W C Fields and Me ** (1976, Rod Steiger, Valerie Perrine, John Marley) – Classic Movie Review 9451

Director Arthur Hiller’s 1976 Tinseltown biopic W C Fields and Me stars Rod Steiger, who impersonates the great comedian, drinker and baby-hater in an amusing Seventies showbiz saga based loosely on the memoirs of his mistress Carlotta Monti, as well as a book by Cy Rice.

Steiger tries to make up for Bob Merrill’s underwritten screenplay by an enjoyably overripe performance, and reliable character actor people like Jack Cassidy, Paul Stewart and John Marley make some headway with the interesting characters of John Barrymore, Florenz Ziegfeld and the studio boss Bannerman.

True to the Hollywood tradition, the script doesn’t let itself be bogged down by the facts, and the script uses very little of Monti’s book. But then, to compensate, there are a good period feel and handsome production. Monti is played by Valerie Perrine, who waspishly said that she was surprised that a man playing a comedian could exhibit no sense of humour.

W C Fields and Me is directed by Arthur Hiller, runs 112 minutes, is made by Universal Pictures, is released by Universal, is written by Bob Merrill, shot by David M Walsh, produced by Jay Weston, scored by Henry Mancini and designed by Robert F Boyle.

Also in the cast are Bernadette Peters, Dana Elcar, Billy Barty, Allan Arbus, Milt Kamen, Louis Zorich, Andrew Parks, Linda Purl, John Bleifer, Buff Brady, Frank DeVol, Eddie Firestone, John Furlong, Jacques Foti, Paul Mantee, Victor Millan, Judith Novgrod, Gerald Peters, Clay Tanner, Kenneth Tobey, Seffan Zacharias, Mary McLain, George Loroa, Jimmy Joyce and Carlotta Monti.

Rex Reed visited the set and found Perrine morose in her trailer. She said: ‘Lenny was a fun set. This one isn’t. I wish I was back working again with Bobby (Fosse) and Dusty (Hoffman)’.

Karen Black turned down the role of Carlotta Monti.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9451

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