Poppy (1936 film)

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Poppy
Poppy (1936 film).jpg
Directed by A. Edward Sutherland
Written by Waldemar Young
Virginia Van Upp
Based on Poppy
by Dorothy Donnelly
Produced by Paul Jones
William LeBaron
Starring W. C. Fields
Rochelle Hudson
Richard Cromwell
Catherine Doucet
Cinematography William C. Mellor
Edited by Stuart Heisler
Music by Friedrich Hollaender
Distributed by Paramount Pictures
Release date
June 17, 1936
Running time
73 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Poppy is a 1936 comedy film starring W. C. Fields and Rochelle Hudson. The film was based on a 1923 stage revue of the same name starring Fields and Madge Kennedy. This was the second film version of the revue featuring Fields, following Sally of the Sawdust in 1925 with Carol Dempster in the title role. [1] [2]

Contents

Plot

Eustace McGargle , a con artist, snake oil salesman and shell game trickster, tries to escape the sheriff while taking care of his beloved adopted daughter Poppy, who, after pretending to be an heiress to win an inheritance, is found to be an actual heiress. [3]

Cast

Production

Fields was suffering the effects of his heavy drinking and he injured his back during the making of the film. As a result, his performance may have suffered. [4] Fields was ill during the production, and a fairly obvious double was used in several scenes requiring physical exertion.

Reception

In a contemporary review for The New York Times , critic Frank Nugent called Poppy a "glorious victory" for Fields and for comedy while conceding that the scenes without Fields were "painfully frail" and would provoke some squirming and eye-rolling. [5]

Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene offered a positive review, commenting that "Mr. Fields has never acted better." Comparing Fields' characterization to those of Charlie Chaplin, Greene noted that Fields "wins our hearts not by a display of Chaplin sentiment, not by class solidarity (he robs the poor as promptly as the rich), but simply by the completeness of his dishonesty." [6]

Awards

"Never give a sucker an even break" was nominated for the American Film Institute's 2005 list AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes. [7]

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References

  1. ↑ Slide, Anthony (2012). The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville. Univ. Press of Mississippi. p. 178. ISBN   9781617032509.
  2. ↑ Menefee, David W. (2004). The First Female Stars: Women of the Silent Era. ISBN   9780275982591.
  3. ↑ Bordman, Gerald (2001). American Musical Theater:A Chronicle. Oxford UP. p. 428. ISBN   9780195130744.
  4. ↑ "Poppy". The Age of Comedy. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  5. ↑ Nugent, Frank S (June 18, 1936). "Movie Review: Poppy (1936)". New York Times.
  6. ↑ Greene, Graham (17 July 1936). "Poppy/Living Dangerously/Charlie Chan at the Circus". The Spectator . (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome . pp.  87–88. ISBN   0192812866.)
  7. ↑ "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes Nominees" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-07-30.
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