This is one of the oddest films I've seen of W. C. Fields because he seems to genuinely like his son! The young boy loves to tell really lame riddles and W. C. encourages him and acts pretty tenderly towards the kid (at least compared to the usual fare from this comedian). Children are either just tolerated or hated in his films. A good example was his famous line "Of course I love kids,....boiled". For whatever reason, this film is unusual in this respect.
Now as for the film itself, this one is very similar to THE PHARMACIST in that it is a very slow slice of life short, though it does have more gags and a more "Fields-like" ending. Don't expect the craziness of Fields shorts like THE DENTIST or THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER, but this isn't a positive or negative thing--I like both styles of his work. Funny, well-paced and cute--this is an excellent Fields short.
Now as for the film itself, this one is very similar to THE PHARMACIST in that it is a very slow slice of life short, though it does have more gags and a more "Fields-like" ending. Don't expect the craziness of Fields shorts like THE DENTIST or THE FATAL GLASS OF BEER, but this isn't a positive or negative thing--I like both styles of his work. Funny, well-paced and cute--this is an excellent Fields short.