Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
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Never Give a Sucker an Even Break is a 1941 Universal Pictures comedy film starring and scripted by W.C. Fields.
This film is "The Great Man's" last significant screen role. He plays himself, as "Bill Fields", searching for a chance to promote a screenplay he has written.
The title is derived from lines from two earlier films. In one, he said that his grandfather's last words, "just before they sprung the trap", were "You can't cheat an honest man; never give a sucker an even break, or smarten up a chump." In another, he tells his daughter, "If we should ever separate, my little plum, I want to give you just one bit of fatherly advice: Never give a sucker an even break!"
The film features Margaret Dumont as "Mrs. Hemoglobin", a role similar to that of her better known roles as a comic foil for The Marx Brothers.
[edit] Cast
- W.C. Fields : The Great Man, W.C. Fields/Uncle Bill
- Gloria Jean : His Niece, Gloria Jean
- Leon Errol : His Rival, Leon Errol
- Billy Lenhart : Heckler (as Butch)
- Kenneth Brown : Heckler (as Buddy)
- Margaret Dumont : Mrs. Hemogloben
- Susan Miller : Ouliotta Delight Hemogloben
- Franklin Pangborn : The Producer, Mr. Pangborn
- Mona Barrie : The Producer's Wife, Mrs. Pangborn