Le dentiste

Both on and off screen. I don't consider this particular short one of his best, but it is good. It seems a little slower than many of his other works in that his comebacks, etc. aren't fired off as quickly as I'm used to when it comes to his style of wit. But it has its moments, and there are enough of those to make it entertaining. One of those moments is due to the wonderful slapstick comic ability of Elise Cavanna. As a rather clingy dental patient, given her manner, looks and talent as an "acrobat", the only person I can think of to compare her with is Carrol Burnett. And she compares right well. Other cast members also help make this flick as good as it is. Such as Bud Jamison who, with his very familiar face, adds good comic backup. Of course there is that terrific line when, after Fields has been punched, and the iceman steps in to say, "I'd like to see you do that again!", Fields interjects ... Well, you watch it. Its worth the effort.

I know the movie is a comedy short, but it didn't strike me as being terribly funny. Yet that's what I've come to expect of Fields' work. True, the movie had a number of amusing lines and situations, but I find it more interesting as a peek into American life in 1932. First, the Dentist had his office in his home. Second, his all-black dental equipment, common for the time, looked like instruments of torture. Third, he had an ice box in his kitchen, not a refrigerator -- though in upper middle-class fashion of the time, it had a white enamel exterior, not wood. Though I haven't viewed the film in a number of years, I also recall the interesting wearing apparel in the golf course scenes, most notably the knickers; the clubs had wood shafts; but the course itself appeared very contemporary. Then again, the tee-fairway-green structure of golf courses is pretty much the same today as it was more than 70 years ago. True, the sound quality is very crude, but this movie was made just five years after the very first film "talkie" amazed its audiences.

The Dentist (1932)

*** (out of 4)

W.C. Fields gets to shine in this pre-code Paramount short where he plays the title role. The film starts off as the dentist learns that his daughter is wanting to date an ice delivery man, which of course he wants no part of. After a disastrous round of golf the dentist returns to his office where several strange characters wait. THE DENTIST is perhaps one of Fields' best known shorts for a number of reasons. Of course, one of the more notorious reasons is all the sexual innuendo that happens once the final portion of the film happens. I'm not going to spoil these scenes but they are quite funny and especially the dialogue where Fields pretty much just insults them right to their faces. The stuff dealing with the golf was also quite funny and especially the sequence where the actor just completely loses it and begins throwing everything into the water. There are several scenes in the film where people have their teeth damaged in a wide variety of ways so those scared of the men in white will certainly want to stay away from this thing even though it is a comedy. There's no question Fields is at the top of his game because everything from his line delivery to the way he walks is just perfect.

This is a pretty good short comedy, with W.C. Fields in a role that works very well for him, as an irascible and absent-minded dentist, and several settings that offer the chance for some good comic material. The dentist has some difficulties with his daughter at home, then has some mishaps on the golf course, and finally heads to the office for more trouble. There is a good blend of sight gags and dialogue jokes. Some of the gags are quite clever, and Fields usually helps the more routine ones to come across pretty well, too. This should be worth a look for anyone who likes these 30's-style short comedies.

I am probably not the biggest fan of W.C Fields. I find his comedy a bit difficult to comprehend at times and his character in his films was usually far from affable. In most of his films, he usually had some rather devious ulterior motive up his sleeve and sought to deceive those around him. To be fair to the comedian though, he is on very good form in this comedy short, "The Dentist" from 1932. Like most comedy shorts, the story is kept fairly streamlined. Fields plays the dentist of the film who attempts to juggle his professional commitments with those of his personal ones. The results are very funny and the timing is very natural. The comedian is probably more comfortable with dialogue than with slapstick. I remember this comedy short when it came out on video back in the late 1980s, along with the other shorts W.C Fields made.