Included as a supplement on Universal's 5-Disc Set THE W.C. FIELDS COMEDY COLLECTION VOL. 2, this was an episode from a series of TV shows in which comedians Johnny Wayne(!!) and Frank Shuster paid tribute to comic giants of the past. Basically, it's a collection of classic scenes from some of Fields' pictures - with the occasional interpolation from the hosts related to Fields' biography (unhappy childhood, Ziegfeld Follies performer, etc.) which, essentially, influenced him in the creation of his unique on-screen characterizations. While the show included choice sequences from films that are included in both this and the previous set, I was especially grateful for the inclusion of scenes from two Fields titles which have so far eluded me - the compendium film IF I HAD A MILLION (1932) and MISSISSIPPI (1935). Ultimately, this isn't exactly an in-depth look at Fields' M.O. but the comedy sketches themselves are certainly hilarious.
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theowinthrop8 March 2008If you recall the old Ed Sullivan Variety Show on Sunday Nights (which is where Elvis Presley and the Beatles made their American television debuts) you will remember that Sullivan picked many acts again and again that he liked. The most notorious one that we all recall was the "Italian" mouse puppet Topo Gigio, but there were others. One was the Canadian comedy team of Johnny Wayne and Frank Schuster, who appeared dozens of times on Sullivan's program. To be fair they weren't bad comedians, but compared to others around at the time (say Jerry Stiller and his wife/partner Anne Meara) they were not the best. But they weren't awful (like Topo Gigio was).
In the summer of 1965 this series was presented as a summer replacement show hosted by Wayne and Shuster. As they explained in the opening of the shows, they liked to look at various comedians of the past to see how they handled material. So each hour of this series dealt with a leading comic or pair of comics from the sound film period (Chaplin and Keaton and Lloyd and Langdon all made sound films but were best recalled for their silent films). Episodes of the series included the present one listed (W.C.Fields), the Marx Brothers, Laurel & Hardy, Jack Benny, Burns & Allen, Hope & Crosby, and the Three Stooges. Oddly enough some names were totally ignored (most notably Wheeler & Woolsey and Clark & McCullough). But what the episodes were were looks at these comics going through their paces, and showing scenes from films that were not necessarily released to the public at the time (MONKEY BUSINESS and ANIMAL CRACKERS were not shown much - the latter was tied up in legal red tape - in 1965 television, and I remember seeing portions of both, such as Groucho and Zeppo in the "Hungerdunger, Hungerdunger, Hungerdunger, and McCormick" letter taking scene, which is one of the few that shows Zeppo could actually contribute well to the brother's films.
The Fields' episode showed scenes also not frequently seen on television in 1965 (the most commonly shown Fields' movies in those days were his later films, THE BANK DICK, MY LITTLE CHICAKADEE, NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK, and YOU CAN'T CHEAT AN HONEST MAN). While scenes from the four commonly showed movies were shown in the Field's episode, they also showed portions of some obscure films, such as his shorts for Mack Sennett (such as THE GOLF SPECIALIST, wherein the scene they showed was with the sticky paper that Fields' can't get off his club, his shoes, or his hands).
I am glad to say that within a few years of 1965 Channel 5 in New York had a series of old Paramount Fields movies, such as POPPY, THE OLD FASHIONED WAY, THE MAN ON THE FLYING Trapeze, and TILLIE AND GUS, co-hosted by television personality and old movie comedy fan Chuck McCann. I don't know if there was any connection between the reappearance of those films and the Wayne and Shuster series, but if the latter helped cause the former it was all to the good. Much work of a great comic finally was introduced to a new audience, which is as it should be.
The series, as the other comment on this thread mentions, did not do elaborate critical analysis. Probably that is just as well. But the show was an entertaining moment in an anthology series, and that is worth remembering. -
DKosty12327 May 2012I rate this highly because I happened on summer to see these when CBS ran them as a Sunday Night replacement series. CBS did this a lot on Sunday Nights as they would replace one of their variety shows during the summer with different shows. Among other replacements like The Glen Campbell show, and Hee Haw, this one had a special flavor.
At the time I did not realize the Canadian roots this series had. Much the same way as I did not realize Monty Hall was Canadian until I made a deal years later. What this show did was take 2 hosts, Wayne & Schuster, who were behaving like a comedy team, had had them hosting retrospective looks at some great entertainment of the 20 century.
Every show I saw was funny and well done. While the hosts were seldom serious, the show did seem to put together some of the best clips of the subject(s) the show had a theme built around. The purpose of the series was to present clips of folks from W C Fields to the Marx Brothers and more and show the audience how great these people could perform.
An hour would breeze by and I like them so much I always tried to catch the next show. I enjoyed them so much that I was hoping CBS would bring them back again. I believe they did in 2 summers but then Wayne & Schuster disappeared, much to the viewers loss. -
flugluftholgate4 April 2008I had never heard of these two until one day while having a stroll and a look through some 'everything-must-go/cheapo-shops'. There's a particular favourite shop of mine in Scarborough, (Yorkshire, England not Canada...) that sells DVD's for... ...wait for it... ...a pound! Yes one UK pound!!! (How these companies that produce this stuff make a profit I don't know!) Any way, that evening I put 'Wayne and Shuster present An Affectionate Look At The Monsters' on. I love all that black and white 1930's stuff with Bela, Boris and Lon and having got those on DVD's this DVD compliments them perfectly. I am surprised the W&S programme has not been added as an extra to an original film DVD, but perhaps it has? It has clips from all the big films 'Dracula', 'The Wolfman', 'Frankenstein' and 'Bride of...' the bit where Colin Clive's Dr Frankenstein declares that he now feels how it is 'to be god' has be masked out! But we do get close to it... Also included are the Munsters (Sorry, never liked them, I think the canned laughter put me off) and Abbot and Costello (Have never seen but heard good reports of). It lasts some 54 minutes and W&S come over as likable chaps, I can see where other double acts got there ideas from. I would like to see there other work now, especially after reading other peoples comments on this site. As another commentator said perhaps the comedy channel could run there work? So, look out for 'Wayne and Shuster present An Affectionate Look At The Monsters' its on AG Plate DVD no. EL6084 and well worth adding to any collection of monster video's!!!