It's a Gift
| It's a Gift | |
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 Theatrical poster to It's a Gift (1934) |
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| Directed by | Norman Z. McLeod |
| Produced by | William LeBaron |
| Written by | Jack Cunningham, from original story by Charles Bogle (Fields) and J.P. McEvoy[1] |
| Starring | W. C. Fields Kathleen Howard Jean Rouverol Julian Madison Tammany Young |
| Music by | John Leipold |
| Cinematography | Henry Sharp |
| Distributed by | Paramount Pictures |
| Release date(s) | November 17, 1934 |
| Running time | 73 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
It's a Gift is a 1934 comedy film starring W. C. Fields, considered by film historians to be one of Fields' best and funniest films.
It concerns the trials and tribulations of a grocery store owner as he battles a shrewish wife, an incompetent assistant, and assorted annoying children, customers, and salesmen.
Lesser known than some of Fields' later works such as The Bank Dick, the film is perhaps the best example of the recurring theme of the Everyman battling against his domestic entrapment. Historians and critics have often cited its numerous memorable comic moments. It is one of several Paramount Pictures in which Fields contended with child actor Baby LeRoy.
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[edit] Plot summary
After he inherits some money, Harold Bissonette ("pronounced bis-on-ay") decides to give up the grocery business, move to California and run an orange grove. Despite his family's objections and the news that the land he bought is worthless, Bissonette packs up and drives out to California with his nagging wife Amelia (Kathleen Howard), self-involved daughter Mildred (Jean Rouverol) and bothersome son Norman (Tommy Bupp). The information about the orange grove is confirmed: his barren plot contains only a tumbledown shack and a tumbleweed.
However, just when Harold is about to lose all hope, his luck takes a dramatic turn: a neighbor informs him that a developer is desperate to acquire his land in order to build a grandstand for a race track. Finally standing up for himself, and to his nagging wife, Harold holds out for a large sum of money (including a commission for the friendly neighbor), as well as a demand that the developer buy him an orange grove like the one in the brochure he has been carrying throughout the film. The film ends with Harold sitting at an outdoor breakfast table squeezing orange juice into a glass, while his happy family takes off for a ride in their new car. The now-contented Harold pours a flask of booze into the small amount of orange juice in the glass.
[edit] Production notes
The plot is almost secondary to the series of routines which make up the film. Over the course of the picture, Harold fails to prevent a blind customer (and Baby LeRoy) from turning his store into a disaster area; attempts to share a bathroom mirror with his self-centered, high-pitched gargling daughter; has a destructive picnic on private property; and in the film's lengthy centerpiece, is driven to sleep on the porch by his haranguing wife, and is kept awake all night by neighbors, salesmen, and assorted noises and calamities.
A well-known, and often somewhat misquoted Fields comment occurs at the climax of the film, as Harold is haggling with the developer, who angrily claims that Harold is drunk. Harold responds, "Yeah, and you're crazy; and I'll be sober tomorrow and ... you'll be crazy for the rest of your life!"
The windfall for Fields' character and the resultant happy ending of this film echo the climax of his earlier 1934 release, You're Telling Me!.
[edit] Cast
- W.C. Fields as Harold Bissonette
- Jean Rouverol as Mildred Bissonette
- Julian Madison as John Durston
- Kathleen Howard as Amelia Bissonette
- Tom Bupp as Norman Bissonette
- Tammany Young as Everett Ricks
- Baby LeRoy as Baby Dunk
- Morgan Wallace as Jasper Fitchmueller
- Charles Sellon as Mr. Muckle
- Josephine Whittell as Mrs. Dunk
- Diana Lewis as Miss Dunk
- T.Roy Barnes as Carl La Fong
and Spencer Charters, Dell Henderson, Jerry Mandy, James Burke, Edith Kingdon and Billy Engle[1]
[edit] Additional production credits
- Art direction by Hans Dreier and John B. Goodman[1]
[edit] Reception
American Film Institute recognition
- 2000: AFI's 100 Years... 100 Laughs #58
In 2010, this film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[2][3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Deschner, Donald (1966). The Films of W.C. Fields. New York: Cadillac Publishing by arrangement with The Citadel Press. p. 103. Introduction by Arthur Knight
- ^ "'Empire Strikes Back' among 25 film registry picks". http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jaseG0DbTvl6sIv1uPc-xelSmvjg?docId=c086d710fa42415cbeff1a6a2f80aa36. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
- ^ Barnes, Mike (28 December 2010). "'Empire Strikes Back,' 'Airplane!' Among 25 Movies Named to National Film Registry". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/empire-strikes-airplane-25-movies-65915. Retrieved 28 December 2010.
[edit] External links
- It's a Gift at the Internet Movie Database
- It's a Gift at AllRovi
- It's a Gift at the TCM Movie Database
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