Tillie and Gus
Encyclopedia
Tillie and Gus is a 1933 American
comedy film
starring W.C. Fields and directed by Francis Martin. The screenplay
by Walter DeLeon
is based on a short story
by Rupert Hughes
entitled Don't Call Me Madame.
, and her ex-husband Gus is on trial for murder
in Lone Gulch, Alaska
, when they each receive word that Tillie's brother has died. Gus escapes and the two reunite in Seattle, then head for Danville to find out about his estate. Local attorney
Phineas Pratt claims the man died in debt, but he actually has swindled his daughter Mary Sheridan out of her rightful inheritance
, including the family home, forcing her to move with her husband Tom and infant son known as The King to a dilapidated ferry
called the Fairy Queen, supposedly all that is left of the estate. Tillie and King, mistaken for missionaries
newly returned from Africa
by their relatives, plan to sell the boat and split the profits, but they become suspicious when Pratt expresses an inordinate interest in acquiring the seemingly unseaworthy boat, and they decide to help Mary and Tom refurbish it. Pratt, who has just purchased his own boat, the Keystone, tries to eliminate the competition by convincing the state inspection board to deny the Sheridans a ferry franchise
. It is decided that the outcome of a Fourth of July boat race will determine who is awarded the franchise. Comic mayhem ensues when Gus does everything in his power to sabotage their rival.
The climactic ferry race in the Paramount Pictures
release was filmed on Malibu Lake.
Time
observed, "Part parody
of Tugboat Annie
, part pure farce
, Tillie and Gus is one of the pleasanter chapters in the long and happy career of W. C. Fields's famed unlighted cigar."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
starring W.C. Fields and directed by Francis Martin. The screenplay
Screenplay
A screenplay or script is a written work that is made especially for a film or television program. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing pieces of writing. In them, the movement, actions, expression, and dialogues of the characters are also narrated...
by Walter DeLeon
Walter DeLeon
Walter DeLeon was an American screenwriter. He wrote for 66 films between 1912 and 1953. He was born in Oakland, California, and died in Los Angeles, California.-Selected filmography:* Scared Stiff...
is based on a short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Rupert Hughes
Rupert Hughes
Rupert Hughes was an American historian, novelist, film director and composer based in Hollywood. Hughes was born in Lancaster, Missouri. His parents were Felix Turner Hughes and Jean Amelia Summerlin, who were married in 1865. His brother Howard R. Hughes, Sr., co-founded the Hughes Tool Company....
entitled Don't Call Me Madame.
Plot
Tillie has just lost her waterfront saloon in Shanghai, China in a dice gameDice game
Dice games are games that use or incorporate a die as their sole or central component, usually as a random device.-Collectible dice games:Patterned after the success of collectible card games, a number of collectible dice games have been published...
, and her ex-husband Gus is on trial for murder
Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing, with malice aforethought, of another human being, and generally this state of mind distinguishes murder from other forms of unlawful homicide...
in Lone Gulch, Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, when they each receive word that Tillie's brother has died. Gus escapes and the two reunite in Seattle, then head for Danville to find out about his estate. Local attorney
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
Phineas Pratt claims the man died in debt, but he actually has swindled his daughter Mary Sheridan out of her rightful inheritance
Inheritance
Inheritance is the practice of passing on property, titles, debts, rights and obligations upon the death of an individual. It has long played an important role in human societies...
, including the family home, forcing her to move with her husband Tom and infant son known as The King to a dilapidated ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
called the Fairy Queen, supposedly all that is left of the estate. Tillie and King, mistaken for missionaries
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
newly returned from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
by their relatives, plan to sell the boat and split the profits, but they become suspicious when Pratt expresses an inordinate interest in acquiring the seemingly unseaworthy boat, and they decide to help Mary and Tom refurbish it. Pratt, who has just purchased his own boat, the Keystone, tries to eliminate the competition by convincing the state inspection board to deny the Sheridans a ferry franchise
Government-granted monopoly
In economics, a government-granted monopoly is a form of coercive monopoly by which a government grants exclusive privilege to a private individual or firm to be the sole provider of a good or service; potential competitors are excluded from the market by law, regulation, or other mechanisms of...
. It is decided that the outcome of a Fourth of July boat race will determine who is awarded the franchise. Comic mayhem ensues when Gus does everything in his power to sabotage their rival.
The climactic ferry race in the Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
release was filmed on Malibu Lake.
Cast (in credits order)
- W.C. Fields as Augustus Winterbottom
- Alison SkipworthAlison SkipworthAlison Skipworth was an English stage and screen actress. She was born Alison Mary Elliott Margaret Groom in London....
as Tillie Winterbottom - Baby LeRoyBaby LeRoyBaby LeRoy was a child actor who appeared in films in the 1930s.Born Ronald Le Roy Overacker in Los Angeles, California, Baby LeRoy's career began when he was less than a year old, co-starring with Maurice Chevalier in A Bedtime Story, and ended with a cameo role as himself in Cinema Circus...
as The 'King' - Julie Bishop (actress)Julie Bishop (actress)Julie Bishop was an American film and television actress. She appeared in over 80 films between 1923 and 1957....
as Mary Sheridan - Phillip Trent as Tom Sheridan
- Clarence Wilson as Phineas Pratt
- George BarbierGeorge BarbierGeorge Barbier was one of the great French illustrators of the early 20th century. Born in Nantes, France on October 10, 1882, Barbier was 29 years old when he mounted his first exhibition in 1911 and was subsequently swept to the forefront of his profession with commissions to design theatre and...
as Captain Fogg - Barton MacLaneBarton MacLaneBarton MacLane was an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Although he has appeared in many classic films from the 1930s through the 1960s, he was known for his role as Gen...
as Commissioner McLennan - Edgar KennedyEdgar KennedyEdgar Livingston Kennedy was an American comedic film actor, known as "the king of the slow burn". A slow burn is an exasperated facial expression, performed very deliberately; Kennedy embellished this by rubbing his hand over his bald head and across his face, in an attempt to hold his temper...
as Judge - Robert McKenzieRobert McKenzieRobert Trelford McKenzie was a Canadian professor of Politics and Sociology, and a psephologist -Early life:...
as Defense Attorney - Ivan Linow as The Swede
Principal production credits
- ProducerFilm producerA film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
..... Douglas MacLeanDouglas MacLeanDouglas MacLean was a silent motion picture actor, producer, and writer.-Life and career:... - CinematographyCinematographyCinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
..... Benjamin F. Reynolds - Art DirectionArt directorThe art director is a person who supervise the creative process of a design.The term 'art director' is a blanket title for a variety of similar job functions in advertising, publishing, film and television, the Internet, and video games....
..... Hans DreierHans DreierHans Dreier was a film art director.Born in Bremen, Germany, Dreier began his career in German film in 1919 and by the end of the 1920s had relocated to Hollywood....
, Harry OliverHarry OliverHarold "Pee-Wee" Oliver was a Canadian ice hockey forward who played for the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey League and the Boston Bruins and New York Americans of the National Hockey League . He was a member of the Tigers' 1924 WCHL championship and won the Stanley Cup with the...
Critical reception
In his review in the New York Times, Mordaunt Hall described the film as "a cheery absurdity" and added, "Insane as are the doings in this concoction, they succeed in being really funny. It is the sort of thing admirably suited to Mr. Field's peculiar genius."Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
observed, "Part parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of Tugboat Annie
Tugboat Annie
For the 1957 syndicated television series, see The Adventures of Tugboat Annie.Tugboat Annie is a 1933 movie starring Marie Dressler and Wallace Beery as a comically quarrelsome middle-aged couple who operate a tugboat...
, part pure farce
Farce
In theatre, a farce is a comedy which aims at entertaining the audience by means of unlikely, extravagant, and improbable situations, disguise and mistaken identity, verbal humour of varying degrees of sophistication, which may include word play, and a fast-paced plot whose speed usually increases,...
, Tillie and Gus is one of the pleasanter chapters in the long and happy career of W. C. Fields's famed unlighted cigar."
Quote
- Tom: "That ferryboat race was the world's biggest gamble."
- Gus: "Well, don't forget, Lady GodivaLady GodivaGodiva , often referred to as Lady Godiva , was an Anglo-Saxon noblewoman who, according to legend, rode naked through the streets of Coventry in order to gain a remission of the oppressive taxation imposed by her husband on his tenants...
put everything she had on a horse!"