Those who have an appreciation for the Golden Age of Hollywood will recognize W.C. Fields as one of the greatest comedic performers to have ever appeared on screen. His career was one of multiple stages from his early days in vaudeville to his foray into silent films and eventually to the talkies which served him the best. In the late 1930s, the heavy drinking that he mined for such laughs in his comedy took an immense toll on his health which required him to take some time away from the silver screen. A foray into the world of radio brought a renewed interest to the performer who would return to the screen for his final years in the film business before his death on Christmas Day in 1946. It is in his waning years that he would create what would be considered a pinnacle of his career, the 1940 comedy The Bank Dick. The story would indulge in all of his classic characteristics such as being a buffoonish drunk henpecked by the women in his life who finds himself in increasingly outlandish scenarios that really create some indelible comedic sequences. It is a familiar concept elevated to a level of artistry by Fields.
In this story Fields plays the amusingly named Egbert Sousé (don’t forget the accent of the “e” – he wouldn’t want you to think him a drunkard). As alluded to, Egbert has a complicated relationship with his stern wife (Cora Witherspoon) and mother-in-law (Jessie Ralph), who have nothing but contempt for his drinking, smoking, and “borrowing” money from his younger daughter Elsie Mae (Evelyn Del Rio). By all rights, they have reason to be fed up with the man, but this is a W.C. Fields picture and he presents with enough everyman charm to keep you on his side. The exact trajectory of the man’s journey is all over the place narratively, but the reality is that he has stitched together a series of scenarios that are perfect for keeping the comedy rolling throughout the spry running time. The film only runs about 74 minutes with very little downtime between laughs which means the energy of the picture is out of this world. Witty exchanges and physical gags reign supreme in this lovingly constructed feature.
For a spell, Egbert finds himself taking over as the director for a feature that is shooting in town after the hired filmmaker (Jack Norton) goes on a bender. This is short lived, though, as the man finds himself something of a hero as he catches a bank robber where his prospective son-in-law Og Oggilby (Grady Sutton) works as a teller. Once he falls into a job as a special officer of the bank, he finds even more opportunities to get into antics. Fields has a blast doing some nimble double-speak and exaggerated expressions throughout. He is particularly great with Russell Hicks, who plays a con artist who convinces Egbert to indulge in unreliable investments by stealing from his new place of employment – temporarily. The way in which Fields attempts to regurgitate what was said to him to Og yields deliriously funny results. Sutton is a strong supporting player in this feature as the stressed-out gentleman who is over his head trying to better himself while at the mercy of an unstable future father-in-law.
There is not a weak link anywhere in this impressively deep bench of performers. Fields is obviously the star of the picture, but the script allows for many moments of character development for others. For a performer who had been in the business for so long, it is impressive that he did not recycle very many gags for this feature. This is perhaps what allows it to stand so comfortably ahead of some of his other features. Fields deftly balances some extremely broad physical comedy such as a dynamic car chase sequence in the climax with some pointed satire that holds up really well even today. Even if you did not know anything about W.C. Fields as a man, you would be able to pick up quite a bit about his personality from this script. There are some dated elements to the proceedings, but it is certainly not as bad as many films from this era. The Bank Dick is a really clever feature that features some of the best work ever committed to screen by W.C. Fields. It holds up just about as well today as it ever has.
Video Quality
The Bank Dick makes its Blu-Ray debut thanks to Kino Classics with a 1080p transfer not cited as being from a new master but still looks really great. For a film that is over 80 years old, this is a truly lovely presentation. The gorgeous black-and-white photography shot by Milton Krasner shines in high definition with natural grain intact. There is a pleasing amount of detail present with nice textures on the clothing and within the production design. The transfer shows off a great amount of depth and enhanced detail within the film’s composition. Black levels are very deep with no overwhelming occurrence of black crush or compression artifacts. The contrast is well defined, and the track only experiences a minor amount of flicker and density fluctuation in the print. Kino Classics has done some marvelous work here.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray comes with a solid DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio track that serves this movie incredibly well considering its age. Dialogue and background noises are represented in perfect harmony with all competing elements. This track does not present with age related wear and tear or hissing and crackles. At worst, the track sounds a bit thin when the music comes up, which likely dates back to the source elements. The music from Charles Previn never overpowers the dialogue or other important information. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles included for the feature film. The good folks at Kino Classics have done their best to provide the most stable track possible for this one.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Filmmaker/Historian Michael Schlesinger delivers an entertaining and informative commentary track in which he discusses the place of this film in the career of Fields, the kernels of truth in the script for the film, the notable faces who show up in smaller roles, lore around the production of the film and much more that is more than worth a listen.
- Trailers: There is a trailer provided for The Bank Dick. There are also trailers provided for The Old Fashioned Way, You Can’t Cheat An Honest Man, My Little Chickadee and Road To Zanzibar.
Final Thoughts
The Bank Dick remains a comedy classic after 80 year. The way in which W.C. Fields is able to weave in physical comedy with clever dialogue exchanges showcases why he is considered to be one of the best. The film packs a lot of memorable material into a short amount of time that you will not forget. Kino Classics has released a Blu-Ray featuring a wonderful A/V presentation and a worthwhile commentary track. If you are a fan of old Hollywood comedies, this one is one of the essentials. Recommended
The Bank Dick will be available to purchase on Blu-Ray on November 9, 2021.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Kino Classics has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
