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The Bank Dick

The Bank Dick (1940)

November. 29,1940
|
7.1
| Comedy

Egbert Sousé becomes an unexpected hero when a bank robber falls over a bench he's occupying. Now considered brave, Egbert is given a job as a bank guard. Soon, he is approached by charlatan J. Frothingham Waterbury about buying shares in a mining company. Egbert persuades teller Og Oggilby to lend him bank money, to be returned when the scheme pays off. Unfortunately, bank inspector Snoopington then makes a surprise appearance.

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Hitchcoc
1940/11/29

W. C. Fields dominates this film. For such a basically rotten guy, we still sympathize with him because he is the head of a dysfunctional, mean spirited family. Of course, he's no gem himself, smoking, drinking, carrying on in front of young women. His daughter wants to marry a guy named Og Ogilby (Fields was a master at creating the most ridiculous names for his characters). The boy has little to offer, working in a bank for very little. The story evolves around a bank robbery where Fields (whose name is Souse with the "e" pronounced so he doesn't have the name of a perennial drunk). Fields accidentally apprehends some bank robbers and is rewarded with a job as a band guard. He talks Og into embezzling money and investing it in a gold mine so he can be rich enough to marry his daughter. Things take many turns. The important thing is Fields is on the screen continuously, not having to share time with other stars. Will he land on his feet?

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gavin6942
1940/11/30

Henpecked Egbert Sousè (W. C. Fields) has comic adventures as a substitute film director and unlikely bank guard.Otis Ferguson was not so keen on it. He said, "When the man (W.C. Fields) is funny he is terrific... but the story is makeshift, the other characters are stock types, the only pace discernible is the distance between drinks or the rhythm of the fleeting seconds it takes Fields to size up trouble and duck the hell out." It is number 8 of Stanley Kubrick's ten most favorite films. I have to agree more with Kubrick on this one. Ferguson comes down too hard, as some of the things he criticizes are what make it such a great comedy. That sort of stuff may not fly today for sophisticated audiences, but Fields fits right in with Keaton, Chaplin and others... he is a natural successor to the silent age.

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mike48128
1940/12/01

Actually one of his more "coherent" films, as the story-line is much easier to follow than many of his other "adventures", which were heavily censored and cut for time. He is always plagued with a terrible and unappreciative family. Always the teller of tall tales, he clumsily and accidentally foils an armed bank robbery, recovers the stolen money and exaggerates the entire thing. "He attacked me with a sword that long...") He is then given the lowly "position of "special officer", "A bank dick!" Grady Sutton is also at his best as the inept bank teller and suitor of his 18 year old daughter. Also a small part for Shemp Howard as the proprietor of the "Black Pussy Cafe" Saloon. Fields gets robbed at the bank and becomes driver and hostage with one of the same robbers. Also contains many famous scenes including "Is that gun loaded?" (Field's to a little kid in a cowboy costume.) "The movie director". "The bank examiner meets Michael Finn". Another trademark ending where the getaway car is totally destroyed in an improbable and wild chase scene, like in some of his other films. As the car falls apart, the brakes fail, the engine falls out and a wheel comes off! Best running gag: The Bank Manager's cold and unfeeling "Allow me to give you another hearty handshake". Fields wins it all in the end: A $10,000 movie contract, A $5,000 reward for capturing the bank robber, and the thought-to-be-worthless Beefsteak Mining Stock. He becomes rich and "a changed man". Wonderful ending, as Fields, all resplendent in fine garments, calls and runs after Shemp who is whistling (like "The Pied Piper") "Listen to the Mockingbird".

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MartinHafer
1940/12/02

Apart from IT'S A GIFT, this is among W. C. Fields' greatest films--with tons of laughs. He plays Egbert Sousé (pronounced 'soo-zay', not 'souse'--a great play on words) and the film is filled with more Fields bizarre names than usual. My favorite is the bank examiner, 'J. Pinkerton Snoopington' but 'Filthy McNasty' and 'Og Oggilby' are also dandy! Plus the script credit which goes to 'Mahatma Kane Jeeves' (a pseudonym for Fields himself)). But there is far more to the film than just silly names. Like almost all of Fields' films, it's about a likable small-time blow-hard who somehow makes it big by the end of the film. In this film, Fields accidentally foils a bank robbery and is rewarded with a job working in the bank. Later, he once again saves the day and is the town hero. In between he manages to make a mess of things, but in Fields fashion, it all manages to work itself out as well.What helps this film is that in addition to an excellent Fields performance is some excellent support from the likes of Grady Sutton, Shemp Howard, Franklin Pangborn and Una Merkel and they're all in top form. Overall, the film shows that you can take a very simple plot and just let Fields act--that's really all you need for an excellent comedy. The only negative is the rear projection used during the police chase--it was very obviously fake--too fake to be funny.

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