The Old Fashioned Way 7.wmv

[@ferocel]

We're so lucky that this was captured on film at a time when he was still in possession of his old skills. Just amazing and hilarious.

[@richin2123]

I must confess that I am one of those people who tend to think of Fields only through his inimitable voice and storytelling. As such, it can be a shock to see how brilliant he could be without a word! This stuff is still amazing in 2018.

[@09ericthered]

And 2021 and so on and on and on. Pure genious

[@kerryfry1857]

His genius is unsurpassed.

[@davidvallone1476]

My sentiments exactly. Brilliant act.

[@forestpepper3621]

One reason this performance seems so amazing is because of Fields' stage-persona of being an out-of-shape, wise-cracking drunk. Given this image, it comes as a shock to suddenly witness the athleticism and coordination that this great entertainer had within him. I never knew of W.C. Fields' juggling talent, and now I have even more admiration for the man. Thanks for posting this video.

[@r.blakehole932]

Forest Pepper He was a world class juggler who actually performed before the crowned heads of Europe before his Hollyweird days. If he could do this after years of drinking, imagine what he could do before the days of drinking? I would recommend reading his biographies...which show a talented but troubled man.

[@jamiethomas6701]

THAT'S HOW HE STARTED, VAUDEVILLE

[@wygtam]

If you need a proof of "muscle memory", this is it. These are routines Fields probably hadn't done for 20 years.

[@whiznot3028]

Fields was also a very good golfer and pool player.

[@GizmoRob176]

Brings to mind what a great athlete Buster Keaton was.

[@josephjakubec9584]

Vaudeville performers were masters of their craft. They preformed so many weekly shows, it was constant testing new routines and constant work. The best of the best who will never duplicated. Thank god for the saved footage.

[@jamiethomas6701]

HE DID THAT, LONG BEFORE MOVIES.

[@michaellefort6128]

There's always a degree of talent, but most of this was accomplished the truly old fashioned way. He didn't want to starve so he learned a skill that would provide a living. He didn't have a safe space to save him from accomplishing something with his life.

[@nealdaleyjr7625]

How can you be so sure?

[@alexanicolejoel2168]

💕💕 WOW!!! W.C. FIELDS, A MAN OF MANY, MANY TALENTS!! 💕💕 BRILLIANT, AMAZING, AWESOME, GENIOUS MAN!! RIP W.C. FIELDS.💞💞💞

[@TotalFreakingAwesomeness]

I never get sick of watching W.C. Fields perform, he's just that great!

[@natejames82]

So, whoever disliked this video should be required to provide an explanation. This is just fantastic!

[@09ericthered]

And what type of explanation would we get ? Thr is no explanation for a dislike I think. Genius at work captured on film. What’s not to like.

[@psimplegamer46]

So amazing. Until recently I never even knew he got his start as a juggler. What a talent.

[@mikejones-go8vz]

And the timing of the sound effects and music is spot on

[@andymassingham]

Finesse pure and simple...this is a dance routine by a master!

[@yonkel]

My first memory of seeing this was as a kid going out for pizza with the whole family. They would project the old comedies as we ate. I never saw my dad laugh so hard. What a great time we had. I'm 60 now and this is just as funny now as it was then!

[@nickv7793]

At Shakey’s Pizza?

[@yonkel]

@@nickv7793 I don't think it was a Shakey's, it was a local pizza place at Deep Creek Lake MD. Off of the 219 Not far from a restaurant called Will O the Wisp. This would have ben in the late 1960s early 70's.

[@burpreynolds3250]

I love watching WC Fields. It blows me away that their was a human inside that guy looking out. He must've practiced nonstop because he was always just crushing it.

[@40horsejohnson]

That was awesome! I've got the biggest smile on my face right now. Decades after he left us, he's still entertaining us. What a legacy.

[@MedicineSounds]

Thank you SO much for putting this Up. I am a Pro Juggler Trained by a Circus Juggler named David. Back when I was learning Cigar Box Juggling back in the Day, the teacher David told me about WC Fields performance in this Movie. I actually searched for it BEFORE the age of KZbin and never found it. After so many years, I forgot about it. I just discovered it in this playlist today by accident. I did the math an WC Fields was 54 years old in this performance. This legitimately made my day! 😄

[@mrmoofle]

Fields actually invented cigar box juggling. Back in his early days, he needed something to add to his juggling act. Empty cigar boxes were free, so it followed that the starving young juggler would learn how to integrate them into his act.

[@sjtom57]

Like many in show business Fields had his share of personal trials and tribulations, but he sure could entertain his audience. Easily one of the best in the business.

[@jamesvickers2026]

Am 59 yrs old...i have always known who W.C. was but have never actually watched him until these past few days an i cant believe what a comical genius he was...especially the bit with the hat an cane...pure genius this man was

[@michaeltarasenkoop2389]

He was funny just to see him let alone crack a joke there are no others like him !

[@alexanicolejoel2168]

@Mchael Tarasenkoop AND THERE WILL BE ANOTHER PERSON, QUITE LIKE W.C. FIELDS. THE MAN HAD TOO MANY TALENTS!! AND I THOUGHT THAT MAE WEST, WAS THE ONLY PERSON, THAT WAS SO TALENTED, WELL I GUESS THAT, W.C. FIELDS IS NUMERO UNO, AND MAE WEST WAS, NUMERO DOS!! WHAT I JUST SAW WAS INCREDIBLE, W.C. FIELDS, HAS LEFT ME SPEECHLESS, KIDS TODAY LEARN WHAT REAL TALENT IS!! W.C. FIELDS, MADE TODAYS GENERATION LOOK INSIPID. WATCH AN LEARN WHAT TRUE TALENT IS!! THE MAN WAS EXTREMELY TALENTED. AND HE LEFT BEHIND A LEGACY, BLESS YOU W,C. FIELDS.THERE IS NO WAY THAT I COULD MEET HIM, I WAS BORN TOO LATE TO SEE THIS AMAZING MAN. MAYBE IN HEAVEN I COULD MEET YOU. AND THAT, WOULD BE A REAL PLEASURE, FOR ME TO MEET, THE GREATEST COMEDIAN AND AND THE BEST ACTOR, THIS WORLD HAS EVER SEEN!! RIP W.C. FIELDS.💙💋🌹

[@richmiller3185]

Just showed this to my teenage son. He loved it. My old neighbor grew up in Darby, PA, (outside of Philly) and his family knew the Dukenfields. Apparently, WC's father was a real horses ass and he drove WC away. But his father's loss was the world's gain.

[@paulmicelli5815]

Back when Hollywood had TALENTED people unlike today. CLASSIC.

[@jomon723]

👍

[@johnnycats5157]

lotta talented people in hollywood today. you're just old and stupid.

[@mcmd2009]

@Johnny Cats, and you're just stupid.

[@alexanicolejoel2168]

@@johnnycats5157 AHHH!!! SHADDUP!!

[@badcornflakes6374]

Talk about a boomer

[@jeffmissinne3866]

Superb! As a kid I had this sequence on an 8mm silent Castle film called "The Great McGonigle." It amazed me then and it still does now.

[@lbcharlie05]

I am almost 70 and cannot remember all the times I have enjoyed the silent shorts and movies of Mr. Fields. He is still a legend!

[@underzog]

Those old Castle films. I had one of the old "Batman"and the German V2 rockets. Of course, it goes without saying that W.C. Fields and the Marx Brothers were my favorite comics.

[@wygtam]

Before movies, before Broadway, Fields was a comedic juggler of international fame who literally performed before the "crowned heads of Europe". One of his famous routines involved cigar boxes. He continued to stack them on his head until they towered over him. When the audience applauded, he bowed, and the boxes remained in place! There was some ingenious mechanism involving rubber bands he employed as he added each additional box, something which I've never been able to figure out.

[@baxter5431]

This is actually a little glimpse at how W.C.Fields got started in show business, as a comedy juggler, from the feature film "The Old Fashioned Way" 1933. No cgi or special effects, just REAL talent!

[@CLASSICALFAN100]

+Todd Baxter And yet, Fields said that "It took me *10 YEARS* to break-out of the "comic juggler" typecasting and prove that I could do REAL comedy!"

[@awesomeferret]

It takes real talent to create good CGI too. Think about it. Even if it doesn't appeal to you, you the fact that literally thousands of people are credited in CGI heavy movies for the CGI related work is evidence that it requires talent to do well. CGI is another tool to using electronics to fake realistic sights instead of using physical models or people or hand drawn pictures to fake realistic sights (it's all fake 2d video anyway, movie buffs apparently rejected 3DTV even though it was objectively speaking a major leap forward as far as realism goes (the pioneers of movies are rolling in their graves seeing people willingly shun such technology that they would have embraced. There's a reason why 3D movies in theaters first popped up as early as the early 1900s. There's a reason why trick photography was so historic and revolutionary: filmmakers were always chasing the tools to tell their story in the best way possible, and for most kinds of movies, that means making it look visually as realistic as possible. Sometimes with some scenes, that's just not possible to do in real life. There's a reason why movie plots made in the past 30 years are so much different from movies made before the 80s. The technology allowed for significantly more flexibility and creativity, and it's frankly cringeworthy at this point how many people accidentally argue that more freedom and possibilities and tools for artists is a bad thing.

[@susanboylefanable]

My folks used to talk about him doing this routine. Now I 've SEEN it! Thanks for posting!

[@rodmact6548]

Wonderful to see this early example of his work. What a talented funny guy.

[@TheDocRitchie]

a stick, 4 balls and a few boxes are all he needed to show his genius.

[@CapAnson1]

WC Fields was an AMAZING performer.. a lot of those old vaudeville guys had to be multidimensional like that or they simply didn't make it.

[@curbozer5006]

My now 93yo mother was an usherette at the old Palomar Theatre in Seattle, during WW2...she witnessed many famous vaudeville acts, including some people who went on to become even more famous as individuals...The Will Masten Trio(with a young Sammy Davis JR). singing greats like Nat Cole, etc....a great job for a girl in her mid-teens!

[@footofjuniper8212]

For my entire life, I thought that WC Fields was an old comic who said, "Ah yes, my little chickadee," and drank a lot. I have a newfound respect for the man, and for jugglers/dedicated performers everywhere.

[@sananto6896]

Wow! I didn't know WC could do that. Dribbling the balls was my favorite. Amazing! Thanks for posting.

[@ChristopherHemsworthCreative]

I think very few may realize how INCREDIBLY skillful he needs to be to be able to pull some of those switches on the last part of that cigar box routine, let alone the whole routine prior. The man was known as the Greatest Juggler in the world for a reason before transitioning into moving pictures!

[@swmita]

I first learned of WC Fields as a juggler when a commemorative postage stamp was issued honoring him as a "Performing Arts Entertainer" in 1980 ! I thought what a great way to honor the man's talents and to learn about them as well. The commemorative stamps do such talents a lot of justice and teaching about who they were.

[@JM-dv1zq]

I agree !!

[@mai8614]

@@JM-dv1zq . . .. .

[@rickos1915]

The greatest comedian of all time (plus Laurel and Hardy)

[@flashbro2769]

Ricko s: Agreed! but Buster Keaton fans will give you an arguement!!

[@samiam619]

MichaelKingsfordGray No. Every Marx Brothers film was the same as the last one...

[@alexanicolejoel2168]

💞💞 AND I THOUGHT, THAT MAEST WAS NUMERO UNO, BUT AFTER SEEING, THIS TODAY, THERE IS NO WAY, IN HELL, THAT TODAYS YOUNG GENERATION, COULD DO, WHAT W.C. FIELDS DID!! AND HE TRULY WAS THE BEST COMEDIAN, ACTOR, AND A GREAT PERFORMER, W.C. FIELDS, MAKES TODAYS GENERATION, LOOK INSIPID💞💞 W,C. FIELDS IS NUMER UNO, AND WAE WEST NUMERO DOS!!! SORRY MAE WEST AS MUCH AS I LOVE YOU, I CAN'T SAY THAT YOU ARE NUMER UNO, BUT NUMERO DOS.💞💞 BECAUSE W.C. FIELDS, HAD TOO MANY TALENTS, BUT MAE WEST, COULDN'T COMPETE, WITH AN EXTREMELY TALENTED W.C. FIELDS, NO ONE IN THIS WORLD CAN'T NEVER COMPETE WITH THIS BRILLIANT AND A TRUE GENIUS IT WON'T NEVER HAPPEN!!! W.C. FIELDS 💙🌹💋

[@renoraider9817]

"My Little Chickadee" was a great movie if you haven't seen it.

[@Lampshade51]

There were no camera tricks here. This is really Fields doing his old juggling act, which he did for many years on stage around the world before he became a film star.

[@bellabelisarius5929]

APPARENTLY THE LAW OF GRAVITY, DIDN'T APPLY TO WILLIAM CLAUDE DUKENFIELD!!!

[@jamesonredbreast6310]

There probably wasn't really a live audience.

[@Mr22thou]

@@bellabelisarius5929 I know what you mean. However, I think it was actually his friend and he had an agreement with it. They worked together.

[@Lampshade51]

@@jamesonredbreast6310 Yes, the audience was dubbed. Hard to put an audience on a film sound stage. But it does not matter. Fields' did some pretty amazing stuff here.

[@GizmoRob176]

Never knew he had such great coordination. Great athlete.

[@johnsweeney5946]

Truly amazing that,at this time of his life, with all his peccadillos, he could retain his physical dexterity to such a fantastic degree.

[@VIRGONOMICS]

The one of a kind.....W.C. Fields ! The best of his class.

[@phaedrabacker2004]

Wonderful! Great man.

[@WildBillCox13]

There is video about showing him juggling as a very young man. Incredible work. Also, his juggling act in "International House" (1933) is absolutely the best juggling I have ever seen . . . all at a snail's pace and nothing ever leaves the hand.

[@jaelge]

William Claude Dukenfield was fukin' amazing! What an underrated gem.

[@ronaldopenshaw3188]

W.C. was more than just a pretty face.

[@rickshannep4033]

LOL!!

[@Mr22thou]

I was probably in my early 20's when I saw this juggling scene for the first time and I was totally blown away. I'd seen all those fantastic acts on The Ed Sullivan Show through the 60's and I'd never seen anything quite as amazing as Fields' cigar box juggling act. At the time it may have been the only part of the movie I liked. I have since become a big fan of Fields and a few other comedians of his time, especially he and the Marx Bros. I suppose I had to mature a bit before I was able to enjoy these great comedians. Much of this isn't really kid stuff. Much of this is hard life comedy.

[@killerskillet]

W.C. Fields broke the mold. A fantastic comedian, performer, and a national treasure! In one of his movies, he joked about his home town. His character is about to be hanged, and when asked if he has any lasts requests, Fields says: "Yes, I'd like to see Paris before I die... Philadelphia will do."

[@kerryfry1857]

Brilliance is not good enough to describe Field's. A genuine genius!

[@tonymazz9912]

Charlie Chaplin could never do these feats of raw talent. I wish W.C knew how much he was truly loved and appreciated. He will always be #1 with me. RIP my dear hero and receive all the blessings of heaven.

[@marknewbold2583]

Have you ever seen Chaplin?

[@cherrybarb4651]

Not only doing this amazing juggling, but being funny and entertaining while doing it!

[@1AFVeteran]

Funny and very talented!

[@kerryfry1857]

Best thing ever filmed.

[@thejackal007]

Just watched this earlier tonight and came online to find a snippet of this act to show people what true talent really is.

[@lesmcc8103]

Wow thanks for sharing this one! I had never seen this before. Very impressed with the Box routine

[@alexanicolejoel2168]

@Les Mcc THOSE BOXES, SEEMED TO BE FLOATING ON AIR, AT ONE MOMENT!! WHAT A TALENTED MAN! I DON'T THINK THAT, THERE WILL BE ANOTHER W.C. FIELDS, THAT COULD DO WHAT W.C. FIELDS DID.💙 NO WAY JOSE,💙 WHAT A BRILLIANT, GENIOUS, AMAZING MAN!! BRAVO!!!! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏

[@alexanicolejoel2168]

GENIUS🌹

[@thebrinx9632]

I've watched this at least thirty times, and will most likely watch a hundred more (plus!)

[@thebrinx9632]

86

[@thebrinx9632]

87

[@jeffreylockhart6444]

As a young man they considered WC the best juggler out there . In this movie he was 54 years old ! What reflexes and quickness for being almost 55 ! Imagine him on stage at 20 to 22 years old how good he was on stage juggling live !!! I would love to have seen that show!

[@418cjpaul]

amazing a man can be so talented

[@bellabelisarius5929]

WOW!! THAT WAS SO AMAZING!!

[@Warmhack]

An American original and a comic genius

[@leonchimerek9132]

The top man his time , I’ve read two books on WC an amazing man , he’s been a favourite of mine since the sixties.

[@leonchimerek9132]

Of his time .

[@michaelrowand898]

One of the most remarkable performers ever

[@jomon723]

Did not know that about him....wonderful 👍

[@r.blakehole932]

Damn, that business with the hat was genius! I wonder how many hundreds of hours of practice it took to do just that little bit. That is one thing that our current generation with the "easy button" mentality does not understand is that to do anything well takes much practice.

[@ThomasHenryHoran]

Before his drinking got on top of him, Fields used to do a trick where he would balance a hat on his toe, with a lit cigar balanced on the brim. Then, he'd kick the hat up in the air and the hat would land on his head correctly and the lit cigar would land in his mouth, and for comedic effect, it was always the lit end. Then he'd do his smoke tricks. Etc. He could do Will Rogers's rope tricks better than Rogers could. He was once the greatest trick shot artist on a pool table he toured with that had a giant mirror suspended over it so the audience could watch.

[@chrisperrien7055]

an entertainer , par excellence

[@MissPickletoes]

What a legend...

[@ianblyth986]

He was such a horrendous alcoholic, but would always steer clear of the bottle when he was juggling, I recall reading somewhere. And he was an absolute master; there was rumored to be somewhere a recording of him (that may have become lost to time) juggling a pool ball on the end of a cue stick. Just unfathomably talented.

[@anjkovo2138]

Great Film. Thanks👍😊👍❤

[@cdream5414]

Amazing!

[@davidcooke8005]

Mad props to the band for all the SFX and music, all in time with the act. That last bit in particular, the band was following Fields, not the other way around.

[@davenc8527]

I never knew that he had these talents!

[@bjbell52]

I've seen other jugglers do the cigar box bit BUT in Fields' case, he invented it!. Growing up poor he didn't have the money to buy the usual juggling props but because his dad worked at a tobacco store, he had access to many cigar boxes.

[@alexanicolejoel2168]

🌹🌹 SUCH A SHAME. THAT W.C. FIELDS, WAS AN ALCOHOLIC 🌹🌹 THE WORLDS BEST JUGGLER, NO ONE CAN EVER REPLACE HIM.🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹

[@thomaskauser8978]

I would have loved to throw a couple back with the master?

[@jomon723]

Him and Roger Dangerfield in a movie....Great"

[@bridgetstoli2347]

Rodney?

[@peterdicker286]

comic genius AND a hell of a juggler!

[@diichertz1]

He's so good he can't even drop the boxes realistically.

[@williamschlenger1518]

He had a lot of talent.

[@craigclarke3298]

He was the Worlds Greatest Juggler. He said so himself🎱

[@remaguire]

And he did a damn good job showing it himself!

[@MrMenefrego1]

W.C. was SKILLED! 😲

[@WytZox1]

* And that ditzy old gal was backstage rehearsing her line "Here comes the prince!" Also brilliant after the show how Fields snuck his trunk out of the boarding house without paying his rent. A master con man indeed. ☺

[@stephendavidbailey2743]

I knew Field was a famous juggler; this is the only film I have seen of his amazing skill.

[@buckacre1348]

Still amazing in 2020.

[@markissboi3583]

wc fields haa! 😳👍😆🥇🥇🥇wait he also did tricks wow new to me dam hes good

[@sananto6896]

Fields reflexes are insane, particularly at his age.

[@spaceghost8995]

He wasn't that old here.

[@palmswede]

If I wanted a good laugh I would watch W.C. Fields his films never grow old.

[@michaelbarrett672]

Vaudeville in action!

[@imsneeky]

1933,think of it,almost a century ago,amazing

[@Christbepraised]

Absolutely amazing

[@boomerhgt]

This is still highly entertaining what a talented guy he really was

[@romanelli9999]

Great...! Loved it, thanks for putting this up.

[@thomaskauser8978]

When you are on top of the world you do handstands to look down!

[@specterresurrectedstudio1579]

That was pretty boss.

[@theholidaylady1]

Oh, man! Was he great!

[@blc6464]

Pure Genius !!

[@ownpetard8379]

Groucho Marks said that if a Vaudeville performer had 15 minutes (perfected), he could work 20 years. Has to do with moving to new towns within the Vaudeville circuit(s), and occasional big time appearances.

[@rodmakermagazine7117]

I used to think there was some camera tricky involved, but the fact is, Fields was indeed a masterful juggler.

[@Wolfshield7]

The inimitable William Claude Dukenfeld was funny when paired up with Zazu Pitts, too. Great comedy team. See Mrs. Wiggs & The Cabbage Patch (1934) or Miss Polly (1941). The world's first riding lawnmower was in Miss Polly, pre-dating the actual first riding lawnmower by more than a decade.

[@neilreynolds3858]

That he could do this is amazing. That he could do it drunk is a miracle.

[@Weird600]

fantastic

[@angelsone-five7912]

Fantastic.

[@capt.molyneaux7037]

A genius !

[@scottanderson8167]

Now we have to import asians to juggle our cigar boxes

[@pennise]

Well, there's always Monica Lewinsky...(rim shot)

[@arthurblundell6128]

aeruscator extrordinaire !!

[@Oldag75]

He would be in Cirque du Soliel today.

[@jayjay-bz3rr]

Amazing

[@mikemellon80]

Amazing. Think of the hours and hours of practice for each of those skills