W.C. Fields Movies

Want to know the best W.C. Fields movies?  How about the worst W.C. Fields movies?  Curious about W.C. Fields box office grosses or which W.C. Fields movie picked up the most Oscar® nominations? Need to know which W.C. Fields movie got the best reviews from critics and audiences and which got the worst reviews? Well, you have come to the right place….because we have all of that information.

W.C. Fields (1880-1946) was an American comedian, actor, juggler, and writer.  Fields’ comic persona was a misanthropic and hard-drinking egotist, who remained a sympathetic character despite his supposed contempt for children and dogs.  His IMDb page shows 41 acting credits between 1915 and 1944.  This page will rank W.C. Fields movies from Best to Worst in six different sortable columns of information. Television shows, shorts, cameos, uncredited roles, and movies that were not released in North American were not included in the rankings.

1940’s My Little Chickadee

W.C. Fields Movies Ranked In Chronological Order With Ultimate Movie Rankings Score (1 to 5 UMR Tickets) *Best combo of box office, reviews and awards.

1934’s It’s A Gift

W.C. Fields Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table

The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.

  • Sort W.C. Fields movies by his co-stars
  • Sort W.C. Fields movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost.
  • Sort W.C. Fields movies by domestic yearly box office rank
  • Sort W.C. Fields movies how they were received by critics and audiences.  60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
  • Sort by how many Oscar® nominations and how many Oscar® wins each W.C. Fields movie received.
  • Sort W.C. Fields movies by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score.  UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
1941’s Never Give a Sucker an Even Break

Possibly Interesting Facts About W.C. Fields

1. William Claude Dukenfield was born in Darby, Pennsylvania in 1880.  His father was a United States Civil War veteran

2. In his younger days, W.C. Fields was a tennis hustler. Because of his amazing hand/eye coordination, hardly a game went by when he didn’t slice the ball so that it bounced on his opponent’s side and then returned before his opponent could get to it. His slices were nearly impossible to return, let alone reach.

3.  W.C. Fields was an accomplished amateur cartoonist. He often provided his own illustrations for his publicity material during his vaudeville days and sent sketches and self-drawn holiday cards to his friends, all his life.

4.  W.C. Fields is enshrined in the Juggling Hall of Fame.  He could juggle or balance practically anything he could lift or carry; Fields unnerved his despised mother-in-law by keeping a lit cigar, a candle (in holder), or a beer bottle balanced atop his head at mealtimes, never seeming to notice its presence.

5.  W.C. Fields has a medical syndrome named after him–“W.C. Fields syndrome“, characterized by rhinophyma (rosacea of the nose) associated with alcoholism.

Check out W.C. Fields’s career compared to current and classic actors.  Most 100 Million Dollar Movies of All-Time.

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18 thoughts on “W.C. Fields Movies”

  1. I saw 3 of top 6 plus tales of manhattan( a bigger role than frankie Avalon in casino). 10 not a favorite david copperfield . 9 not a favorite tales of manhattan. his humor does not touch me but his persona did.

    favorite quote/joke. “I saw a horrible , deplorable sight yesterday. I saw a man drink 17 scotch and waters. horrible , deplorable. I hate to see a man pour all that excess water into his system.

    Reply

    1. Hey bob cox…thanks for sharing your thoughts on W.C. Fields…..I like your ratings of the three you have seen. I like the quote/joke….good addition….and good feedback.

      Reply

  2. I saw three W.C. Fields comedies recently on TCM – It’s a Gift, You Can’t Cheat an Honest Man and The Bank Dick.

    I’ve also seen Big Broadcast of 1938, Alice in Wonderland and David Copperfield.

    So that’s 6 out of the 33 films on your chart.

    Not really a fan but I did enjoy the comedies on TCM.

    I’d like to see My Little Chickadee (with Mae West) and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, if they turn up on TV.

    Good stuff Bruce. Vote Up!

    Reply

    1. Hey Steve. I can see you being a fan of W.C. Fields. Although their humor is way different…for some reason I put the Marx Brothers and W.C. in the same class…at least in my mind. Of the 6 you have seen I have only seen one. Alice In Wonderland (at least his version) is one I have wanted to see…..it does have a Cary Grant role. I have actually seen My Little Chickadee….it is fun seeing West and W.C. playing off each other. Good stuff as always.

      Reply

  3. Having seen most every movie it seems on all channels I get, I have resorted to buying a few DVD sets and unloading VCR tapes. Couple of weeks ago bought a 10 film set of Mr. Fields. Have watched International House (which I couldn’t believe I never saw) and It’s a Gift.

    When I was young Never Give a Sucker an Even Break was a fave of mine, He jumps out of a hot air balloon because he dropped his bottle and the great car chase at the end with his car stuck on top of a ladder on a fire truck. Universal in its cheapness used that same footage just 3 years later to climax Abbott & Costello’s In Society.

    How could you forget they made a biography of him in 1976. W.C. Fields and Me starring Oscar winner Rod Steiger as him (not his finest moment).

    W,C. appeared with only 2 people on the Oracle of Bacon Top 1000 for 2020. who are;

    102 ORSON WELLES Follow the Boys (1944)
    154 MARC LAWRENCE If I Had a Million (1932)

    He did appear with 6 Oscar winners in pictures.

    BING CROSBY Mississippi (1935)
    CHARLES LAUGHTON If I Had a Million (1932)
    GALE SONDERGAARD FOLLOW THE BOYS (1944)
    GARY COOPER Alice in Wonderland (1933)
    GARY COOPER If I Had a Million (1932)
    GEORGE BURNS International House (1933)
    GEORGE BURNS SIX OF A KIND (1934)
    LIONEL BARRYMORE The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger (1935) (David Copperfield is easier).

    Happy July 4th.

    Reply

    1. Hey Dan. Thanks for the mini-lists on W.C. Fields. Interesting that you had just bought the 10 movie Fields set. I have not seen many of his movies at all. Like Brigitte Bardot, the name W.C. Fields is a name I have known as long as I can remember. As for the Steiger movie, it has made some of the Golden Turkey books……they really tear that movie apart.

      First mini-list…wow only two stars…at least Welles is a legend. Second list looks huge compared to the first one. I agree David Copperfield is much easier….lol. Hope your 4th was a good one…not sure how I missed this comment.

      Reply

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