Poppy (1936 film)

Poppy
Directed by	A. Edward Sutherland
Produced by	Paul Jones William LeBaron
Written by	Waldemar Young Virginia Van Upp
Based on	Poppy by Dorothy Donnelly
Starring	W.C. Fields Rochelle Hudson Richard Cromwell Catherine Doucet
Music by	Friedrich Hollaender
Cinematography	William C. Mellor
Edited by	Stuart Heisler
Distributed by	Paramount Pictures
Release date	June 17, 1936
Running time	73 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Poppy is a 1936 comedy film starring W. C. Fields and Rochelle Hudson. The film was based on a 1923 stage revue of the same name starring Fields and Madge Kennedy. This was the second film version of the revue, following Sally of the Sawdust in 1925 with Carol Dempster in the title role and which also starred Fields.

Eustace McGargle (Fields), a con artist, snake oil salesman and exponent of the shell game, tries to escape the sheriff while taking care of his beloved adopted daughter, Poppy (Hudson), who after pretending to be an heiress to win an inheritance, turns out to really be an heiress.

At the time of filming, Fields was suffering the effects of his heavy drinking, together with attempts to stop drinking. He injured his back during the making of the film. These factors mean that Fields was not able to give his best performance. Fields was ill during the production, and a fairly obvious double was used in several scenes requiring physical exertion. He still managed a memorable performance, including these well-known lines spoken to his daughter Poppy (Hudson):

On its release, The New York Times called it a "glorious victory" for Fields and comedy, while conceding that the scenes without Fields were "painfully frail" and would provoke some squirming and eye-rolling.

More recently, The Age of Comedy was unimpressed, finding the film uninteresting and over-serious apart from Fields' presence, and Fields not at his best.

The film is recognized by American Film Institute in these lists:

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