W.C. Fields, Vol. 2 - Pharmacist/The Barbershop/Pool Shark (1933)

Never Give a Sucker an Even Break

I chose this Fields title for this review because Amazon seems to be employing it as a business practice. I dearly love the movie of that title and would like to add it to my DVD library. So I entered it into the "search" field and clicked on "go." I was delighted...at first...to see this collection pop up and I 1-click ordered it immediately. Then I discovered the movie is not included; the set is merely the same old collection of shorts that have been issued and reissued over and over by other companies. I tried to cancel the order but was informed that it was already being processed and could not be cancelled or changed. It arrived and I returned it immediately.

Maybe some day NEVER GIVE A SUCKER AN EVEN BREAK will become available (hopefully issued in the quality restoration it well deserves). But don't let Amazon sucker you into buying this set if it's the movie you're after. We deserve an even break! November 17, 2006

Great Shorts, Unbelievably Bad DVD

I have an old 80s VHS of this from a budget label that cost me $4 back in the day. And it still looks better. Heads get cut off, scratches galore. And it sounded better--Madacy should've added subtitles to "The Pharmacist." Many of the shorts can't even track the audio; people talk a beat before their mouths move.
I didn't get my money's worth, and I paid $6! November 25, 2004

Subtract one star. Appalling DVD ruins some classic comedy

W. C. Fields's short comedies of 1932-33, produced by Mack Sennett, offer some of this great comedian's best work. However, this particular DVD edition treats Mr. Fields (and the purchaser) quite shabbily. The sound is not always synchronized with the picture, the image is often gray, and in at least one instance the film seems to be copied from a VHS tape recorded at the slowest speed. Just plain bad; don't throw your money away (we did, and we also threw the discs away). February 27, 2004

A General Rule of Thumb

Hmmmm....
If it's from Madacy, you will be MAD when you SEE what you paid for.

Before transferring a movie to video, these people would put a pristine print through a blender just to make sure their standards don't deviate.

Madacy=Garbage
This is one of those DVD's that doesn't deserve one star but it's as low as I could go. February 15, 2004

Pure Exploitation

I have to make this very clear: I can think of very few DVDs Madacy has produced that were good (or even mediocre). This, however, is probably the worst I've seen. The company has spat upon the great comedian's grave. Several public domain shorts have been slapped on this DVD with terrible picture and sound that is downright disgraceful. In fact, this is the worst sound I've even heard on a DVD. There are also the traditionally stinky Madacy extras (Biography, Trivia, Quotes, Filmography).

Don't be fooled by the label at the back of the box ("a must for collectors and fans of this comedy genius"). A very nice looking edition has been released by Criterion. Get it. March 8, 2003

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