W.C. Fields’ Shorts Streaming on the Criterion Channel
I rarely post news regarding streaming services and their offerings, but whenever my favorite film comedian gets a showcase, I think it’s worth a mention. The Criterion Channel just added the short comedies of W.C. Fields to its library. Included in the curated group are Pool Sharks (1915), The Golf Specialist (1930), The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933), The Pharmacist (1933), and The Barber Shop (1933).
The silent short, Pool Sharks, does not display the greatest comedian of the talkies at his best, but the rest of the films are comedy gold. I give them my highest recommendation.
Of course, fans of “The Great Man,” as Fields often called himself, will recognize that the only surviving Fields short that is missing from The Criterion Channel is The Dentist (1932). Consequently, I posted it above. The YouTube video is poor quality, but at least it doesn’t contain the irritating music that was added to many public domain releases. If you want to see The Dentist is beautiful HD, it was released (along with The Fatal Glass of Beer) on The Mack Sennett Collection Blu-ray box set.
