''You're Telling Me!'' is a 1934 American

pre-Code Pre-Code Hollywood was an era in the Cinema of the United States, American film industry that occurred between the widespread adoption of sound in film in the late 1920s and the enforcement of the Motion Picture Production Code censorship gui ...

comedy film directed by Erle C. Kenton and starring W.C. Fields. It is a remake of the 1926

silent film A silent film is a film without synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, w ...

So's Your Old Man ''So's Your Old Man'' is a 1926 American silent comedy film directed by Gregory La Cava and starring W. C. Fields and Alice Joyce. It was written by J. Clarkson Miller based on the story "Mr. Bisbee's Princess" by Julian Leonard Street as ad ...

'', also starring Fields. Both films are adapted from the short story ''Mr. Bisbee’s Princess'' by Julian Leonard Street. It was released by

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

Plot

Sam Bisbee is an

optometrist Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

and amateur inventor. His daughter Pauline is in love with Bob Murchison, but Bob's upper-class mother disapproves of the Bisbee family. Sam's wife Bessie is ashamed of Sam because he prefers to act as himself rather than feigning sophistication. Pauline is the one woman who truly loves Sam, accepting her father as he is. Sam receives a letter from a tire company expressing interest in one of his inventions, a puncture-proof tire that can resist bullets. However, his opportunity becomes a disaster when he mistakenly uses a police car as the subject of his demonstration. When the car's tires fail to resist Sam's bullets, he must flee the irate police. On the train trip home, feeling that he has failed completely, Sam contemplates committing suicide by drinking a bottle of

iodine Iodine is a chemical element; it has symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists at standard conditions as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , and boils to a vi ...

, but decides against it at the last minute. On the train, he meets a woman who also has a bottle of iodine. Mistakenly thinking that she is also considering suicide, Sam tries to dissuade her by telling her about his own troubles. He does not know that she is Princess Lescaboura, engaged in agood-will tour of the area. She is moved by Sam's story and secretly decides to help him. The next day, the Princess visits Sam's town and informs its residents that he once saved her life. As a result, the townspeople, including Mrs. Murchison, suddenly see Sam as admirable. Sam, believing the Princess is posing as royalty to help him, quietly congratulates her on her successful ruse. At a new golf course, Sam is given the honor of driving the first ball. After a number of random events foil Sam's attempts to hit the ball, Mr. Robbins, the president of the tire company, arrives at the course. He excitedly tells Sam that they have found his car and tested his tires, and want to manufacture them. He offers Sam $20,000 for his invention, but the princess says that she wants the patent for her own country. She bids against Robbins until Robbins finally offers $1,000,000 plus a

royalty Royalty may refer to: * the mystique/prestige bestowed upon monarchs ** one or more monarchs, such as kings, queens, emperors, empresses, princes, princesses, etc. *** royal family, the immediate family of a king or queen-regnant, and sometimes h ...

for each tire, which Sam accepts. Later, Sam's family is wealthy and respected, and his daughter Pauline is married to Bob. Sam is happy, but he still doesn't realize the Princess is genuine. As she is about to leave, she says, "Goodbye, Sam—I want to thank you for a lot of fun!” Sam says, "The pleasure's mutual," then leans closer and says, "We certainly put that princess stuff over, didn't we?" To which she replies, "You're telling ''me!''"

Cast

* W.C. Fields as Sam Bisbee, optometrist *

Adrienne Ames Adrienne Ames (born Ruth Adrienne McClure; August 3, 1907 – May 31, 1947) was an American film actress. Early in her career she was known as Adrienne Truex. Early years Ames was born in Fort Worth, Texas, one of six children of Samuel Hugh Mc ...

as Princess Lescaboura *

Joan Marsh Joan Marsh (July 10, 1914 – August 10, 2000) was an American child actress in silent films between 1915 and 1921. Later, during the sound era, she resumed her acting career and performed in a variety of films during the 1930s and 1940s. Ea ...

as Pauline Bisbee *

Larry "Buster" Crabbe Clarence Linden "Buster" Crabbe II (; February 7, 1908 – April 23, 1983) was an American two-time Olympic swimmer and film and television actor. He won the 1932 Olympic gold medal for 400-meter freestyle swimming event, which launched his c ...

as Bob Murchison * Louise Carter as Mrs. Bessie Bisbee *

Kathleen Howard Kathleen Howard (July 27, 1884 – April 15, 1956) was a Canadian-born American opera singer, magazine editor, and character actress from the mid-1930s through the 1940s. Biography Howard was born in Clifton Hill, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Cana ...

as Mrs. Edward Quimby Murchison * Del Henderson as Crystal Springs mayor Brown * Nora Cecil as Mrs. Price, town's spinster * George Irving as Mr. Robbins, president of National Tire Co. * James B. "Pop" Kenton as Doc Beebe, Sam's friend * Robert McKenzie as Charlie Bogle, Sam's friend *

Tammany Young Tammany Young (September 9, 1886 – April 26, 1936) was an American stage and film actor. Early life Born in New York City, Young appeared on Broadway in '' The Front Page'' (1928) by Ben Hecht and '' The New Yorkers'' (1930) by Herbert Fiel ...

as the Caddy

Production

The sequence at the golf course is largely the routine that formed the nucleus of Fields' earlier short film '' The Golf Specialist''. This was filmed at the Lakeside Golf Club in

Burbank, California Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank had a Census-estimated population of 102,755 as of 2023. The city was ...

, which was also used in Fields' short ''

The Dentist (1932 film) ''The Dentist'' is a 1932 United States, American Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code Comedy film, comedy Short film, short starring W. C. Fields. The film is one of four shorts Fields made with the "king of comedy," Mack Sennett, at Paramount Picture ...

''. The triumph of Fields' character over his circumstances, and the happy ending thanks to a windfall profit, would be repeated later in 1934 in ''

It's a Gift ''It's a Gift'' is a 1934 American comedy film starring W.C. Fields. It was Fields's 16th sound film and his fifth in 1934 alone. The film concerns the trials and tribulations of a grocer as he battles a shrewish wife, an incompetent assista ...

''. The film received only a cursory review in William K. Everson's 1967 book ''The Art of W.C. Fields'' as it was unavailable because of ownership issues. The issues were resolved and the film is included in the Universal DVD set ''W.C. Fields Comedy Collection, Volume Two''. Everson mentions that the name of the film's minor character Charlie Bogle was adopted as Fields' writing pseudonym for several of his later films.

External links

* {{Erle C. Kenton 1934 films 1934 comedy films American comedy films 1930s English-language films American black-and-white films Sound film remakes of silent films Remakes of American films Paramount Pictures films Films directed by Erle C. Kenton Films with screenplays by W. C. Fields 1930s American films English-language comedy films