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The Man on the Flying Trapeze

Another of the beleaguered family men that were by this time a Fields trademark, Ambrose Wolfinger lives in quiet misery, oppressed by his second wife and her good-for-nothing relations. Ambrose may be a victim, but he's hardly innocent: apprehending a pair of burglars in his basement, he joins them in a few rounds of homemade applejack and a boozy rendition of "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away"; using the made-up funeral of his very-much-alive mother-in-law as an excuse to skip work for a wrestling match, he sets off a full-fledged town scandal. Despite the sketchy plot, the New York Times called this "the kind of burlesque which comes dangerously close to realism."

—Juliet Clark

FILM DETAILS 
Print Info
  • B&W
  • 35mm