The Bank Dick and So’s Your Old Man are on the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress “recognized as cultural and artistic treasures for generations to come”.
- National Film Preservation Board
2008 Entries to National Film Registry Announced
So’s Your Old Man (1926)
While W.C. Fields’ talents are better suited for sound films — where his verbal jabs and asides still delight and astound — Fields also starred in some memorable silent films. Fields began his career as a vaudevillian juggler and that humor and dexterity shines through in "So’s Your Old Man." The craziness is aided immeasurably through the deft comic touches of director Gregory LaCava. In the film, Fields plays inventor Samuel Bisbee, who is considered a vulgarian by the town’s elite. His road to financial success takes many hilarious detours including a disastrous demo for potential investors, a bungled suicide attempt, a foray into his classic "golf game" routine and an inspired pantomime to a Spanish princess.
- Cinematic Classics, Legendary Stars, Comedic Legends and Novice Filmmakers Showcase the 2008 Film Registry, 2008, http://www.loc.gov/today/pr/2008/08-237.html, last accessed on: 03/02/10.
