Providing a detailed account of W.C. Fields's artistic path to the cinema, this biography aims to disentangle the facts from the lies and myths nurtured by Fields himself. It traces the origins of his comedy in the vaudeville sketches which he wrote himself, and then follows his career from stage to silent screen, revealing the sources of his familiar "talkie" routines. The book also highlights Fields's later struggle - against studio heads, censorship, alcohol addiction and illness - to create some of the most celebrated scenes in the history of cinema humour.
- ISBN13 9780571176106
- Publish Date 30 June 1997
- Publish Status Out of Print
- Out of Print 12 January 2010
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Faber & Faber
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 400
- Language English