W. C. Fields : his follies and fortunes (1949)

W. C. Fields efforts are genuinely funny. Sometimes they laugh at the audience and at other times they laugh with the audience, but whether they laugh with or at, the audience laughs all the time and what more could any entertainers ask or what more could any audience desire? And there you are. Whatever The Ham Tree may be, a musical comedy, a musical novelty, or a musical conglomeration of fun, frolic and occasionally a tune, M clntyre and Heath and their support are quite worth seeing. The plot package may be loosely done up and now and then thrown in a corner and forgotten for the time being — but what's the use? One laughs and forgets, and to laugh and forget is something that one can't always do, unless given a lot of encouragement. Mclntyre and Heath furnished the encouragement. "The support was led by W. C. Fields as Sherlock Baffles, a mystery, who reminded one considerably of 'Nervy Nat,' whose antics grace the pages of a well-known humorous weekly. Mr. Fields did some clever juggling when he wasn't otherwise engaged. Frederick K. Bowers sang a number of songs in energetic manner and did his share toward assisting the stars in their fun-making. David Torrence did an 'Earl of Pawtucket' part and tried to imitate, and with some success, the mannerisms of Lawrence D'Orsay. Belle Gold as Desdemona, a colored maid, danced well and sang with enthusiasm. Had the show been labeled 'vaudeville' she would have been down as 'a song-and-dance artist,' and such a classification would not be far from correct. The others, including the chorus, worked hard and pleased, both individually and collectively." Tex Rickard took Fields around the world one year. Walter went along, and later worked for Rickard as a kind of combination secretary and bodyguard. Besides his trips to Europe, Fields went around the world two different times, juggling, without speaking 124