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The need for sustenance manages to draw Fields away though, depositing him in the Cozy Corner Cafe, a run-down joint with only a surly waitress, Tiny (Jody Gilbert), for company. The outcome looks doubtful when she starts crossing items from the menu, even more so when she tips most of a jug of ice down the front of his trousers! Fields perseveres though, all the while baiting Tiny with double-edged remarks. It's soon time to pitch to the Producer though so, after a chance meeting with Gloria, Fields makes his way to the appropriate office. Inside, with the Producer's Wife (Mona Barrie) sitting in, he tries to entice them with his improbable adventures. The eloquent passages are continually interrupted by Mrs. Pastrami (Minerva Urecal), the cleaning lady, though so the Producer grabs the script and reads for himself. This is just about where things become really weird, with Fields (in the script) dropping in on Mrs. Hemogloben (Margaret Dumont) and her beautiful daughter Ouliotta Delight (Susan Miller) -- from a great height.
In many ways Fields is all there is to Never Give a Sucker an Even Break, given that it is a plotless exercise in anarchic absurdity. He is the centre (even when he's off-screen) around whom everyone else orbits, the source of the best lines and the creator of the mythical country that takes up half of the film. The amazing thing is just how entertaining the film is even with this level of concentration on a single personality and total lack of cohesion (the short running time helps). The only reasonable explanation is that nothing is taken seriously in the whole crazy movie; instead, humorous sketches (both physical and verbal) are strung together in a bizarre chain (so, when people suddenly burst into song even that doesn't seem too unlikely). It's also a plus that nothing is sacred with Fields - he pokes fun at everyone and everything!
As a character, Fields is certainly unique. The way in which plays himself both in the film and in the proposed script (each time the role is the same, that of his real character) is quite disconcerting, especially when he talks directly to camera. Such blurring of worlds is a hallmark for Fields though and it works well. Throughout he always seems to have a witty or cutting retort on hand for every occasion, casually undermining his opponents. However, this shouldn't give the impression that everything is under control. On the contrary, he often appears perplexed by what's going on around him, reacting to rather than second-guessing events. Fields' superb timing often pulls him through though, allowing him to drawl his lines in a laid-back style whatever the situation.
So, while Never Give a Sucker an Even Break may be nominally based upon the idea of presenting a script, that's purely a leaping off point. The real aim is to throw up a mix of acerbic dialogue and physical confusion, letting Fields' talents run wild. To prove the validity of this method, the final scenes are perhaps the best of the entire movie. A fantastically choreographed and chaotic chase sequence, it bears little relation to the rest of the film yet still works beautifully. You almost certainly have to click with Fields' style of comedy to enjoy Never Give a Sucker an Even Break fully but even without that link it's still worth watching merely for the experience.
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