The Man on the Flying Trapeze [Blu-ray]

Director: Clyde Bruckman Clyde Bruckman

Overview

W.C. Fields plays Ambrose Wolfinger, the henpecked husband to end all henpecked husbands. A widower, Ambrose married a second time only to provide a mother for his pretty daughter (Mary Brian). What he got was an overbearing harpy of a wife (Kathleen Howard), a fussy and imperious mother-in-law (Vera Lewis) and a shiftless brother-in-law (Grady Sutton). Ambrose plans to attend a much-awaited wrestling match, but can't get the day off of work. He lies for the first time in his life, telling his boss that his mother-in-law has died. En route to the wrestling meet, Ambrose suffers one mishap after another, from a string of traffic tickets to an encounter with a runaway tire. He gets to the match just in time to miss the whole thing, and ends up bruised and battered on the sidewalk. Meanwhile, his home is being deluged with flowers, offered in sympathy for his "dead" mother-in-law who is very much alive but not amused. When his boss discovers the deception, he fires Ambrose. The poor man returns home to face the cold stares of his wife's family. They goad and harass him until he can stand no more: when brother-in-law insults his daughter, Ambrose punches him out (a scene that always results in audience cheers) and tells everyone else where to go. Soon after, his anxious ex-boss calls up; only Ambrose can decipher the important messages left behind on his cluttered desk, and would Ambrose like to come back to work? His loyal and loving daughter negotiates a hefty salary hike for Ambrose, and the film ends with Our Hero assuming his proper role as head of the household, with his obnoxious in-laws literally left out in the rain. An uproarious "worm turns" farce, Man on the Flying Trapeze was an expanded version of 1932 Mack Sennett two-reeler, Too Many Highballs, and a partial remake of Fields' own silent feature Running Wild (27).

Product Details

Release Date:	04/19/2022
UPC:	0738329258498
Original Release:	1935
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Language:	English
Time:	1:06:00
Sales rank:	7,775

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

W.C. Fields	Ambrose Wolfinger
Mary Brian	Hope Wolfinger
Kathleen Howard	Leona Wolfinger
Walter Brennan	"Legs" Garnett
Grady Sutton	Claude Neselrode
Vera Lewis	Mrs. Cordelia Neselrode
Lucien Littlefield	Mr. Peabody,Neighbor with Correct Time
Oscar Apfel	President Malloy
Lew Kelly	Adolph Berg
Tammany Young	`Willie' the Weasel
Arthur Aylesworth	Night Court Judge
Harry Ekezian	Hookallockah Mishabbob
Tor Johnson	Tosoff
David Clyde	J. Farnsworth Wallaby
James Flavin	Henry, the Chauffeur
Sarah Edwards	Car Owner
Carlotta Monti	Ambrose's Secretary
Sam Lufkin	Ticket Taker
Helen Dickson	Miss Dickson
James Burke	Patrolman
Eddy Chandler	Actor
Lorin Raker	Ring Announcer
Heinie Conklin	Street Cleaner
Michael Visaroff	Homicidal Maniac
Harry C. Bradley	Peeved Driver
Rosemary Theby	Helpful Pedestrian
Jack Baxley	Night Court Officer
George French	Clerk
Billy Bletcher	Timekeeper
Minerva Urecal	Italian Woman in Ambulance
Mickey Bennett	Office Employee
Dorothy Thompson	Information Girl
Albert Taylor	Clerk
Mickey McMasters	Referee
Charles Morris	Turnkey
Eddie Sturgis	Bystander at Arena Gate
Pat O'Malley	Officer
Keith Daniels	Ticket Seller
Joe Sawyer	Ambulance Driver

Technical Credits

Clyde Bruckman

Director

Editorial Reviews

Although it is not as well known as such classic W.C. Fields entries as The Bank Dick, The Man on the Flying Trapeze is one of the great comic's finest vehicles and a delightful film all around. Despite the title, there's no circus setting in Trapeze; the title is more metaphorical, referring to the title character's flying from one ridiculous situation to another and as such could serve as the title for any number of Fields pictures. Trapeze benefits from the fact that the comic is playing a slightly more submissive character than usual. ($Fields is almost always put-upon in some way, and his characters vary in how much they react to his situations, but his Ambrose Wolfinger is more vulnerable and one roots for him even more than usual. That's not to say he's not as cantankerous and crabby as ever, just that his retorts are more "under the breath" than usual. Fields and crew do a wonderful job of setting up all the odds against Ambrose, making the audience feel for and with him, and the comic set pieces they devise are gems all the way through. They do such a fine job that when the character finally has had enough and explodes, it's a titanic release for the audience as well and generates an incredible sense of fair play and joy among viewers. Fields' supporting cast is quite good, but it's definitely Fields who holds the whole show together and does it beautifully.