The Bank Dick
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Bank Dick, released as The Bank Detective in the United Kingdom, is a 1940 American comedy film starring W.C. Fields. Set in Lompoc, California,{{#tag:ref|Residents of Lompoc were upset at the presentation of their town in the film, and by Fields' pronunciation of it as "Lom-pock" instead of the proper "Lom-poke".
Plot
Hard-drinking family man Egbert Sousé (W.C. Fields) has strained relations with his wife (Cora Witherspoon) and mother-in-law (Jessie Ralph) over his drinking, smoking, and taking money out of the piggy bank of his younger daughter Elsie Mae (Evelyn Del Rio) and replacing it with IOUs. When he tries to hit his younger daughter with a concrete urn, he is interrupted by his older daughter Myrtle (Una Merkel) introducing him to her fiancé, Og Oggilby (Grady Sutton).
When A. Pismo Clam (Jack Norton), the director of a movie which is shooting in town, goes on a bender, producer Mackley Q. Greene (Dick Purcell) offers the job to Sousé. While on his lunch break, it appears that he has caught one of the two men who robbed the bank where his prospective son-in-law, Og, has a job as a teller. The grateful bank president Mr. Skinner (Pierre Watkin) gives Sousé a job as the bank's "special officer", a bank detective ("dick").
After being conned by swindler J. Frothingham Waterbury (Russell Hicks), Sousé convinces Og to steal $500 from the bank to invest in the questionable Beefsteak Mining Company. Og hopes to return the money to the bank four days later when he expects to receive his annual bonus, but bank examiner J. Pinkerton Snoopington (Franklin Pangborn) arrives to immediately audit the bank. Sousé invites him to the Black Pussy Cat Café, a saloon run by Joe Guelpe (Shemp Howard), and drugs him with knockout drops and has him examined by quack Dr. Stall (Harlan Briggs). Despite this, Snoopington is determined to do his duty and proceed with the audit. Og passes out when he sees the examiner in the bank, and Sousé tries to delay the audit further by depriving Snoopington of his glasses.
As Snoopington is about to discover the missing funds, the swindler shows up to buy back the stocks from Og at a discount, but Sousé learns that the mine has struck it rich, and he and Og are now wealthy and no longer have to worry about the audit. Just then, the escaped bank robber, Repulsive Brogan, returns to rob the bank a second time, and escapes with the bank's money and Og's mining company stock, taking Sousé hostage. The robber forces him to drive the getaway car, with the police, the bank director, Og, and the movie producer giving chase, during which parts of the getaway car keep falling off. Sousé once again receives the credit for catching the thief, and receives $5,000 for the capture of Brogan, $10,000 from the movie producer for his screen story as well as a contract to direct a film based on it.
Now that he is rich, Sousé lives in a mansion, his family is elegant and well-spoken and treats him with respect, but he still follows Joe Guelpe on his way to open the Black Pussy Cat Café.
Cast
- W.C. Fields as Egbert Sousé
- Cora Witherspoon as Agatha Sousé
- Una Merkel as Myrtle Sousé
- Evelyn Del Rio as Elsie Mae Adele Brunch Sousé
- Jessie Ralph as Mrs. Hermisillo Brunch
- Grady Sutton as Og Oggilby
- Franklin Pangborn as J. Pinkerton Snoopington
- Shemp Howard as Joe Guelpe
- Dick Purcell as Mackley Q. Greene
- Russell Hicks as J. Frothingham Waterbury
- Pierre Watkin as Mr. Skinner
- Jack Norton as A. Pismo Clam
- Al Hill as Filthy McNasty
- George Moran as Cozy Cochran
- Bill Wolfe as Otis
- Pat West as Assistant Director
- Reed Hadley as Francois
- Heather Wilde as Miss Plupp
- Harlan Briggs as Doctor Stall
- Bill Alston as Mr. Cheek
