{"id":3186,"date":"2007-05-12T14:09:21","date_gmt":"2007-05-12T21:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3186"},"modified":"2021-02-01T19:38:58","modified_gmt":"2021-02-02T02:38:58","slug":"my-little-chickadee-1940","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3186","title":{"rendered":"My Little Chickadee (1940)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>&#8220;Flower Belle: what a euphonious appellation. Easy on the ears and a banquet for the eyes.&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<table>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-Poster.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-Poster-190x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"190\" height=\"300\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-22546\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-Poster-190x300.jpg 190w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-Poster-81x128.jpg 81w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 190px) 100vw, 190px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong><br \/>\nOn her way to Greasewood City, Flower Belle Lee (Mae West) meets a lustful traveling salesman (W.C. Fields) and pretends to marry him in order to gain respectability. Meanwhile, she carries on affairs with a shady saloon owner (Joseph Calleia), a newspaper man (Dick Foran), and a mysterious masked bandit, yet refuses to let the frustrated Fields &#8212; who has been named sheriff of Greasewood City &#8212; near her.\n<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>\n<p>\n<strong>Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Comedy<\/li>\n<li>Con-Artists<\/li>\n<li>Mae West Films<\/li>\n<li>Morality Police<\/li>\n<li>Sheriffs<\/li>\n<li>W.C. Fields Films<\/li>\n<li>Westerns<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Response to Peary&#8217;s Review: <\/strong><br \/>\n<em>My Little Chickadee<\/em> is notorious as the only pairing of screen icons W.C. Fields and Mae West. Though it&#8217;s considered by many to be a sub-par comedic outing (see the review links below), I have to say I disagree: it&#8217;s full of countless hilarious moments, and &#8212; as with many Fields vehicles &#8212; the rather silly plot matters far less than the constant innuendos and gags. West &#8212; delightfully described by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeout.com\/movies\/my-little-chickadee\">Time Out<\/a> as &#8220;the first female female impersonator&#8221; &#8212; is as self-confident and curvaceous as ever, flirting shamelessly while she rolls her eyes upwards with a smirk. <\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-West2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-West2-1024x755.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"640\" height=\"472\" class=\"alignnone size-large wp-image-67873\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-West2-1024x755.png 1024w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-West2-300x221.png 300w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-West2-128x94.png 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-West2-768x567.png 768w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-West2-366x270.png 366w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-West2.png 1365w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>But as Peary notes, it&#8217;s Fields who really shines here, as we see him &#8220;chatting incessantly, bragging, lying, telling weird anecdotes, [and] using a weird language all his own.&#8221; Also of note is Margaret Hamilton, playing heavily on her <a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3361\"><em>Wizard of Oz<\/em><\/a> characterization as a shrewish witch, but given much more comedic range. Best of all, however, are the few scenes in which West and Fields play off of each other &#8212; it&#8217;s a shame this was their only joint venture. <\/p>\n<p><strong>Redeeming Qualities and Moments: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>W.C. Fields at his lying, conniving, cowardly best<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-Fields.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-Fields.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-22549\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-Fields.jpg 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-Fields-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-Fields-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Margaret Hamilton as a meddling bluenose<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-Hamilton.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-Hamilton.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"720\" height=\"540\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-22548\" srcset=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-Hamilton.jpg 720w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-Hamilton-128x96.jpg 128w, https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/05\/My-Little-Chickadee-Hamilton-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px\" \/><\/a><\/li>\n<li>Many humorously racy lines:<br \/>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;I have some very definite pear-shaped ideas that I&#8217;d like to discuss with you.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>(!!!)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Must See? <\/strong><br \/>\nYes. While maligned by many modern critics, <em>My Little Chickadee<\/em> remains a delightful, historically relevant comedy.  <\/p>\n<p><strong>Categories<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Historically Relevant<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Links: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/imdb.com\/title\/tt0032828\/\">IMDb entry<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/1940\/03\/16\/archives\/the-screen-wc-fields-and-mae-west-are-seen-in-my-little-chickadee.html\">NY Times Original Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.dvdtalk.com\/dvdsavant\/s1870west.html (scroll down)\">DVD Savant Review<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tcm.com\/tcmdb\/title\/84355\/my-little-chickadee\/#articles-reviews?articleId=88885\">TCM Article<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.timeout.com\/film\/73751.html\">Time Out Capsule Review<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Flower Belle: what a euphonious appellation. Easy on the ears and a banquet for the eyes.&#8221; Synopsis: On her way to Greasewood City, Flower Belle Lee (Mae West) meets a lustful traveling salesman (W.C. Fields) and pretends to marry him in order to gain respectability. Meanwhile, she carries on affairs with a shady saloon owner (Joseph Calleia), a newspaper man (Dick Foran), and a mysterious masked bandit, yet refuses to let the frustrated Fields &#8212; who has been named sheriff&#8230;<\/p>\n<p class=\"read-more\"><a class=\"btn btn-default\" href=\"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/?p=3186\"> Read More<span class=\"screen-reader-text\">  Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3186","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-responses-to-peary"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3186","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3186"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":67875,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3186\/revisions\/67875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/filmfanatic.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}