In his feature-film debut, W.C. Fields was already ideally cast as Eustace McGargle, the rabid carnival barker whose bark is worse than his bite, especially when it comes to his adopted kid, the orphaned circus girl, Sally (Carol Dempster). Together they attempt to effect a reunion with Sally's natural grandparents, but since Eustace has developed his faker routine into a highly sophisticated con, both are in the doghouse with the local community. One of D. W. Griffith's few full-fledged comedies, Sally of the Sawdust features one of his favorite leading ladies, pitted once again against the hard-heartedness of small-town society.