W.C. Fields and Me
Director: Arthur Hiller
Year Released: 1976
Rating: 3.0
Fun little biopic about the relationship between comedic legend Fields (Rod Steiger) and his long-term live-in girlfriend/housekeeper (Valerie Perrine) and his long-term addiction to gin (I prefer Hendrick's). Though historically disputed and, in parts, slightly caricaturish, the view of Fields as being a man capable of kindness and bitterness towards those closest to him - he was a loyal friend, it seems, through it all - makes for intriguing drama (especially for film buffs), and Steiger (no stranger to being a grouch) makes a perfect fit. I think Jack Cassidy's depiction of John Barrymore is simply fantastic (I'm also a major Barrymore fan) - he was a man who bragged and drank more than he actually screwed, it seems (if it was a challenge for The Great Profile to get the ladies, the rest of us are doomed)....
