by Barb Lentz
The five movies Bob provided for me from which to choose were these:
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Deadline USA (1952)
The In-Laws (1979)
My Little Chickadee (1940)
A Raisin in the Sun (1961)
I chose My Little Chickadee because I was interested to see both Mae West and W.C. Fields. I have heard many references to Mae West over the years, but I do not believe that I have ever seen any of her movies. I was also interested in seeing W.C. Fields, as he was a popular comedian in his time. (I also remember him lending his name to the Fritos snack food, as W. C. Fritos.) Fields and West wrote the screenplay for My Little Chickadee, and with their pedigrees, I expected better.
Mae West as Flower Belle first appears in a stagecoach on the way back to her hometown. The stagecoach is held up by the Masked Rider. Everyone else exits the stagecoach, but Flower Belle. The Masked Rider insists that she come out as well, and she makes some comment about not having anything he would want. As the Masked Rider leaves, he snatches Flower Belle and carries her away. (I guess she had something he wanted after all.)
Flower Belle returns to her home and everyone is shocked and elated that she escaped from the Masked Rider. A late night rendezvous between the Masked Rider and Flower Belle (at her home) is seen, however, and after a town meeting Flower Belle is evicted from the town until she can return as a respectable married woman.
Flower Belle takes the train to the next closest town, Greasewood. While on the train, she demonstrates her sarcastic wit (in what amount to asides to the audience) and her sharpshooting skills (against Indians who foolishly attack the train). She meets other passengers including a gambler, whom others mistake as a man of God, and Cuthbert J. Twillie (W. C. Fields), a traveling salesman. Twillie is quite taken with Flower Belle; she is interested in him because she believes he has a bag full of money. Twillie proposes to Flower Belle, and they are “married” by the gambler.
Once the train arrives in Greasewood, Twillie and Flower Belle check into the hotel; Flower Belle takes the bridal suite and refuses entry to Twillie. I was quite surprised that he accepted this treatment, although this provides a foundation for comedy of rejection. Twillie occupies the room next door to thebridal suite, and when he leaves to find the saloon, Flower Belle enters his room and rummages through his things to find his bag of money. It is then than she discovers that it is not money after all, but coupons for Twillie’s tonic. You can imagine her disappointment.
Flower Belle visits the saloon and hears Twilllie telling the tale of how he had single-handedly shot the Indians who were chasing the train. Of course, Flower Belle is the sharpshooter, not Twillie, but she does not dispute his story. He becomes sheriff of the town. The owner of the saloon, Jeff Badger (Joseph Calleia), is quite taken with Flower Belle and would not be sorry if the sheriff widowed Flower Belle. Unlike Bob, I did not recognize the saloon owner as the Masked Rider.
When Twillie hears that Flower Belle is smitten with the Masked Rider, he impersonates the bandit, climbing a ladder into her hotel room. Flower Belle seems to be fooled for a short time, but then recognizes Twillie and evicts him, making him exit through the window. As he leaves, he is seen, and arrested as the Masked Rider; the townsfolk plan to hang him. Flower Belle is also arrested as his accomplice, and placed in the same jail cell. Flower Belle knows that she must escape to save her “husband.” She flirts with the deputy, steals his guns and forces him to unlock the cell. She then locks the door, leaving Twillie in jail. Flower Belle appeals to Jeff Badger to help Twillie, as she knows he is not the Masked Rider. The saloon owner kisses Flower Belle, and it is at that moment that she knows HE is the Masked Rider, because “a man’s kiss is his signature.”
The Masked Rider interrupts Twillie’s hanging and returns some of the money and jewels he had stolen. The townspeople realize their error and release Twillie. Flower Belle holds the crowd at gunpoint until the Masked Rider can escape once again. Why Jeff Badger returned the stolen money and jewels, one can only speculate that he did it for Flower Belle. I never understood why Twillie never realized that he and Flower Belle were not married; it comes as a surprise to him at the end of the story.
My top five moments of the movie are:
1. Whenever Flower Belle makes a dramatic entrance in one of her tightly-fitted, ornately embroidered outfits. All of Flower Belle’s clothing ensembles are gorgeous. She is a great dresser!
2. When the Masked Rider snatches Flower Belle after robbing the stagecoach. It truly surprised me.
3. When Flower Belle continually proves she is self-sufficient and is not afraid of the Masked Rider, the Indians, Mrs. Gideon (Margaret Hamilton), or any situation. She is a strong character.
4. When Flower Belle admits the goat to her room, and tucks him into bed to make it seem as though she is in bed, as she leaves to meet the Masked Rider.
5. When, at the end, Flower Belle demonstrates that she has a good heart by saving both Twillie and the Masked Rider. While she “marries” Twillie out of greed, she also saves him from being hanged, and she allows Jeff Badger to escape the crowd’s fury as well.
Is My Little Chickadee a classic? Sadly, no. W.C. Fields as Twillie was simply annoying, and I did not find him funny. While I enjoyed seeing Mae West, her dialogue seemed like a series of one-liners. This can be explained, perhaps, by the fact that each star wrote their own side of the screenplay, but it doesn’t mix well at all. Things occur that cannot be explained, even as jokes, and the story isn’t very amusing. What’s up with the Indian, Milton, who follows Twillie around all the time? Or the lady in the bar, Mrs. “Pygmy” Allen? And the newspaper man, Wayne Carter (Dick Foran) isn’t funny at all; he’s just another man to swoon over Flower Belle. Whether as a western or a comedy, the movie does not hold up well.
BRL 17 March 2014.
My Little Chickadee (March 15, 1940) Universal Pictures
Directed by Edward F. Cline. Produced by Lester Cowan.
Written by Mae West and W. C. Fields.
Principal Cast (character, performer):
Flower Belle Lee Mae West
Cuthbert J. Twillie W. C. Fields
Jeff Badger Joseph Calleia
Wayne Carter Dick Foran
Aunt Lou Ruth Donnelly
Mrs. Gideon Margaret Hamilton
Amos Budge Donald Meek
Cousin Zeb Fuzzy Knight
Uncle John Willard Robertson
Milton George Moran
Mrs. “Pygmy” Allen Fay Adler
83 minutes. B&W. Not Rated.