Slapstick Festival 2022, Bristol UK honors W.C. Fields with screening of Sally of the Sawdust, January 28, 2022, one day before the anniversary of W.C. Fields' birth on January 29.
Dr. Harriet Fields, granddaughter and Patron of the Slapstick Festival 2022, will share a message online with an introduction by Chris Serle. This event includes live piano accompaniment by John Sweeney.
Dir: D.W. Griffith.
Filmed in Astoria Studios, Queens, NY. The year before (1924), W.C. Fields starred on Broadway in Poppy, the stage version of the silent film Sally of the Sawdust. In 1934, W.C. Fields starred in Hollywood in the talking film Poppy.
W.C. Fields is the only Icon who, after touring the world performing, stayed in New York in the 1920's starring on the Broadway stage, with forays across the East River to make his silent films, perfecting his timing, and growing love and admiration of audiences and sister/fellow performers. Of all the Icons, W.C. Fields is the only one to find success in talking films and radio in Hollywood.