The Old Fashioned Way

1934
Approved
1h 11m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

The Great McGonigle and his troupe of third-rate vaudevillians manage to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors and the sheriff.The Great McGonigle and his troupe of third-rate vaudevillians manage to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors and the sheriff.The Great McGonigle and his troupe of third-rate vaudevillians manage to stay one step ahead of the bill collectors and the sheriff.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.3/10

1.2K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 win total

Trivia
W.C. Fields recreates his famous vaudeville juggling routine with the cigar boxes.

Goofs
Betty is described as the leading lady of the troupe--as one would expect, since she is The Great McGonigle's daughter. But she takes no part in the show; another actress plays the female lead.

Quotes
Dick Bronson: Mr. McGonigle, I've got to have some money.
The Great McGonigle: Yes, my lad, how much?
Dick Bronson: Two dollars.
The Great McGonigle: If I had two dollars, I'd start a number two company.
Dick Bronson: For two cents I'd quit.
The Great McGonigle: [to Marmaduke] Pay him off!
[Marmaduke gives him a two cent stamp]

Crazy credits
The end credits are in 2 parts; the first contain the actors and their character names in the film as a whole; The second contains the actors and their character names in the play, "The Drunkard." Five actors, therefore, are credited twice: W.C. Fields, Joe Morrison, Judith Allen, Samuel Ethridge and Ruth Marion.

Connections
Featured in Hollywood: The Gift of Laughter (1982)

Soundtracks
We're Just Poor Folks Rolling in Love
(1934) (uncredited)
Lyrics by Mack Gordon
Music by Harry Revel
Sung by Joe Morrison

User reviews32

Review

Featured review

Vintage Fields

This is one of the top 2 or 3 movies I recommend when someone wants an introduction to the films of W. C. Fields. Classic wisecracking Fields, interaction with Baby LeRoy (including a well-placed kick), the Fields juggling act, and Fields classic costume as he gets off the train and leads (he thinks) a parade, the oversized, ballooning coat. Hi slines are priceless, his interaction with Jan Dugan as Cleopatra Pepperday, singing a song about gathering shells on the seashore brings tears to my eyes with laughter, Nora Cecil does very, very well as the hatchet-faced boarding room landlord Mrs Wendelschaeffer. Very good look at turn of the century melodrama as they present "The Drunkard" onstage. If you see one full-length W. C. Fields movie as an introduction to this comic genius, make it this one! Recommended highly!