Your response to "Never Give A Sucker An Even Break" will largely depend on your taste for W. C. Fields and / or surrealism. If you like at least one (or both) of the above, you'll probably be in heaven; if you don't, you probably won't even finish it. The film is both self-deprecating and self-serving; Fields is not afraid to make fun of himself, but it seems like he felt that, at this stage of his career, he didn't even need a script anymore: he could just show up in front of the camera, say some funny lines (his delivery is slower than usual, probably due to health problems), place himself (and others) in a series of inexplicable situations, and the audience would have no choice but to roll around on the floor laughing. This stream-of-consciousness, breaking-of-the-fourth-wall style may seem revolutionary, until you remember that the Marx Brothers had already done that sort of thing 10 years earlier (Groucho talking to the audience in "Horse Feathers", as Chico is about to start playing the piano: "I have to stay here, but there is no reason YOU folks shouldn't go out into the lobby until this thing blows over!"). Speaking of the Marx Brothers, their frequent co-star Margaret Dumont also appears here, but her role is disappointingly small; and the young Gloria Jean, who has a terrific voice but her songs have about as much to do with anything else as....anything else, co-starred with Groucho in his later vehicle "Copacabana". The film does end with a (literal) bang, though: a car chase that features some incredibly dangerous and accomplished stunt driving. **1/2 out of 4.

In this movie W.C. Fields plays himself.Or at least he shares the name with him.He tries to sell the weirdest film story to Esoteric Studios.He introduces the script to the producer, Mr. Pangborn (actor Franklin Pangborn shares the name with that character).He's not too pleased with the story, where Fields is with his niece, Gloria Jean, played by Gloria Jean.In the story these two are flying to Russia with an airplane that has an open-air rear platform.Fields jumps off the plane to go after his flask (naturally) but lands safely in a nest high atop a cliff where he finds a beautiful and naive daughter and her not so beautiful mother.He escapes the cliff but comes back to marry the mother, Mrs. Hemogloben after he finds out she's wealthy (only to escape again).Why wouldn't this story sell, I just wonder!? Then we see Fields giving a ride to a woman who wants to go the Maternity hospital where her daughter is about to give birth.And what a ride it is! In this Edward F. Cline movie Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941) W.C. Fields gives his last starring performance.This boozing comedian lived during years 1880-1946.He comes up with lots of funny and witty stuff in this movie.Just look at those moments with the heavy waitress.Gloria Jean, who was 14 at the time is adorable as the niece.How she says: "My uncle Bill.. but I still love him!"And her singing with the strong operatic voice is just fantastic.Franklin Pangborn is hilarious.Margaret Dumont, who often romanced with Groucho Marx now romances with Fields as Mrs. Hemogloben.You got to love her.Susan Miller is her daughter Ouliotta Delight Hemogloben who has never seen a man before.Got to love her too and would like to play that kissing game with her that Fields does.Then there's Leon Errol as a rival.We also see two young hecklers, Billy Lenhart (Butch) and Kenneth Brown (Buddy).What a funny comedy this is!

Having heard a whole row of unfavorable words of NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK, my expectations were pretty low when I recently watched the film for the first time. Now that I've seen it, first of all I'd like to say that I think there's a moral to this story (a personal one, anyway); don't ever let any other than yourself tell you whether you should miss an experience or not, because if you do, you are likely to miss something which may fit your taste better than it did to others. Happily, the last starring vehicle of W.C. Fields turned out to be, as a whole, a delightful surprise to me.About ten years after he'd reached super-stardom as a screen comedian, a poorly aging "Uncle Billie" was finally permitted to do a film entirely as he pleased (or close, at least), at Universal Studios. Granted, whether or not the studio actually fulfilled its promise has been questioned in recent years. Even so, Fields was not a man to let anyone tell him how to work, a fact which made him unpopular among movie producers and, for a time, immensely popular among audiences.The film has been described as more surreal (some say even absurd) than any other Fields-film, and rightfully so (with the exception of THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER, anyway). The Great Man appears as himself, comedian W.C. Fields, trying to sell a script in Hollywood. It is somewhat sad that this was Fields' last major appearance, as everyone in town are against him; waitresses, producers, and performers alike. One would almost assume that he was trying to tell us that this was to be his final bow, that he was tired of the Hollywood-industry. However, if this attitude influenced the final product, it must be added that Fields also confirmed another, far more important thing: he was still in shape. In my opinion, he is as funny as ever. The film is filled with wonderful lines throughout, contained within a quite unpredictable structure which continually makes a point of breaking "the fourth wall."Some classic quotes include "I was in love with a beautiful blonde once, dear. She drove me to drink. That's the one thing I'm indebted to her for," and "We're falling 2,000 feet!" "It's all right, dear. Don't start worrying 'til we get down 1,999. The last foot is dangerous," or "I didn't squawk about the steak, dear. I merely said I didn't see that old horse that used to be tethered outside here," not to forget "Are you REALLY a man?" "I've been called other things..." And I must add, Waitress: "You know, there's something awfully big about you. Your nose." Studying her rear end, mumbling: "There's something awfully big about you, too." Goddfrey Daniels, I could go on and on.As the story also involves Fields' fictional niece Gloria Jean --a young performer with great charm and a terrific singing voice-- SUCKER turned out to be a part-musical, which may be the main reason why some viewers don't think the film holds up as well as other Fields-vehicles. However, one should keep in mind that unlike the "operettas" of The Marx Brothers and Laurel & Hardy, the singing included here plays a significant part of the story; she's supposed to be an up-and-coming young talent, whereas Uncle Bill is supposed to portray the washed-up comedian. The contrasting positions of the young and old talent are better emphasized by giving Gloria opportunity to actually prove her talent to us, as viewers. Also, with so many excellent comedy sequences included, such as Fields' ping-pong dialogue with the waitress at a café, or the visit at the soda-bar, or Franklin Pangborn's exasperated reactions to Fields' screen-play, the song numbers feel quite far and between in the end, and rather charming when they do turn up. The car chase at the end (or whatever one may call it) feels less motivated than the chase at the end of THE BANK DICK, perhaps, but is well executed and fun to watch.NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK received mixed reviews upon its release in 1941, and as stated above, still seems to generate mixed reactions from viewers to this day, more so than some of Fields' other features. However, personally I've enjoyed it quite a lot; not a flawless film, but certainly one of Fields' most interesting efforts, providing some of his most memorable moments.

NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK (Universal, 1941), directed by Edward Cline, stars the legendary comic, WC Fields, in his final starring role. While Fields' catchphrase title might indicate a circus story or one about a man cheating at cards, it's actually a satire on Hollywood, in fact, Fields poking fun of himself. In spite of some Hollywood in-jokes, two or three separate stories for the price of one, along with site gags lifted with some alterations taken from earlier Fields comedies to assure guaranteed belly laughs, this is probably the strangest comedies ever made, even for Fields, and it's funny. Actually, for a movie without a real story, it's quite funny. It even features teenage soprano Gloria Jean acting as Fields' niece. She's not really funny but adds that certain charm into the story, even when frequently saying to herself or looking directly to the camera, "My Uncle Bill, and I still love him." She takes time out to sing a couple of songs, either straight through or with interruptions by others, and even with that, it's still funny. In short, for a movie that bears no resemblance to a movie, it's very funny.From an original story by Otis Griblecoblis (guess who that is), the scenario revolves around W.C. Fields playing himself as he goes to Esoteric Studios for a conference with production head (Franklin Pangborn playing himself), to present a screenplay he has written for his next production. After Pangborn reads through the script (in which Fields, Jean and Leon Errol enact their roles through add in sequences for the movie audience), he finds it an insult to a man's intelligence, even his, for that the story, consisting of Fields traveling on an airplane with his niece, consisting of compartment beds, later to jump overboard from an observation deck to retrieve his liquor bottle that has fallen, landing unharmed on the mountaintop where lives the middle-aged Daisy Hemogloben (Margaret Dumont), the richest woman in the world, and her youthful daughter, Ouliotta (Susan Miller), who has never seen a man, which leads Fields to teach her a kissing game. Because Mrs. Hemoglobem is worth millions, Fields finds himself competing with Leon Errol for her hand in marriage. After the script is rejected, Fields drives away from the studio with Gloria, drops her off at a drug store, which is followed by Fields' assisting a middle-aged woman he believes to be in labor, on a mad drive through the streets over to the maternity hospital. If this lengthy car chase involving police cars and fire trucks looks familiar, much of it was reused for the Abbott and Costello comedy, IN SOCIETY (1944).Many years following the initial release of NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK, WC Fields still has loyal fans who continue to love "Uncle Bill" as Gloria Jean does in the story. Sadly, age has caught up with Fields, looking older than his 62 years, being physically heavier and reciting his lines in a slower manner than usual, but in spite of these handicaps that marked the end of his career in a leading role, Fields proves to still be capable in being funny, even through a story without a plot tied together with a series of sight gags, ranging from Fields' encounter with a snooty waitress (Jody Gilbert) in a diner, to dealing with two mischievous boy actors named Buddy and Butch (Kenneth Brown and Billy Lenhart), to one of the funniest car rides ever put on film.Soundtrack includes Gloria Jean singing "Estrellita" and Johann Strauss's "Voices of Spring," Russians singing "Ochye Tchornia" and Susan Miller doing a jive number to "Comin' Through the Rye."Others in the cast include Mona Barrie Pangborn's wife; Charles Lang as Peter Carson, the engineer; and in smaller roles, from Carlotta Monti to character actors Irving Bacon and Bill Wolfe. Anne Nagel, who appears in the opening scene as Gloria Jean's mother, Madame Gorgeous, was originally supposed to have a scene where she is killed in a trapeze fall while working in a circus film, leaving Fields as Gloria Jean's guardian, but this piece ended up on the cutting room floor, leaving no explanation in the final print to the disappearance of Gorgeous and Fields' sudden guardianship of Gloria Jean.NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK should make a good double feature with THE BANK DICK (1940) mainly due to certain similarities, such as Fields starring in both, each having the same opening and closing musical score, as well as the Fields introduction in the story as he's standing on the street looking at the billboard advertisement that reads W.C. Fields in THE BANK DICK.Of the handful of movies made throughout the 1940s to feature Gloria Jean, NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK is the only one to have survived on the television markets the longest, solely because it has WC Fields, whose comedies have become legendary. A delightful young actress/singer, Gloria Jean was quite popular in her day but as fate would have it, with each passing decade, much of her film work, mostly second features, are hardly shown anymore. Although Gloria Jean is largely forgotten by today's standards, at least there is a movie of hers to still be in circulation today, and it's this one. Available on either video cassette and/or DVD format, NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK, which formerly played on the American Movie Classics cable channel from 1995 to 1999, followed by its Turner Classic Movies debut in 2001, continues to be a funny movie as well as a confusing one. What was the story about? We'll never know for sure. Our Uncle Bill ... and we still love him. (***)