, breathing, Olive Oyl.

Following the film's most sorrowful sequence, director Norman Taurog wanted to introduce a light touch to the succeeding scenes. The inimitable W. C. Fields was brought in for one week's work to play Miss Pitts' gustatorial suitor. Although in much pain from a torn ligament, he is splendid, delivering what is almost a dress rehearsal for his subsequent characterization of the marvelous Micawber. His scenes with Miss Pitts are a special delight, mixing blustery braggadocio with humor & pathos.

The romantic angle is nicely underplayed by Evelyn Venable & Kent Taylor, portraying upper echelon protectors of the Wiggs family. Charles Middleton does well as the obligatory villainous landlord. Young George P. Breakston is especially good as the ethereal Jimmy; and Donald Meek scores in his tiny role as Mrs. Wiggs ineffectual husband.

Movie mavens will recognize Arthur Housman in his typical role of an inebriate & Dell Henderson as the theater manager, both unbilled.

Tender & charming, here is a film which the receptive viewer should cherish.

MRS. WIGGS OF THE CABBAGE PATCH (Paramount, 1934), directed by Norman Taurog, is a wholesome story about a poor family sticking together, staying together, through thick and thin, under the guardianship and courage of Mrs. Elvira Wiggs as portrayed by Pauline Lord (1890-1950) in her film debut. From the novel by Alice Hagan Rice, her characters were first transferred on stage followed by three three silent screen adaptations: (World Wide, 1914) with Blanche Chapman; (Paramount, 1919) with Mary Carr; and as LOVELY MARY (MGM, 1926) starring Bessie Love, Mary Alden as Mrs. Wiggs and Viva Ogden as Miss Hazy, the role she also played in the 1919 film. Paramount would redo the old chestnut story once more in 1942 featuring Fay Bainter with Hugh Herbert and Vera Vague in comic support. What makes this 1934 adaptation most noteworthy is the presence of second billed W.C. Fields as C. Eldsworth Stubbins, whose character isn't seen until 56 minutes into the story, and the third billed ZaSu Pitts as Tabitha Hazy, each offering uplifting moments to an otherwise sentimental drama.

The story unfolds in the town of Masonville, Ohio, at the turn of the century. Elvira Wiggs (Pauline Lord) is a poor but devoted mother of five children, Billy (Jimmy Butler); Jimmy (Georgie Breakston); Asia (Carmencita Johnson); Australia (Edith Fellows); little Europena (Virginia Weidler), whose husband, Hiram (Donald Meek) has left them three years ago seeking fortune in Alaska. Living in a shantytown shack purchased by Hiram for which he owes a $25 mortgage to store owner Mr. Bagby (Charles Middleton), Elvira supports herself by washing and ironing for others. Even with the help of business-minded son, Billy, she's unable to come up with the much needed money used in place for extra mouths to feed being their dog, Klondike, and Billy's newly adopted but broken-down horse, Cuby. Regardless of the circumstances, Mrs. Wiggs continues to have a positive outlook on life as she prepares a good old-fashioned Thanksgiving dinner, even it it's leftover stew. Bob Redding, editor of the Masonville Daily Courier, and Lucy Olcott (Evelyn Vanable), his fiancée who lives in a mansion across town, are taken in by the Wiggs family and do all they can to help make their Thanksgiving more pleasurable. Lucy provides them with a traditional Thanksgiving turkey while Bob arranges for Jimmy to be hospitalized under a doctor's care for his bad cough and burning fever, and arranging for Billy to acquire theater tickets for the family so that they can attend a show at the Opera House. While there, the Wiggs family is entertained by comics (Shaw and Lee's "Why did the chicken cross the road"), circus acts and musical interludes to such songs as "Glow Little Glow Worm," "In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree" and "Listen to the Mockingbird." The passing of her Jimmy fails to dampen Mrs. Wiggs' spirits as she continues to be a good neighbor to Tabitha Hazy (ZaSu Pitts), a spinster lady who cannot cook, by secretly providing her a home cooked meal to serve her proposed mail order husband, Mr. Stubbins (W.C. Fields), as well as keeping her family together when the mortgage deadline and having their home foreclosed by Mr. Bagby draws near.

While not quite an artistic achievement, MRS. WIGGS OF THE CABBAGE PATCH, in spite of its much needed background music and slow pacing, is a friendly sort of a movie. Remembered most as a W.C. Fields comedy, it's very much a showcase for Pauline Lord, whose name is unknown today. Virtually a stage actress with this and A FEATHER IN HER HAT (Columbia, 1935) to her screen credits, her quiet yet compelling performance, whether intentional or not, basically slows down the pace of the story, especially when moments where she's supposed to be angry is lacking when not being a little bit forceful. It's interesting to note how closely she resembles Fay Bainter, the Mrs. Wiggs in the 1942 remake, and how much Lord is nearly overshadowed by the supporting performances of little Virginia Weidler who threatens to hold her breath" whenever she doesn't get what she wants, the natural performances of the other kid actors; and of course ZaSu Pitts, whose scenes with the legendary Fields are hilarious, in fact, priceless, leaving one to wonder why they never were teamed again.

During those bygone days of commercial TV when vintage movies such as this dominated the airwaves, MRS. WIGGS was properly presented annually during the Thanksgiving season. I seem to recall around 1972-73 when TV Guide (New York City edition) listed WNEW, Channel 5, in broadcasting the 1934 film only to actually show the 1942 remake, or visa versa, indicating why movies bearing the same names would go through the process of having one of them retitled to avoid confusion. Rarely shown on television since the late 1970s, MRS. WIGGS did go on display on video cassette in the late 1980s through bargain distributor of Good Times Video on LP speed with opening and closing credits in freeze frame mode instead of original slow fade in/ out process, the same print acquired by Turner Classic Movies for its June 11, 2001, broadcast during its star tribute to W.C. Fields.

Without Fields and/or Pitts, MRS. WIGGS would definitely be nothing more than an sentimental melodrama gathering dust in some old film vault never to be shown again. Regardless, director Taurog gives it some splendor and charm that holds interest most of the way. At present it's more of a curio at best, especially as a rediscovery of the once popular stage actress Pauline Lord captured on film as Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch. (***)

I enjoy this movie immensely. You don't have to think, you can just sit and laugh, or cry, or whatever it makes you feel like doing. I laugh, simply because I am not a teary person.

This film stars Pauline Lord as Mrs. Wiggs, a woman who lives in a quaint almost-slum. If my memory serves me correctly, Pauline Lord was an established Broadway actress who played this role on the stage. She has it down pat, that's for sure. The main problem I had with her performance, and it's a small problem, is that she tends to be a little too soft-spoken. Seeing as my copy isn't very good quality, there were long stretches when her mouth was moving and I didn't hear anything. Then I turned up the volume on my TV--problem solved. Honestly, I thought she did a marvelous job...she defines the word "heartwarming." That sounds ridiculous, I know, but I just love her in this. I've never seen her in anything else, so perhaps this was one of those "Bring the Broadway star to relive her greatest triumph" things, like Shirley Booth.

The best thing about this little movie, at least in my opinion, is ZaSu Pitts. She was a great dramatic actress until sound came in, when her singsong monotone undermined her ability. It's displayed to good advantage here. Her first line in the movie is an example. She says something along the lines of "Animals just seem to run out from under me like chickens from under a hen." The way she says it just kills me. I feel bad for her though, losing her star status simply because she sounded like a bored tea kettle. Fortunately, though, one element of her silent screen acting remains. The character she plays, Miss Hazy (whom Mrs. Wiggs introduces to everyone as the maiden lady from next door), is a very flighty, nervous person, as spinsters are rumored to be. When she goes through her "book of sweethearts" and gets caught, her hands flutter about like panicked butterflies. She's being awkward in an extremely graceful way--it's difficult to explain. Miss Hazy finally gets her wish when her husband arrives, in the portly form of W.C. Fields. (Does "W.C." stand for "water closet," you think?) She probably regrets wishing, one has to think.

The children in the film are suitably saccharine, but Virginia Weidler (from "The Philadelphia Story") is as obnoxious as kids come. She taunts Miss Hazy by holding her breath, saying "I'll turn black in the face!" The other children were played by people I didn't recognize. Billy, one of the two boys, is the "man" of the family, and acts as such. He isn't above showing emotion though, as he cries with the best of them. Also of note is the awfully sway-backed horse Billy is given. That animal looked as though he'd had a rough life, but Mrs. Wiggs has a magic touch. The scene where they revive the almost dead horse is amusing, with Mrs. Wiggs telling the children to cheer for him but warning them against "overyelling." If they yell too loudly, they might tip him over and then they'd never get him up again. Once he's finally on his feet, Mrs. Wiggs and Miss Hazy hold him up until they're sure he can stand upright.

All in all, a cute little movie. That's the word for it--cute. If you don't like sweet little greeting cards from yesteryear, then this isn't your thing.