Million Dollar Legs **** (1932, W C Fields, Jack Oakie, Andy Clyde, Lyda Roberti, Ben Turpin) – Classic Movie Review 10,451

‘Klopstokia… a far away country – Chief Exports… Goats and Nuts – Chief Imports… Goats and Nuts – Chief Inhabitants… Goats and Nuts.’

Director Edward F Cline’s 1932 Million Dollar Legs stars the irrepressible and irreplaceable W C Fields in a surreal, anarchic comedy about a country whose national anthem goes ‘Mook buggum jig, ma jig buggum mook’.

The inhabitants of the mythical country of Klopstokia are all endowed with incredible sporting abilities. With W C Fields as their leader, The President, they decide to enter the 1932 Los Angeles Olympic Games to raise money and stave off bankruptcy.

Million Dollar Legs is extremely silly and, more often than not, extremely funny, propelled along at a fast rate of knots by an expert comedy director and a smashing vintage cast.

It also stars Jack Oakie as Migg Tweeny, Andy Clyde as The Major-Domo, Lyda Roberti as Mata Machree, Ben Turpin as Mysterious Man, and Susan Fleming as Angela.

Also in the cast are Hugh Herbert, Billy Gilbert, Dickie Moore, George Barbier, Vernon Dent, Teddy Hart, John Sinclair, Sam Adams, Irving Bacon, Ben Taggart, Hank Mann, Chick Collins, Syd Saylor, Bruce Bennett, Hobart Bosworth, Heinie Conklin, Edgar Dearing, Bobby Dunn, Eddie Dunn, Charlie Hall, Charles R Moore and Ernie Adams.

Mysteriously, though all Klopstokian males are named George, Angela (Susan Fleming)’s younger brother (Dickie Moore) is named Willie.

Story writer Joseph L. Mankiewicz claimed W C Fields was ‘not a nice man’.

The screenplay is credited to Henry Myers and Nicholas T Barrows, with Ben Hecht uncredited.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 10,451

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