Moviecut—Tillie and Gus

source: Tillie and Gus

Tillie and Gus

"Tillie and Gus" is a must-see early Paramount effort by the great W.C. The Great Man is in top form, and is ably aided by Ms. Skipworth. I recently purchased the DVD of this film, and was taken aback during a quick sequence within the courtroom scene in the early part of the film. It has been noted, and can be verified upon viewing, that Edgar Kennedy let slip the "s" word, when uttering the exclamation "oh sh*t" in the Laurel & Hardy short, "A Perfect Day" and unless I'm mistaken, he utters the magic word much more blatantly during the courtroom scene in "Tillie and Gus" in which Kennedy plays the judge. Unless my ears deceive me, the exchange between High Card Harrington, the Judge and Gus goes: High Card: "Six shots" The Judge: "Six sh*ts" Gus: "Six Cigars." Everyone, please take a look at this scene and see if you hear what I heard! I watched it ten times in a row, and still can't believe it.

The how-to-mix-paint-for-home-use sketch builds and builds until it can make you laugh to the point of tears; the rest of the film is really no great shakes, but still remains a pleasant way to spend an hour. W.C. Fields and Alison Skipworth make a compatible comedy team, while Jacqueline Wells is enormously appealing; the plot predates the formula of the later Marx Brothers outings (our heroes of dubious morality out-crook the crooks and help a couple in love to overcome their obstacles to happiness), but it seems to work better here - maybe because this couple is so likable and (luckily) never gets to sing like the couples of the Marx Bros movies usually did! And if there was an award for best pet goose performance, the one of "Tillie And Gus" would have won it. *** out of 4.

Let's get this over with right now: I'm a lifetime W. C. Fields fan. Having read every recognized biography about him, I believe Fields's comedic genius as a performer and writer should be lionized in 24K gold and featured at the Smithsonian. We shall not see another bombastic comedian like Fields for many decades to come, which is precisely why his films continue to entertain and delight old and new generations of movie fans. The Tillie and Gus plot is thin and straightforward but holds up substantially (in 2021) even though it was first released more than 88 years ago in 1933. Tillie and Augustus find mean old Phineas Pratt attempting to cheat a young couple out of her father's inheritance, including the rights of a ferry franchise and a ferry boat. The only way to keep the franchise is to win a race against Pratt's boat. And we're off! No spoilers here. Watch this film as soon as possible. This is the way comedy was meant to be seen, heard, and enjoyed.

Tillie and Gus was the last film directed by Francis Martin. Alison Skipworth and W C Fields star in this tale of two swindlers who have come to help out their family after a relative has died. In this, we get to see a lot of Fields' tricks with props - the hat and cane bits, cards, rolling the coin along his knuckles. And of course, he teams up with Clarence Wilson (the lawyer) again, from several of his previous films. Gotta love the "make your own paint" bit, when he adds in a scoop of lead, (which we now know is poisonous when ingested) as directed by the radio host. Did people really mix up their own paint ?? Baby LeRoy steals the show once again (Fields would make four movies with him-- has an interesting bio on IMDb). In Tillie and Gus, it all comes down to the big race to see who gets the job as ferryboat for the town. While quite a good, plain, fun, simple story, it's not the usual hilarious, non-stop antics that we see in some of the other W C Fields flicks.

A light comedy, certainly, not on par with Fields' classics such as The Bank Dick, It's a Gift, and That Old-Fashioned Way, but Tillie and Gus is still a fine 1930s comedy. And Fields is in top form, with several great set pieces - a crooked card game, making paint, and throwing firewood down to the boiler room. Alison Skipworth is also quite good. The only major disappointment is Baby LeRoy, who, in his first pairing with Fields, was probably just too young. He's still cute and mischievous, but he and Fields never go at it in the same way as they do in That Old-Fashioned Way and It's a Gift. Even more creepy is the fact that Baby LeRoy's voice had to be dubbed, probably because he wouldn't make the required noises. This makes him seem like the antichrist - even more so. 8/10