Poppy (1936 film)


Poppy is a 1936 comedy film starring W. C. Fields and Rochelle Hudson. The film was based on a 1923 stage revue of the same name starring Fields and Madge Kennedy. This was the second film version of the revue, following Sally of the Sawdust in 1925 with Carol Dempster in the title role and which also starred Fields.

Plot

Eustace McGargle, a con artist, snake oil salesman and exponent of the shell game, tries to escape the sheriff while taking care of his beloved adopted daughter, Poppy, who, after pretending to be an heiress to win an inheritance, turns out really to be an heiress.

Cast

At the time of filming, Fields was suffering the effects of his heavy drinking, together with attempts to stop drinking. He injured his back during the making of the film. These factors mean that Fields was not able to give his best performance. Fields was ill during the production, and a fairly obvious double was used in several scenes requiring physical exertion. He still managed a memorable performance, including these well-known lines spoken to his daughter Poppy :
On its release, The New York Times called it a "glorious victory" for Fields and comedy, while conceding that the scenes without Fields were "painfully frail" and would provoke some squirming and eye-rolling. Writing for The Spectator in 1936, Graham Greene gave the film a good review commenting that for this film "Mr Fields has never acted better." Comparing Fields' characterization to that of Charlie Chaplin's characterizations in his own films, Greene notes that Fields "wins our hearts not by a display of Chaplin sentiment, not by class solidarity, but simply by the completeness of his dishonesty".
More recently, The Age of Comedy was unimpressed, finding the film uninteresting and over-serious apart from Fields' presence, and Fields not at his best.

Accolades

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists: