Don't go round breaking people's tambourines.
I'm still dithering about what to do with my Wednesdays, but even if I haven't yet committed to reviewing my W.C. Fields box set I've still been enjoying re-viewing it, so here's the"short" that first got me into him. It's not necessarily typical of Fields' comedy, he's spoofing virtue here rather than flaunting corruption, but all his best work was gooey with a juggler's disdain for melodrama, and I still find it delicious a century later, despite having no idea what was originally being parodied. What could be typical is the pacing, slow but restless, the kind of thing that might generate exponential waves of giggling in a live audience, but play quite differently to someone watching alone. Rewatching it I also now notice a strong influence from his dulcimer-playing upon my own musical output. (There's at least as much W. C. Fields in Mirrorboy as there is Buster Keaton.) Enjoyez.
