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Paramount, 1934. Directed by
Leo McCarey. Camera: Henry Sharp. With Charles Ruggles,
Mary Boland, W.C.
Fields, George Burns, Gracie Allen, Alison Skipworth, Bradley Page,
Grace Bradley, William J. Kelly, James Burke, Dick Rush, Walter Long, Leo
Willis, Lew Kelly, Alp P. James, Tammany Young, Paul Tead, George Pearce,
Verna D. Hillie, Florence Enright, William Augustin, Kathleen Burke, Irving
Bacon, Phil Dunham, Marty Faust, Lee Phelps, Neal Burns. |
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  Mr. and Mrs. J. Pinkham Whinney are planning a
motor trip to Hollywood, Calif., for their second honeymoon.
Mrs. Whinney advertises for a couple to accompany them and share expenses.
Of course, it turns out to be George Edward and Gracie DeVore, with their
tremendous great dane.
A fellow clerk in J. Pinkham Whinney's bank has
put fifty thousand dollars in the latter's suitcase, intending to hold him
up his first night on the road. But Gracie insists on going by another
route, and it is not until they reach Nuggetville, Nev., that detectives are
able to catch up with them.
Sheriff John Hoxley and Mrs. K. Rumford, the
local innkeeper, collaborate on a hilarious arrest. However, J.
Pinkham Whinney is finally cleared and the Whinneys' traveling companions
wish themselves on another unsuspecting couple and travel on. Finally
Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Whinney can have a moment alone.What was said about
Six of a Kind:
The Literary Digest (Argus)
"Filmgoers who have the proper enthusiasm for the art of W.C. Fields
should find Six of a Kind one of the cinema joys of the year. Since
this mad and wildly merry screen farce likewise features the antics of such
expert performers as burns and Allen, Mary Boland, Alison Skipworth, and Charles
Ruggles, it obviously has its decided merits (or any admirer of the more amiably
lunatic school of film comedy, but there is reason to believe that it is the
Fields addicts who will get the most fun out of this film. W.C. Fields is
one of the rarest and most original of American comedians.
 _NRFPT_01_small.jpg) There is gusto
and richness to everything he does, and a certain outrageous air of frayed and
battered dignity that is utterly and completely distinctive. Nor is it
entirely his appearance and manner that are responsible for the striking
hilarity. In the recent film version of
Alice in Wonderland he played the character of "Humpty-Dumpty" and even
while completely encased in his eggshell he was the only player in the entire
cast of stars that was able to create a vivid characterization by his voice
alone. This strangely effective voice of his is particularly surprising in
view of the fact that he began his theatrical career as a juggler and
pantomimist."
New Outlook (Cy Caldwell)
"Here is good fun for everyone, and especially grant entertainment for
those discerning cinema patrons who delight in the solemn insanities of that
king of comedians, Mr. W.C. Fields. In this gloriously crazy picture he is
the Sheriff of a Nevada town, playing his famous game of billiards, describing
how he came to be called Honest John, and remarking that everything really
pleasant is either illegal, immoral, or fattening. To me, a devout Fields
fan, he is the star of the picture."
Motion Picture Herald
"This is a carnival of nonsensical comedy. Rarely has this
reporter seen a crowd so enthusiastic in the appreciation of screen amusement as
was the preview audience. Clocking the laughs was impossible; they came so
fast and furiously. There's fun in the basic story; there's more fun in
the atmospheric specialties which embellish it."
Newsweek
"As might be expected from such an assemblage it is madcap from
beginning to end. Six of a Kind is fun for everybody."
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The Films of W.C. Fields
by Donald Deschner
The Citadel Press, New York (1966)
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Detailed information about
this film is available from
the AFI Catalog of Feature Films at
AFI.com, or by clicking
here.
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