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| The Bank Dick - 1940 |
After a long holiday weekend in the USA, 1940's "The Bank Dick" brings us back to our regularly scheduled program. This film features a man who enjoys spending most of his time down at the local saloon. His life changes one fateful day he ends up directing a motion picture, catching a crook, getting a job, and eventually becoming quite wealthy.
The film's cast includes W.C. Fields, Cora Witherspoon, Una Merkel, Evelyn Del Rio, Jessie Ralph, Franklin Pangborn, Shemp Howard, Grady Sutton, Russell Hicks, and Margaret Seddon.
Egbert Sousé (accent grave over the "e") isn't much liked by his family. His wife, mother-in-law, and daughters are ashamed at the fact that he spends most of his time smoking and drinking down at the local saloon.
And he and his youngest daughter Elsie are constantly bickering. This includes hurling things at each other that would certainly cause a lot of harm!
Egbert does indeed like drinking down at his favorite bar. And it is there that he makes some useful contacts.
While talking with a movie producer, Sousé is tapped to step in and direct a movie that is shooting locally. The former director is in no condition to take on the direction of the picture. Sousé's family is shocked when they see him in the director's chair.
He changes the premise of the film from an English drawing room drama to a circus scene. Noticing the size difference in the leading actors, Sousé asks an assistant, "Is she standing in a hole?" His daughter also wants to be in the picture and when he doesn't put her in, she is quick to make her displeasure known. "Godfrey Daniel! Mother of pearl!" he exclaims before walking off the set in search of some liquid libation.
Meanwhile, the bank where his future son-in-law, Og, works is robbed. The robbers get away with $25,000 dollars. Unknowingly, and with the help of a wobbly bench, Sousé captures one of the crooks and recovers the money. Naturally, he embellishes the story to the delight of the onlookers.
As a "reward", Sousé is offered a job as the bank security officer, and it's hilarious to watch as he rehearses drawing his gun.
While at his favorite bar one day, Sousé meets a man who wants to unload some worthless stocks and bonds in a hurry. Sousé likes the sound of what the man is selling and he convinces his future son-in-law, Og, to "borrow" $500 from the bank to take up the stock. Og plans to return the money with a bonus that is due to him in four days.
Sousé gets into a little bit of trouble when he takes his job too seriously. He wrestles with a youngster over a fake pistol inside the bank. More trouble arrives in the form of bank examiner J. Pinkerton Snoopington, who has come to perform an audit of the bank's books.
Not wanting Og to get in trouble and trying to buy him some time to repay the money, Sousé takes "Snoopy" out for a drink. He has the bartender slip him a mickey and the bank examiner ends up in bed. He gets a doctor to go along with him and has him prescribe four days bedrest.
However, Snoopington is very dedicated to his job. When he comes to the bank even though he is feeling sick, Sousé does everything he can to stall for time.
Everything works out, though, when it is discovered that those "worthless" stocks that Og bought are extremely valuable. Og is able to return the money, and he even offers to split the stock with Sousé, who gratefully accepts.
The celebrating doesn't last too long. The bank crook that got away comes back, and this time he takes Sousé as a hostage. Sousé hilariously races through town at gunpoint in an open-topped car pointing out the local points of interest.
All's well that ends well, and Sousé is given a five thousand dollar reward when the car chase ultimately comes to an end. That's not all. The movie he was directing earlier was so well liked, that the president of the studio paid him ten thousand dollars for it and also gave him a contract to direct the movie in Hollywood.
With all of his newfound money, Sousé and family move into a luxurious new house. Instead of hating him as they did in the beginning of the movie, his family now loves him and dotes upon him lovingly as bid him goodbye as he departs for the "saloon...I mean, the office".
Cast rundown:
W.C. Fields..............................Egbert Sousé
Cora Witherspoon.....................Agatha Sousé
Una Merkel..............................Myrtle Sousé
Evelyn Del Rio..........................Elsie Sousé
Jessie Ralph.............................Mrs. Hermisillo Brunch
Franklin Pangborn.....................J. Pinkerton Snoopington
Shemp Howard........................Joe Guelpe
Grady Sutton...........................Og Oggilby
Russell Hicks............................J. Frothingham Waterbury
Margaret Seddon......................Old Lady In Car
And that's all for The Bank Dick. When they read the original script (which was written by W.C. Fields), the censors at Universal demanded many changes. The director of the film, Edward F. Cline, told Fields to leave everything in the way it was and they would film it as written because the censors wouldn't notice the difference. They filmed it as written and, as predicted, the censors never noticed that the film was unchanged.
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