You Can't Cheat an Honest Man

You Can't Cheat an Honest Man

76 mins | Comedy | Feb. 17, 1939

Fields plays "Larsen E. Whipsnade", the owner of a shady carnival that is constantly on the run from the law. Whipsnade is struggling to keep a step ahead of foreclosure, and clearly not paying his performers, including Bergen and McCarthy, who try to coax money out of him, or in McCarthy's case, steal some outright.

You Can't Cheat an Honest Man

76 mins | Comedy | Feb. 17, 1939

You Can't Cheat an Honest Man
Fields plays "Larsen E. Whipsnade", the owner of a shady carnival that is constantly on the run from the law. Whipsnade is struggling to keep a step ahead of foreclosure, and clearly not paying his performers, including Bergen and McCarthy, who try to coax money out of him, or in McCarthy's case, steal some outright.
IMDb rating 6.9
Producers Universal Pictures
Original title You Can't Cheat an Honest Man
Directors George Marshall, Edward F. Cline
Writers George Marion Jr., Richard Mack, Everett Freeman, W.C. Fields

Cast

W.C. Fields

as Larson E. Whipsnade

Edgar Bergen

as The Great Edgar

Constance Moore

as Victoria Whipsnade

John Arledge

as Phineas Whipsnade

James Bush

as Roger Bel-Goodie

Thurston Hall

as Mr. Archibald Bel-Goodie

Mary Forbes

as Mrs. Bel-Goodie

Edward Brophy

as Corbett

Arthur Hohl

as Burr

Princess Baba

as Princess Baba, The Great Edgar's Assistant

Blacaman

as Blacaman - The Lion Tamer

Mortimer Snerd

as By Himself

Ernie Adams

as Eddie - Circus Attendant

Dorothy Arnold

as 1st Debutante

Irving Bacon

as Jailer

Lulu Mae Bohrman

as Wedding Guest

Ralph Brooks

as Wedding Guest

Eddy Chandler

as Highway Patrol Officer

Dora Clement

as Woman

Jack Rube Clifford

as Riding Master

Richard Clucas

as Little Boy

Charles Coleman

as Robinson - Bel-Goodie's Butler

Evelyn Del Rio

as Little Girl Who Cries

Drew Demorest

as Barker

Dick Dickinson

as Contortionist

Jan Duggan

as Mrs. Sludge

Eddie Dunn

as Cop

Billy Engle

as Circus Attendant

Jack Gardner

as Ticket Seller

Grace Goodall

as Screaming Spinster / Wedding Guest

Jennifer Gray

as 3rd Debutante

Bobby Hale

as Circus Attendant

Ted Hardy

as Russian Circus Performer

Sam Harris

as Wedding Guest

Leyland Hodgson

as Butler

Otto Hoffman

as Mayor

Lloyd Ingraham

as Mayor / Wedding Guest

Frank Jenks

as Jerry - Assistant

Si Jenks

as Hillbilly

Tiny Jones

as Spectator

Jack Kenney

as Barker

Joe King

as Policeman

Ivan Lebedeff

as Ronnie

Ethelreda Leopold

as Blonde at Party

Jimmie Lucas

as Barker

Kathryn Marlowe

as 2nd Debutante

Eric Mayne

as Wedding Guest

Frank Melton

as First Yokel

Harold Miller

as Party Guest

Edmund Mortimer

as Wedding Guest

James C. Morton

as Judge

Ray Moyer

as Fire Eater

Byron Munson

as Ping-Pong Player

Charles Murphy

as Lon - Roustabout

Frank O'Connor

as Cop with Judge

George Offerman, Jr.

as Western Union Man

David Oliver

as Man Cheated at Window

George Ovey

as Circus Attendant

Lee Phelps

as Sheriff

June Preston

as Little Blond Girl Singing and Dancing

Ralph Sanford

as Truck Driver

Harry Stafford

as Party Guest

Grady Sutton

as Chester Dalrymple

Ferris Taylor

as Deputy Sheriff

Don Terry

as Ping-Pong Player

Walter Tetley

as Boy with Candy Cane

Edward Thomas

as Bel-Goodie Butler

Lelah Tyler

as Society Woman / Wedding Guest

Minerva Urecal

as Screaming Spinster at Circus

Dale Van Sickel

as Wedding Guest

Russell Wade

as Wedding Guest

Beryl Wallace

as Girl

Delmar Watson

as Boy with Slingshot

Florence Wix

as Wedding Guest

Bill Wolfe

as Ticket Buyer / Brentwood - World's Smallest Giant

Edward Woolf

as Thin Man

Bill Worth

as Elwood - World's Largest Midget

Arthur Yeoman

as Barker

Duke York

as Minor Role