W.C. Fields as Micawber and Freddie Bartholomew David Copperfield set 1935-2013
by David Lee Guss
Title
W.C. Fields as Micawber and Freddie Bartholomew David Copperfield set 1935-2013
Artist
David Lee Guss
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
"Charles Laughton was originally cast in the role of Mr. Micawber, and was authentically made-up with a bald cap, since Dickens describes the character as hairless. After two days of work, he disliked his performance in the dailies and asked to be replaced. It was said at the time that 'he looked as though he were about to molest the child.' Selznick let him go, and Laughton recommended comedian and Dickens scholar W. C. Fields for the part, who was borrowed from Paramount Pictures.
A clause in Fields' contract stated that he had to play the part with a British accent, but as he had difficulty learning the lines he had to read off cue cards and thus speaks in his own accent in the role. His defense: "My father was an Englishman and I inherited this accent from him! Are you trying to go against nature?!" This is the only film where Fields doesn't ad lib, and he plays the character in a straightforward manner (although he did want to add a juggling sequence, and when this was denied, an anecdote about snakes, which was also denied).
Director George Cukor said that when Fields did make a suggestion for a visual bit, such as accidentally dipping his quill in a teacup instead of an inkwell, it was always within the parameters of the character. The result was one of the finest performances of that year."
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January 18th, 2014
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