IT CAME FROM THE BOTTOM SHELF!

Christmas has come early this year for classic comedy lovers, because on April 19th, Kino Lorber Studio Classics gifted us the Blu-ray debuts of three hilarious movies by W.C. Fields — You’re Telling Me! (1934), Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935), and You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man (1939). If you’ve never seen a W.C. Fields film, or even if you are generally allergic to black & white movies, I highly recommend that you step out of your safety zone and give these movies a try (especially Man on the Flying Trapeze, which is the best of the batch). William Claude Dukenfield, better known as W.C. Fields, popularized both cringe comedy and misanthropic humor, so his comedy feels particularly modern. His influence can be felt on the most intelligent and subversive film and television comedy that followed. Such properties as Fawlty Towers, Blackadder, Seinfeld, Groundhog Day, Ghost World, Sideways, Bad Santa, The Office, Curb your Enthusiasm, and Veep would be unthinkable had Fields not previously fought the censors and pushed the boundaries of politically incorrect humor. Having previously reviewed You’re Telling Me! and You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man, let’s move on to my favorite of these new releases, Man on the Flying Trapeze.

Ambrose Wolfinger: You’ll have very little difficulty in getting off this afternoon. Ahh.. I won’t be here. My poor mother-in-law died three days ago. I’m attending her funeral this afternoon.

Secretary: Isn’t that terrible, Mr. Wolfinger!

Ambrose Wolfinger: Yes, it’s terrible. It’s awful. Horrible tragedy.

Secretary: It must be hard to lose your mother-in-law.

Ambrose Wolfinger: Yes it is. Very hard. It’s almost impossib… It’s, ah… very diffic… It’s hard to lose them.

— W.C. Fields (Wolfinger) and Carlotta Monti (Secretary) in Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)

No character W.C. Fields ever played had more reason to drink than Ambrose Wolfinger, the hero of his hilariously painful masterwork, Man on the Flying Trapeze. Over the course of the film, Ambrose suffers on a Job-like scale–getting arrested for manufacturing liquor without a license; being wrongly accused of having an affair with his secretary (portrayed by Field’s real-life mistress Carlotta Monti); receiving multiple traffic tickets in a row; and absorbing numerous insults hurled by his nagging wife, mother-in-law, and good-for-nothing brother-in-law. It’s no wonder Ambrose sneaks sips of applejack in the bathroom while pretending to brush his teeth.

The much put-upon breadwinner harbors one secret wish–to attend the wrestling match of the century between Tosoff, the Russian Behemoth and Hookalakah Meshobbab, the Persian Giant–but to do so, Ambrose must fib to his boss to take his first afternoon off in 25 years. Will the employer believe Wolfinger’s excuse that he has to attend the funeral of his mother-in-law, who kicked the bucket drinking poison liquor? Will Ambrose make it to the wrestling matches in time to catch the big fight? And will his horrid in-laws ultimately receive their much-needed comeuppance? You’ll have to find out for yourself. I’m not telling. However, I will guarantee that you won’t regret taking the time to enjoy this overlooked gem.

Man on the Flying Trapeze is the most unfairly ignored picture in the career of the Great Man, as W.C. Fields liked to be called. In terms of quality and laughs, Trapeze ranks just as high as his other domestic masterpieces, It’s a Gift (1934) and The Bank Dick (1940). However, it hasn’t received a fraction of the acclaim or the audience that those better-known films have attracted. Hopefully, with this Blu-ray release, Man on the Flying Trapeze will finally receive the recognition it so richly deserves.

The movie is a standout in the Fields filmography for several reasons. First and foremost, it is the most personal film he ever made. In his book, W.C. Fields: A Life on Film, the Great Man’s grandson, Ronald J. Fields, referred to Man on the Flying Trapeze as “sort of a creative autobiography.” It is an apt description, as the film reflects how Fields viewed the world and himself within it. He poured the pain of his real life into the movie and spun it into comedy gold.

The “creative autobiography” is most evident in terms of the W.C. Fields’ family life. Fields’ wife, Hattie, separated from him when he was 25, taking their infant son Claude with her. Fields never forgave Hattie or his mother-in-law, who goaded Hattie into leaving him. His son was also a disappointment to W.C., because the boy naturally sided with the mother who raised him. In Man on the Flying Trapeze, the nagging wife, disapproving mother-in-law, and adult mamma’s boy (pointedly named Claude) are comic reflections of the Great Man’s painful relations with his own family.

In addition, Fields often fantasized that if he had a daughter, rather than son, that she would have sided with him. The character of Hope Wolfinger, played by Mary Brian in Man on the Flying Trapeze, is the ultimate embodiment of the Great Man’s fantasy offspring. Also, as I previously noted, Wolfinger is accused of having an affair with his secretary in Trapeze. As a private joke, W.C. cast his actual mistress, Carlotta Monti, in the part.

At a brief 66 minutes, Man on the Flying Trapeze is a rare feature comedy with no dull patches. It is expertly directed (in part by W.C. Fields himself, who filled in when Clyde Bruckman grew ill), hilariously acted, and brilliantly paced. Fields is at his very best, taking throwaway lines (likely ad-libbed) and making them laugh-out-loud funny. Plus there’s no romantic sub-plot to get in the way of the fun. The movie is hilarity from start to finish. If I can wage any criticism against the movie, it would be that it ends a bit too abruptly. On the other hand, few films have a more satisfying closing shot. While The Bank Dick is still my favorite W.C. Fields film, the more I watch Man on the Flying Trapeze, the more I am convinced that it is the Great Man’s greatest.

USA/B&W-66m./Dir: Clyde Bruckman (and W.C. Fields, uncredited)/Wr: Ray Harris & Sam Hardy, based on an original story by Charles Bogle (W.C. Fields)/Cast: W. C. Fields, Mary Brian, Kathleen Howard, Grady Sutton, Vera Lewis, Lucien Littlefield, Oscar Apfel, Lew Kelly, Tammany Young, Walter Brennan, Carlotta Monti

For Fans of: If you like the work of other classic film comedians, such as the Marx Brothers or Abbott & Costello, you owe it to yourself to give the Great Man a try.  There’s no better place to start than with Man on the Flying Trapeze.

Video: As mentioned above, Kino Lorber Studio Classics released You’re Telling Me! (1934), Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935), and You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man (1939) individually on Blu-ray on April 19th. The Blu-ray of Man on the Flying Trapeze is derived from a new 2K scan of the best surviving film elements. There are minor scratches throughout, but the picture is a good deal sharper than the previous DVD releases, bringing out details that weren’t discernable before. The film grain appears natural and is not overpowering, and the contrast is excellent. This is the most filmlike appearance the movie has received on home video, and I doubt it will ever look better. The disc’s sound is also clear, without noticeable age-related hiss.

The only disappointing aspect of the disc is that the bonus features consist of recycled extras from other home video releases. I would have loved to have gotten an audio commentary to accompany this remarkable film. Still, having Man on the Flying Trapeze in high definition is enough to recommend the Blu-ray. Here are the included extras:

• Wayne and Shuster Take an Affectionate Look at W.C. Fields (a 50-minute episode of a 1964 television series for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation) — This is a nice extra for audiences unfamiliar with “The Great Man,” because it includes clips from several of his movies.  However, pay no attention to the connecting dialogue from Canadian comics Wayne and Shuster.  The script for this show is filled with debunked myths and inaccuracies about Fields’ life.  I also completely disagree with their premise that “The Great Man” never played the underdog.
• Bonus trailers for the W.C. Fields films The Old Fashioned Way, You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man, The Bank Dick, My Little Chickadee, and Alice in Wonderland
• Optional English Subtitles

Streaming: At the time of this review, Man on the Flying Trapeze was not streaming on any of the major subscription services.  It was also unavailable for purchase or rental through digital retailers.

More to Explore: If you like Man on the Flying Trapeze, you’re sure to like Fields’ other two “everyman” masterpieces, It’s a Gift (1934) and The Bank Dick (1940). Of course, W.C. Fields is always entertaining, so I included links below to his other titles that are available on Blu-ray. All are recommended.

Trivia: Man on the Flying Trapeze was a loose remake of Field’s silent film Running Wild (1927), which also featured Mary Brian as his daughter. Mary Brian made such an impression on the Great Man that he insisted that no other actress could play the role in the remake. To him, she was the ideal image of what a devoted child should be.

For More Info: The best (and most accurate) biography of the Great Man is W.C. Fields: A Biography by James Curtis.  I’d also recommend Field’s intended autobiography, W.C. Fields by Himself. If you prefer video documentaries, I’d also recommend W.C. Fields: Straight Up (1986).