My Little Chickadee

Director: Edward F. Cline

Overview

In this film, Flowerbelle Lee is a self-reliant woman who is abducted by a mysterious masked bandit during a stagecoach holdup. Because she refuses to tell anyone what happened during her nocturnal rendezvous with the bandit, Flowerbelle is invited to leave her prudish hometown and move to Greasewood City.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/10/2011
UPC:	0025192090981
Original Release:	1940
Rating:	NR
Source:	Universal Studios
Region Code:	1
Presentation:	[B&W]
Sound:	[Dolby Digital Stereo]
Language:	English
Time:	1:24:00
Sales rank:	43,207

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Mae West	Flower Belle Lee
W.C. Fields	Cuthbert J. Twillie
Dick Foran	Wayne Carter
Joseph Calleia	Jeff Badger
Margaret Hamilton	Mrs. Gideon
George Moran	Clarence
Si Jenks	Deputy
Gene Austin	Himself
Russell Hall	Candy,Schoolboy
Otto Heimel	Coco
Fuzzy Knight	Cousin Zeb
Anne Nagel	Miss Ermingarde Foster
Ruth Donnelly	Aunt Lou
Willard Robertson	Uncle John
Donald Meek	Amos Budget
Georgie Billings	Boy,Boy
Al Bridge	Actor,Barfly
William B. Davidson	Sheriff
Addison Richards	Judge
Jackie Searle	Boy
Fay Adler	Mrs. 'Pygmy' Allen
Jan Duggan	Woman
Harlan Briggs	Hotel Clerk
Jimmy Conlin	Squawk Mulligan
Eddie Butler	Henchman
Bing Conley	Henchman
Dan Jackson	Actor,Boy
John Kelly	Henchman
Jack Roper	Henchman
Otto Hoffman	Pete the Printer
Chester Gan	Chinaman
George Melford	Sheriff
Jackie Searl	Schoolboy
Bob Reeves	Barfly
Delmar Watson	Schoolboy
Billy Benedict	Lem the Schoolboy
Buster Slaven	Boy
Bill Wolfe	Actor
Charles Hart	Boy
Morgan Wallace	Gambler
Vester Pegg	Gambler
Wade Boteler	Leading Citizen
Lloyd Ingraham	Leading Citizen
Bud Harris	Porter
Slim Gant	Bowlegged Man
Edward Hearn	Barfly
Al Ferguson	Train Passenger
Mark Anthony	Townsman
Frank Ellis	Townsman
Dorothy Vernon	Diner
Lita Chevret	Indian Squaw
Lane Chandler	Porter
Bob McKenzie	Townsman
James C. Morton	Train Conductor
Slim Gaut	Bowlegged man
Joe Whitehead	Townsman
Charles McMurphy	Townsman
Dick Rush	Man
Hank Bell	Townsman
Jeff Conlon	Man
Walter McGrail	Townsman
Bob Burns	Actor

Technical Credits

Lester Cowan

Producer

Scene Index

Disc #1 -- My Little Chickadee
1. Masked Bandit (Main Titles) [6:55]
2. Going My Way? [5:37]
3. Indian Attack [2:53]
4. Matrimonial Predicament [5:33]
5. Pear Shaped Idea [3:51]
6. The Last Gasp [3:30]
7. City Slicker [6:32]
8. A Game of Chance [2:21]
9. Willie of the Valley [4:49]
10. Building a City [2:46]
11. Secret Rendezvous [8:18]
12. Can't Resist Temptation [4:19]
13. Not Wanted Here [4:03]
14. Head of the Class [5:33]
15. A Little Osculation [7:16]
16. Identified by a Kiss [4:37]
17. Taking Matters Into Hand [4:12]
18. End Titles [:18]

Menu

Disc #1 -- My Little Chickadee
Scenes
Trailer
Languages
Spoken Languages: English
Captions & Subtitles Captioned for the Hearing Impaired: English
Subtitles: Español
Subtitles: Français
Subtitles: None
Play

Editorial Reviews

What should have been a once-in-a-lifetime laugh riot, My Little Chickadee turns out to be an amusing but surprisingly routine comedy. Teaming Mae West and W.C. Fields was an inspired idea, but the coming up with it seems to have taken all of the inspiration out of the two stars. The script they are credited with co-writing has plenty of catchy one-liners and the requisite zingers, but it also has arid spaces where the jokes don't really land. And the plotting is rather more involved than necessary, with the mystery bandit subplot frequently getting in the way of the fun. Director Edward F. Cline's direction is more of the point-and-shoot kind, but that really shouldn't matter; in a star team-up like this, one doesn't want a director getting in the way and cluttering things up. Unfortunately, the chemistry that the uniquely gifted West and Fields should have is largely missing. Many of their scenes together are shot in alternating close-ups, and during these shots, one never believes that the star on camera is communicating with another character at all. Fortunately, West and Fields do have numerous opportunities to work their magic as individuals, and here they deliver like gangbusters - West's visual annoyance at a couple of stray arrows that come her way are by themselves worth the price of admission, and Fields's bathtub sequence is another winner. Chickadee is a missed opportunity, but it has enough going for it to make it worth catching.