The Man on the Flying Trapeze was to some degree a remake of a previous Fields film, the 1927 feature Running Wild. However, as usual with Fields, the end result doesn't have much resemblance to the original, partly due to Fields' usual technique of extensive ad-libbing. Fields also brought in as a writing partner Sam Hardy, a buddy from his Ziegfeld Follies days. Together they reworked the material and according to one report the two even directed much of the film when the actual director (Clyde Bruckman of The Fatal Glass of Beer, 1933) became ill during production.
But it was still a difficult shoot. For one thing, the studio heads hired their own writers to revise portions and dialogue in the script and then went to battle with Fields over the casting. Eventually Fields won part of that battle only to sprain an ankle and fall victim to some illness himself during filming. (As soon as the movie was finished, Fields went into a health spa in an attempt to cure his ailments.)
The comedian did get to put some of his favorite actors into the cast. Mary Brian, for instance, reprised her role as his daughter from Running Wild while Fields' companion Carlotta Monti made a small appearance. (Years later, Monti would write a book about their relationship.) Other interesting cast members include Kathleen Howard (as the wife) who was a former opera singer from the Metropolitan Opera while Tor Johnson was a real-life Swedish wrestler who later appeared in three Ed Wood films, including Plan 9 from Outer Space (1958).
Producer: William LeBaron
Director: Clyde Bruckman
Screenplay: Jack Cunningham, W.C. Fields (story) (as Charles Bogle), Sam Hardy (story), Ray Harris, Bobby Vernon
Cinematography: Alfred Gilks
Film Editing: Richard C. Currier
Original Music: Tom Satterfield
Cast: W.C. Fields (Ambrose Wolfinger), Mary Brian (Hope Wolfinger), Kathleen Howard (Leona Wolfinger), Vera Lewis (Mrs. Cordelia Neselrode), Grady Sutton (Claude Neselrode).
BW-65m.
by Lang Thompson
