The Golden Age of Hollywood certainly liked to make period pictures, and those starring the top comedians were no exception. Laurel and Hardy, Buster Keaton, and Wheeler and Woolsey had previously made some, and later Abbott and Costello would also.
W.C. Fields had appeared in a few period pictures before, including the much-acclaimed DAVID COPPERFIELD released earlier in 1935, and his starring vehicle, THE OLD FASHIONED WAY the previous year. In the former film, he was very much a supporting player, but here he is featured front and center, sharing roughly the same amount of screen time as the top-billed Bing Crosby.
I almost hesitate to call MISSISSIPPI a comedy, since except for Fields, everyone else plays it straight. Although the subject matter is indeed serious, it could be made into a more conventional comedy, as did Keaton in the somewhat similar OUR HOSPITALITY. Keeping the story devoid of humor is was makes this film work so well, which to me accentuates the humor that Fields injects into each and every scene.
The film takes place in 1860 as Crosby plays a singer from Philadelphia engaged to the daughter of a traditional southern gentleman. The engagement is broken when the family, including the bride-to-be, brands Crosby as a coward for refusing to fight a duel with her former suitor. Crosby then joins Fields as a singer on his showboat. Fields concocts a way to brand Crosby as the "singing killer." Most of the humor derives from Fields' braggadocio for both himself and in building up Crosby's reputation.
Crosby and Fields work surprisingly well together. By all accounts they were cordial to each other on the set, but Crosby was furious when he saw the preview, since Fields had completely stolen the picture. About a third of the picture was re-edited to include more screen time for Crosby, including an additional song. Although Crosby doesn't exactly play second-fiddle, Fields is what makes this film memorable.
I've recently made comments on this board regarding tastes in music with regard to enjoying a film, so I'll go on record saying that I enjoy Crosby's singing and have many of his recordings in my collection. The songs in this film were written by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. I particularly like "Easy to Remember", later recorded by Frank Sinatra on his superb CLOSE TO YOU album in 1956.
The actor playing Crosby's future father-in-law is a dead ringer for Mark Twain. I was waiting for him to say, "Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated," although this is a mis-quote anyway.
The lead actresses are gorgeous -- Gail Patrick and Joan Bennett. The latter went on to star in the gothic soap opera, DARK SHADOWS.
There is some un-PC dialog delivered by Fields that will offend at least 2 groups of people. Avoid this film if that bothers you.
Overall, this is a very well-made and enjoyable picture that will satisfy both Fields and Crosby fans alike. Pity that the future teaming of Fields with Mae West was such a misfire, since this film proves that Fields could co-exist in a movie with another star of equal stature.
