William Claude Dukenfield was the eldest of five children born to Cockney immigrant James Dukenfield and Philadelphia native Kate Felton. He went to school for four years, then quit to work with his father selling vegetables from a horse cart. At eleven, after many fights with his alcoholic father (who hit him on the head with a shovel), he ran away from home. For a while he lived in a hole in the ground, depending on stolen food and clothing. He was often beaten and spent nights in jail. His first regular job was delivering ice. By age thirteen he was a skilled pool player and juggler. It was then, at an amusement park in Norristown PA, that he was first hired as an entertainer. There he developed the technique of pretending to lose the things he was juggling. In 1893 he was employed as a juggler at Fortescue's Pier, Atlantic City. When business was slow he pretended to drown in the ocean (management thought his fake rescue would draw customers). By nineteen he was billed as "The Distinguished Comedian" and began opening bank accounts in every city he played. At age twenty-three he opened at the Palace in London and played with Sarah Bernhardt at Buckingham Palace. He starred at the Folies-Bergere (young Charles Chaplin and Maurice Chevalier were on the program). He was in each of the Ziegfeld Follies from 1915 through 1921. He played for a year in the highly praised musical "Poppy" which opened in New York in 1923. In 1925 D.W. Griffith made a movie of the play, renamed Sally of the Sawdust (1925), starring Fields. Pool Sharks (1915), Fields' first movie, was made when he was thirty-five. He settled into a mansion near Burbank, California and made most of his thirty-seven movies for Paramount. He appeared in mostly spontaneous dialogs on Charlie McCarthy's radio shows. In 1939 he switched to Universal where he made films written mainly by and for himself. He died after several serious illnesses, including bouts of pneumonia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 29, 1880
- December 25, 1946 (aged 66)
- Darby, Pennsylvania, USA
- Actor and writer, also director
- 18 on MovieCove · 49 credits in all
What are W.C. Fields' films like?
Across their 15 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Bonds.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 1 · Wry 2 · Earnest 11
Light 15 · Serious 0 · Dark 0
A split, not a type: Grounded 8 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 2
Gentle 12 · Charged 3 · Intense 0
Steady 10 · Shifting 5 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 12
Slow burn 5 · Even-paced 9 · Relentless 1
Casual 13 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 13 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 0
Resolved 14 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 1
Roles they play
Usually the Hero: 6 of 12 analyzed roles.
Show the 12 rolesHide the roles
- Tricksteras The Pool Shark in Pool Sharks (1915)
- Tricksteras Rollo La Rue in If I Had a Million (1932)
- Shapeshifteras Humpty-Dumpty in Alice in Wonderland (1933)
- Heroas Harold Bissonette in It's a Gift (1934)
- Tricksteras Harold Bissonette in It's a Gift (1934)
- Heroas Sam Bisbee in You're Telling Me! (1934)
- Heroas Ambrose Wolfinger in Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935)
- Tricksteras S.B. Bellows in The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938)
- Heroas Larson E. Whipsnade in You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939)
- Heroas Egbert Sousé in The Bank Dick (1940)
- Shapeshifteras Cuthbert J. Twillie in My Little Chickadee (1940)
- Heroas The Great Man in Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)
Moods and endings
- Happy13
- Bittersweet1
- Cyclical1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch W.C. Fields' films?
As of October 24, 2026, 1 of their 18 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for W.C. Fields' titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted.
Filmography
49 credits, 18 with a MovieCove page; 17 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Hidden Hollywood II: More Treasures from the 20th Century Fox Vaults (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1999)
W.C. Fields: Straight Up (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
The Hollywood Clowns (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
The Big Parade of Comedy(1964)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all films
Down Memory Lane (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)
Sensations of 1945 (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)
Song of the Open Road(1944)
Midcredits score: 40th percentile of all films
Follow the Boys (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1944)
Tales of Manhattan(1942)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all films
The Bank Dick(1940)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
My Little Chickadee(1940)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 50th percentile of all films
Poppy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
Midcredits score: 85th percentile of all films
Mississippi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)
David Copperfield(1935)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
It's a Gift(1934)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)
The Old-Fashioned Way (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1934)
You're Telling Me!(1934)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all films
Six of a Kind(1934)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Alice in Wonderland(1933)
Midcredits score: 51st percentile of all films
Tillie and Gus (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
The Barber Shop (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
International House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
The Pharmacist (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
The Fatal Glass of Beer (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
Too Many Highballs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1933)
The Dentist (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)
If I Had a Million(1932)
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Million Dollar Legs (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1932)
Her Majesty, Love (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)
The Golf Specialist (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1930)
Fools for Luck (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)
Tillie's Punctured Romance (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1928)
Two Flaming Youths (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)
Running Wild (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)
The Potters (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1927)
So's Your Old Man (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)
It's the Old Army Game (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1926)
That Royle Girl (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)
Sally of the Sawdust (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1925)
Janice Meredith (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1924)
Pool Sharks(1915)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
Career shape
Star power in the 97th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 49 titles from 1915 to 2000.
Film career
Top draw in 4 MovieCove titles.
- 1915Screen debut· Pool Sharks
- 1915First top-billed film· Pool Sharks
- 1940Career best· The Bank Dick
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do W.C. Fields' films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 76th percentile, the median of all 18; across their 15 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 69th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up11
- 50th to 74th4
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
12 of their 18 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser12
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed4
Reviewers score the acting 73/100 in their films, across 13 reviewed titles; fans 80, detractors 49. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does W.C. Fields work with?
People who share at least 2 of W.C. Fields' MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Edward F. Cline shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Edward F. ClineShared titles: Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941), My Little Chickadee (1940), The Bank Dick (1940), You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939)See all 4 shared titles with Edward F. Cline
- Norman Z. McLeodShared titles: It's a Gift (1934), Alice in Wonderland (1933), If I Had a Million (1932)See all 3 shared titles with Norman Z. McLeod
Writers
- Walter DeLeonShared titles: The Big Broadcast of 1938 (1938), Six of a Kind (1934), You're Telling Me! (1934)See all 3 shared titles with Walter DeLeon
- Jack CunninghamShared titles: Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935), It's a Gift (1934)See all 2 shared titles with Jack Cunningham
- John SinclairShared titles: Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935), It's a Gift (1934)See all 2 shared titles with John Sinclair
- Harry RuskinShared titles: It's a Gift (1934), Six of a Kind (1934)See all 2 shared titles with Harry Ruskin
Actors
- Kathleen HowardShared titles: Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935), It's a Gift (1934), You're Telling Me! (1934)See all 3 shared titles with Kathleen Howard
- Tammany YoungShared titles: Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935), It's a Gift (1934), You're Telling Me! (1934)See all 3 shared titles with Tammany Young
- Cary GrantShared titles: Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her (1994), The Big Parade of Comedy (1964)See all 2 shared titles with Cary Grant
- George RaftShared titles: Mae West and the Men Who Knew Her (1994), If I Had a Million (1932)See all 2 shared titles with George Raft
Composers and cinematographers
- Frank SkinnerShared titles: Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941), My Little Chickadee (1940), The Bank Dick (1940)See all 3 shared titles with Frank Skinner
- Henry SharpShared titles: It's a Gift (1934), Six of a Kind (1934), Alice in Wonderland (1933)See all 3 shared titles with Henry Sharp
- John LeipoldShared titles: It's a Gift (1934), Six of a Kind (1934), You're Telling Me! (1934)See all 3 shared titles with John Leipold
- Charles PrevinShared titles: Song of the Open Road (1944), Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941)See all 2 shared titles with Charles Previn
Producers
- Emanuel CohenShared titles: It's a Gift (1934), Six of a Kind (1934), You're Telling Me! (1934), Alice in Wonderland (1933)See all 4 shared titles with Emanuel Cohen
- Jack J. GrossShared titles: Never Give a Sucker an Even Break (1941), My Little Chickadee (1940), The Bank Dick (1940)See all 3 shared titles with Jack J. Gross
- William LeBaronShared titles: Man on the Flying Trapeze (1935), It's a Gift (1934), You're Telling Me! (1934)See all 3 shared titles with William LeBaron
- Lester CowanShared titles: My Little Chickadee (1940), You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939)See all 2 shared titles with Lester Cowan
