On the rare occaisions TCM shows W.C. Fields, it's either "The Bank Dick" or "My Little Chickadee". Don't get me wrong, those are fine films, but there are some real gems that he made at Paramount in the '30s. My personal favorites are "International House" (which had a great ensemble cast including Burns& Allen, Bela Lugosi, and Cab Calloway(!) among others), "It's a Gift", "Tillie and Gus", and "If I had A Million" (another ensemble piece), There are many others
I am a child of the ' 60s and originally saw these films in badly edited, commercial-filled versions on local TV late at night and they were hilarious. By today's standards, they were very un-P.C., but never (or rarely) maliciously so. Perhaps this is why they are not being shown. In any event, I'd like to see these classics again at some point. I've been watching TCM since 1996 (except for a two year period when I was hospitalized) and I have yet to see a Fields marathon or birthday tribute. How 'bout it? Is anybody with me?
