Fields, W. C. (William Claude) 1880-1946

Overview

Works:	598 works in 1,440 publications in 7 languages and 25,595 library holdings
Genres:	Drama Comedy films Biography Film adaptations Silent films Short films Television programs Western films Criticism, interpretation, etc Action and adventure films
Roles:	Actor, Author, Performer, Scenarist, Author of screenplay, Host, Director, Narrator, Costume designer, Contributor, Writer of accompanying material, Dedicatee
Classifications:	PN2287.F45, 791.4375

Publication Timeline

Most widely held works about W. C Fields

W.C. Fields by himself : his intended autobiography by W. C Fields( Book )
W.C. Fields : his follies and fortunes by Robert Lewis Taylor( Book )
The art of W.C. Fields by William K Everson( Book )
W.C. Fields : a biography by James Curtis( Book )
Man on the flying trapeze : the life and times of W.C. Fields by Simon Louvish( Book )

A fatal glass of beer by Stuart M Kaminsky( Book )
The films of W.C. Fields by Donald Deschner( Book )
W.C. Fields & me by Carlotta Monti( Book )
A flask of Fields; verbal & and visual gems from the films of W.C. Fields by Richard J Anobile( Book )
Fields for President by W. C Fields( Book )
W.C. Fields, a bio-bibliography by Wes D Gehring( Book )
Groucho and W.C. Fields : huckster comedians by Wes D Gehring( Book )
W.C. Fields : a life on film by Ronald J Fields( Book )
Godfrey Daniels! : verbal and visual gems from the short films of W.C. Fields by W. C Fields( Book )
Drat! Being the encapsulated view of life by W. C Fields( Book )
W.C. Fields in The Bank dick by W. C Fields( Book )
W.C. Fields--an annotated guide : chronology, bibliographies, discography, filmographies, press books, cigarette cards, film clips, and impersonators by David T Rocks( Book )
W.C. Fields from burlesque and vaudeville to Broadway : becoming a comedian by Arthur Frank Wertheim( Book )
Hollywood's hellfire club : the misadventures of John Barrymore, W.C. Fields, Errol Flynn and the "Bundy Drive" boys by Gregory W Mank( Book )
The best of W.C. Fields by W. C Fields( Recording )

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Most widely held works by W. C Fields

David Copperfield by Charles Dickens( Visual )

52 editions published between 1935 and 2013 in 8 languages and held by 921 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

David Copperfield enjoys an idyllic life with his gentle, widowed mother and his loving nurse, Peggotty. Then tragedy strikes when Mr. Murdstone weds David's mother and drives her to an early grave. Despised by his stepfather, the boy is forced to live in misery and poverty until he runs away to throw himself upon the mercy of his eccentric aunt. Charles Dickens's classic tale of growing up

The Bank dick by Edward Cline( Visual )

30 editions published between 1940 and 2013 in English and Undetermined and held by 684 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

Egbert Souse accidentally foils a bank robbery and is hired as a bank guard

W.C. Fields : 6 short films( Visual )

20 editions published between 1993 and 2010 in English and Multiple languages and held by 643 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

This compilation of films pays tribute to America's cantankerous comedy genius, W.C. Fields. Legendary one-liners and slapstick routines are preserved in these early shorts that chronicle the development of Fields' irascible screen persona

My little chickadee by Edward Cline( Visual )

32 editions published between 1939 and 2011 in English and Undetermined and held by 535 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

West portrays voluptuous Flowerbelle Lee, whose reputation is tarnished when she is seen embracing a masked bandit in her bedroom. Forced to leave town until she can prove she is respectable-- and married-- Flowerbelle boards a train where she meets incorrigible Guthbert J. Twillie (Fields). Believing he's quite a catch, Flowerbelle accepts Twillie's marriage proposal

W.C. Fields comedy collection( Visual )

5 editions published between 2004 and 2007 in English and held by 512 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

You can't cheat an honest man: "W.C. Fields portrays Larson E. Whipsnade, ringmaster of the seedy circus Giganticus. Whipsnade gets nothing but trouble from his performers, and his daughter (Constance Moore) is torn between a wealthy cad and a charming ventriloquist, played by Edgar Bergen"--Container

Sally of the sawdust( Visual )

32 editions published between 1925 and 2014 in English and No Linguistic content and held by 487 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

A carnival barker/conman becomes an unlikely guardian for an orphaned circus waif. When he tries to return the child to her wealthy but contemptuous grandparents he finds himself suddenly being chased by both sides of the law

Mae West : the glamour collection( Visual )

3 editions published in 2006 in English and held by 385 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

Mae West had an inexhaustibly playful interest in language, and a rare, sometimes perplexing, and even lofty wit, spiced by low-down slang. Well before the second wave of feminism, she wrote all her own material, insisted on total control of her work, and was wildly popular for a short time, right before the Production Code lowered the boom on adult attitudes being expressed in films. She made only 12 movies, but three are first-rate, and these were enough to seal her fame and launch a legend. In her first film appearance, "Night after night," a successful ex-boxer buys a high-class speakeasy and falls for a rich society girl. As the bold Tira in "I'm no angel," she works as a dancing beauty and lion tamer at a fair. For "Goin' to town," West goes Western. Cleo Borden is a former dance hall queen who has become newly rich. She falls for--and pursues--an upper crust Englishman. This is followed by "Go west young man," where she plays Mavis Arden, a movie star stranded in the country. To stifle her boredom, she trifles with a young man's affections. "My little chickadee" pairs West with a legend of similar stature, W.C. Fields. As Flower Belle Lee, she is rightly suspected of illicit relations with the Masked Bandit, and run out of Little Bend. Surprisingly, things change very little when she arrives in Greasewood City to start over

Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland by Norman Z McLeod( Visual )

10 editions published between 1933 and 2010 in English and held by 383 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

Alice's fantastic adventures lead her straight to some of the most memorable characters ever imagined including the Mad Hatter, the Queen of Hearts, Humpty Dumpty, the Cheshire Cat, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum in the original Alice in Wonderland. Based on Lewis Carroll's beloved story, this live-action fantasy features Hollywood icons Cary Grant, Gary Cooper and W.C. Fields along with Charlotte Henry as "Alice". Filled with spectacular sets and imaginative costumes, the classic Alice in Wonderland is a timeless adventure for the whole family!

W.C. Fields in Never give a sucker an even break and Tillie and Gus by W. C Fields( Book )

2 editions published in 1973 in English and held by 271 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

It's a gift by Norman Z McLeod( Visual )

22 editions published between 1934 and 2007 in 4 languages and held by 267 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

Harold Bissonette is a bungling, henpecked grocer who dreams of California's golden sunshine. A small inheritance from his Uncle Bean tempts Bissonette to sell everything and buy an orange ranch sight unseen. Along the way, he matches wits with dogs, kids, and chicken feathers, snatching victory from the jaws of defeat at the last madcap minute

You can't cheat an honest man by George Marshall( Visual )

14 editions published between 1939 and 2013 in English and Spanish and held by 261 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

Whipsnade's circus is the greatest show on earth, for keeping ahead of the sheriff. When luck runs thin, he races elephants and wagons to the state line

International house( Visual )

9 editions published between 1933 and 2004 in English and held by 217 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

A zany scientist in China invents a radio you can see : television. Every country wants to buy the rights, so characters from around the world converge on China and collide into a free-wheeling double-dealing variety show

W.C. Fields comedy collection( Visual )

2 editions published in 2007 in English and held by 184 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

You're telling me!: Sam Bisbee is an inventor who is the laughingstock in his small town. After demonstrating another failed invention, he meets a princess who promises to use her celebrity to turn his luck around

College swing( Visual )

1 edition published in 2002 in English and held by 184 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

College swing: a tune-filled spoof of small-town college

Brother, can you spare a dime?( Visual )

2 editions published between 1999 and 2006 in English and held by 162 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

This documentary juxtaposes newsreel footage, film clips and period music in an eye-opening look at the Great Depression. Many of the movies created in the 1930s featured strong social commentary, while others offered pure escapism and fed a fascination with a dazzling world out of reach to the everyday American. Through a contrast between the fantasy of film and the reality of everyday life, a fascinating perspective on the Great Depression and Hollywood's golden age is presented. Also includes political speeches by Franklin D. Roosevelt and others

The dentist by Leslie Pearce( Visual )

36 editions published between 1930 and 2012 in English and held by 161 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

Fields goes golfing, and then attends to a series of dental patients while trying to prevent his daughter Kane's elopement. Locations include Lakeside Country Club, Toluca Lake. Based on Fields' 1928 Earl Carroll Vanities sketch 'An Episode at the Dentist.'

The fatal glass of beer by Clyde Bruckman( Visual )

28 editions published between 1930 and 2013 in 3 languages and held by 142 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

Fields relates the sad tale of his son who went astray in the city. Adapted from Fields' 1928 Earl Carroll Vanities sketch "Stolen Bonds."

Never give a sucker an even break by Edward Cline( Visual )

20 editions published between 1941 and 2012 in English and Undetermined and held by 137 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

Fields wants to sell a film story to Esoteric Studios. On the way he gets insulted by little boys, beat up for ogling a woman, and abused by a waitress. He becomes his niece's guardian when her mother is killed in a trapeze fall during the making of a circus movie. He and his niece, who he finds at a shooting gallery, fly to Mexico to sell wooden nutmegs in a Russian colony. Trying to catch his bottle as it falls from the plane, he lands on a mountain peak where lives the man- eating Mrs. Hemogloben. When he gets to the Russian colony he finds Leon Errol (father of the insulting boys and owner of the shooting gallery) already selling wooden nutmegs. He decides to woo the wealthy Mrs. Hemogloben but when he gets there Errol has preceded him. The Mexican adventure is the story that Esoteric Studios would not buy

Tales of Manhattan by Julien Duvivier( Visual )

3 editions published between 1996 and 2014 in English and held by 134 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

The tail coat is given to Father Joe, a dedicated helper of Bowery bums. Joe receives a letter for Avery L. Browne, a downtrodden fellow whom Joe knows as Larry. Joe takes the letter to Larry, and it is revealed to be an invitation to the twenty-fifth anniversary reunion of his law class. Larry, drunken and dirty as usual, refuses to attend, but Joe cleans him up, dresses him in the tail coat and sends him to the Waldorf-Astoria for the dinner. As Larry greets his old comrades, including his English teacher, Professor Lyons, he becomes more like his former, jovial self. He tells his friends that he was away on an important job in China and enjoys himself until the arrival of Williams, his ex-partner in their Chicago law firm. During the evening, Henderson, one of the attendees, believes that his wallet has been stolen, and when Larry, who is wearing a dickey and a cheap shirt, refuses to take his coat off and be searched, Williams accuses him of the crime. Williams stages a mock trial to prove that due to his low character, Larry must be guilty. Larry pleads his case, telling how he fought in World War I, married a lovely girl and entered partnership with Williams. During Prohibition, Larry had a successful practice protecting clients of doubtful occupations, but afterward, his practice fell apart and he was disbarred, probably through Williams' machinations. After losing his wife, Larry became a drifter and has wandered the streets of New York for the past six years. Finally removing his coat, Larry offers to be searched, then leaves when none of his friends speak. Henderson's chauffeur then enters and produces his wallet, which was left in the car. Completely dispirited, Larry gets drunk and returns to Joe's mission the following morning. Also arriving, however, are Larry's friends, Soupy Davis, Hank Bronson and Judge Barnes, who have come to offer him a job. Joe promises that he will send Larry right away, then tells his wife to sell the coat to the Santelli Brothers, a pair of second-hand clothes dealers

The best of W.C. Fields by W. C Fields( Recording )

15 editions published between 1976 and 1994 in English and held by 121 WorldCat member libraries worldwide

Selected comedy routines featuring W.C. Fields

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