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W.C. Fields - THE BANK DICK

© John Vincent Brennan

W.C. Field’s THE BANK DICK (1940) is a film that will either have you in hysterics or leave you scratching your head wondering what all the fuss is about. Made at a time when the careers of Laurel and Hardy and The Marx Brothers were clearly sliding downhill, THE BANK DICK is the exclamation point at the end of the era of classic comedy. Many Fields’ fans (myself included) consider it one of his two perfect masterpieces, along with IT’S A GIFT (1934).

It is the story of one Egbert Sousé (pronounced soo-ZAY, “accent grave on the e”) of Lompoc, California, who accidentally captures a bank robber and is rewarded the job of bank detective (or “dick” in the slang of the period). Sousé, as played by Fields, is the laziest man in town, a smoker and drinker who makes a living suggesting slogans and entering puzzle contests. He lives with a despicable family that includes a mother-in-law who detests him, a wife who ignores him, one daughter who is an idiot (“I’ll starve myself to death! That’s the easiest way out! It’s not so difficult... I tried it yesterday afternoon!”) and another daughter who relishes throwing ketchup bottles and rocks at his head. When he is not entering his puzzle contests, Sousé is drinking down at the Black Pussy Cat Café (always referred to by Fields in the film as “The Black Pussy”, to show his contempt for the censors.)

What little plot there is concerns Sousé and his future son-in-law, banker Og Oggleby (played by the great Grady Sutton), investing 500 dollars of the bank's money in a worthless stock. Oggleby is worried, but Sousé convinces that the stock is going to explode, so Oggleby plans to invest the money and replace it when his bonus comes in. Unfortunately for all concerned, the bank examiner (played by Franklin Pangborne) shows up to inspect the books before Oggleby can replace the money.

The plot is merely an excuse for Fields to ad-lib his way through the film, dropping memorable dialogue into every scene. THE BANK DICK is a treasury of quotable Fieldsisms:

“I never smoked a cigarette until I was nine.”

”Og Oggleby? Sounds like a bubble in a bathtub.”

“Don’t be a luddy-duddy! Don’t be a mooncalf! Don’t be a jabberknowl! You’re not any of those, are you?”

When told he will have to show up at ten in the morning to start his job: “Well, that’s all right. If I’m not here on time, just go ahead without me. I’ll catch up with you.”

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