Search/Recent Changes
DBTropes
...it's like TV Tropes, but LINKED DATA!

The Bank Dick

 The Bank Dick
type
TVTItem
 The Bank Dick
label
The Bank Dick
 The Bank Dick
page
TheBankDick
 The Bank Dick
comment
The Bank Dick is a 1940 film directed by Edward Cline, written by and starring W. C. Fields.Fields is Egbert Sousé, a bumbling, alcohol-sodden, minimally employed father in Lompoc, CA, who is cordially despised by his wife, mother-in-law, and two daughters. One day, quite by accident, Egbert stumbles across a bank robbery in progress, and is mistakenly believed by the townspeople to have subdued one of the bank robbers and recovered the $50,000 they got away with. The bank manager rewards him with a job as a security officer at the bank. Egbert convinces Og the bank clerk, also his would-be son-in-law, to steal $500 from the bank to buy some shady shares in a silver mine. Egbert and Og panic when the bank examiner shows up immediately after they buy the shares—but the other bank robber shows up again as well.Una Merkel plays Egbert's daughter Myrtle. Shemp Howard, who a few years after this film would rejoin his brothers in The Three Stooges, plays Joe the bartender.
 The Bank Dick
fetched
2023-09-21T21:28:28Z
 The Bank Dick
parsed
2023-09-21T21:28:28Z
 The Bank Dick
isPartOf
DBTropes
 The Bank Dick / int_146f4e0
type
Blind Without 'Em
 The Bank Dick / int_146f4e0
comment
Blind Without 'Em: See Dropped Glasses below.
 The Bank Dick / int_146f4e0
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_146f4e0
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_146f4e0
 The Bank Dick / int_18d15922
type
Title Drop
 The Bank Dick / int_18d15922
comment
Title Drop: Skinner the bank manager says that Egbert will be the bank security officer, or "bank dick".
 The Bank Dick / int_18d15922
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_18d15922
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_18d15922
 The Bank Dick / int_19211122
type
Feel No Pain
 The Bank Dick / int_19211122
comment
Feel No Pain: Egbert sticks the entire lit cigarette into his mouth to hide it from the family, then brings it back out to resume puffing when out of their view.
 The Bank Dick / int_19211122
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_19211122
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_19211122
 The Bank Dick / int_267ce120
type
Dirty Old Man
 The Bank Dick / int_267ce120
comment
Dirty Old Man
 The Bank Dick / int_267ce120
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_267ce120
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_267ce120
 The Bank Dick / int_3104d34
type
Suicide as Comedy
 The Bank Dick / int_3104d34
comment
Suicide as Comedy: Egbert's family bemoans his shiftless, scandalous nature. His eldest daughter melodramatically wails that she'll commit suicide by starving to death, sobbing "It isn't hard..." then continuing in a cheerful chirp "I tried it yesterday!"
 The Bank Dick / int_3104d34
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_3104d34
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_3104d34
 The Bank Dick / int_372bc105
type
Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism
 The Bank Dick / int_372bc105
comment
Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism: Pretty darn cynical, as was typical of Fields' movies. His family, which holds him in contempt, suddenly loves him when they come into a lot of money at the end.
 The Bank Dick / int_372bc105
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_372bc105
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_372bc105
 The Bank Dick / int_3d2c6d30
type
Skewed Priorities
 The Bank Dick / int_3d2c6d30
comment
Skewed Priorities: When in danger of driving off a cliff, Egbert states, "The resale value on this car is going to be nil."
 The Bank Dick / int_3d2c6d30
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_3d2c6d30
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_3d2c6d30
 The Bank Dick / int_403b6f3
type
Fainting
 The Bank Dick / int_403b6f3
comment
Fainting: Og does this two different times when he sees the bank examiner.
 The Bank Dick / int_403b6f3
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_403b6f3
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_403b6f3
 The Bank Dick / int_40bb59d0
type
Blatant Lies
 The Bank Dick / int_40bb59d0
comment
Blatant Lies: Egbert does this all the time, like when he weaves a ridiculous story of how he supposedly took down the bank robbers.
 The Bank Dick / int_40bb59d0
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_40bb59d0
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_40bb59d0
 The Bank Dick / int_46ee4d3
type
Eye Take
 The Bank Dick / int_46ee4d3
comment
Eye Take: Og gets off an epic one when the bank examiner, who supposedly is laid up in bed after Egbert slipped him a mickey, shows up at the bank. It provides the page illustration for Eye Take.
 The Bank Dick / int_46ee4d3
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_46ee4d3
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_46ee4d3
 The Bank Dick / int_479d4e5a
type
Would Hurt a Child
 The Bank Dick / int_479d4e5a
comment
Would Hurt a Child: Egbert is about to throw a planter at his bratty little daughter when his wife stops him.
 The Bank Dick / int_479d4e5a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_479d4e5a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_479d4e5a
 The Bank Dick / int_4bc2095b
type
One Head Taller
 The Bank Dick / int_4bc2095b
comment
One Head Taller: The actor in the movie Egbert directs looms over his actress co-star, leading Egbert to ask "Is she standing in a hole?"
 The Bank Dick / int_4bc2095b
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_4bc2095b
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_4bc2095b
 The Bank Dick / int_5456f857
type
Too Important to Walk
 The Bank Dick / int_5456f857
comment
Too Important to Walk: Egbert talks his way into taking over the job of a falling-down-drunk movie director. Being carried around in a sedan chair is apparently one of the job perks.
 The Bank Dick / int_5456f857
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_5456f857
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_5456f857
 The Bank Dick / int_596f675a
type
Smoking Is Cool
 The Bank Dick / int_596f675a
comment
Smoking Is Cool: After being incorrectly identified as a hero in his small town, Fields entertains some kids with some cigarette tricks. He sends them off, saying "I'll teach you when you're older! Didn't take it up myself 'til I was nine..."
 The Bank Dick / int_596f675a
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_596f675a
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_596f675a
 The Bank Dick / int_5ceb9939
type
Alcohol Hic
 The Bank Dick / int_5ceb9939
comment
Alcohol Hic: The director, hopelessly drunk on the set, does this.
 The Bank Dick / int_5ceb9939
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_5ceb9939
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_5ceb9939
 The Bank Dick / int_6d7026fa
type
Punny Name
 The Bank Dick / int_6d7026fa
comment
Punny Name: All of them, starting with the credits, in which Fields's screenwriting credit is hidden under the pen name "Mahatma Kane Jeeves" ("my hat and my cane, Jeeves"). His character is called Egbert Sousé—"souse" is a slang term for an alcoholic. The bank examiner is named J. Pinkerton Snoopington.
 The Bank Dick / int_6d7026fa
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_6d7026fa
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_6d7026fa
 The Bank Dick / int_76c42cce
type
Pronouncing My Name for You
 The Bank Dick / int_76c42cce
comment
Pronouncing My Name for You: Egbert "Sousé" has to keep correcting people with "It's pronounced Sous-Ay! Accent grave over the e!"
 The Bank Dick / int_76c42cce
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_76c42cce
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_76c42cce
 The Bank Dick / int_7eebe99c
type
The Alcoholic
 The Bank Dick / int_7eebe99c
comment
The Alcoholic: Egbert, who appears perpetually drunk, and has to ask the bartender whether he (Egbert) spent $20 in the bar last night.
 The Bank Dick / int_7eebe99c
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_7eebe99c
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_7eebe99c
 The Bank Dick / int_82b4f38e
type
Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist
 The Bank Dick / int_82b4f38e
comment
Unsympathetic Comedy Protagonist: Egbert is an alcoholic and a liar, who encourages children to smoke, who gets his future son-in-law to steal from the bank. He gets a Happy Ending in which he becomes filthy rich.
 The Bank Dick / int_82b4f38e
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_82b4f38e
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_82b4f38e
 The Bank Dick / int_82fc5bdf
type
Bratty Half-Pint
 The Bank Dick / int_82fc5bdf
comment
Bratty Half-Pint: Egbert's bratty little daughter Elsie, who does things like whack him over the head with a director's bullhorn when Egbert won't put her in the movie.
 The Bank Dick / int_82fc5bdf
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_82fc5bdf
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_82fc5bdf
 The Bank Dick / int_8f612013
type
Token Good Teammate
 The Bank Dick / int_8f612013
comment
Token Good Teammate: Egbert's daughter Myrtle is the only member of his family who understands his pain and never participates in teasing, humiliating, or bringing harm to him, like her sister, mother and grandmother.
 The Bank Dick / int_8f612013
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_8f612013
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_8f612013
 The Bank Dick / int_9843be73
type
As You Know
 The Bank Dick / int_9843be73
comment
As You Know: Agatha greets her daughter Myrtle with "Hello, daughter".
 The Bank Dick / int_9843be73
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_9843be73
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_9843be73
 The Bank Dick / int_9e622f84
type
Stealing from the Till
 The Bank Dick / int_9e622f84
comment
Stealing from the Till: It's bad enough that Egbert falls for the con man's obvious con, but worse when he talks dimwitted Og into stealing $500 from the bank to buy the bonds, with Og thinking that he'll put the money back in four days when he gets his bonus. Of course, the bank examiner shows up immediately.
 The Bank Dick / int_9e622f84
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_9e622f84
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_9e622f84
 The Bank Dick / int_a07afea2
type
Random Events Plot
 The Bank Dick / int_a07afea2
comment
Random Events Plot: A hallmark of Fields's movies. Egbert is drinking at the bar when he meets a Hollywood producer, and the producer, believing Egbert's tall tales of being an old film director, hires him to shoot the movie that's being filmed in town. After doing that for a while Egbert walks off the set for the bar, and his movie job isn't mentioned again until the end, when he gets a check for his script idea. Then there's Egbert being mistaken for a hero and getting a job as a security officer at the bank, which sets up some comic business but doesn't really have anything to do with the rest of the story. There's also the arrival of the bank examiner after Egbert convinces Og to steal from the till, which also goes nowhere, as the bank robber comes back and steals from the bank before the examiner ever looks at the books.
 The Bank Dick / int_a07afea2
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_a07afea2
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_a07afea2
 The Bank Dick / int_ab8e26e2
type
Slipping a Mickey
 The Bank Dick / int_ab8e26e2
comment
Slipping a Mickey: Egbert lures the bank examiner into the bar and asks Joe the bartender if "Michael Finn" has been in that day. Joe takes the hint and prepares a cocktail that leaves the bank examiner violently ill.
 The Bank Dick / int_ab8e26e2
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_ab8e26e2
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_ab8e26e2
 The Bank Dick / int_bd1faab9
type
Accidental Hero
 The Bank Dick / int_bd1faab9
comment
Accidental Hero: One bank robber clubs another over the head and then runs off. Egbert sits on a bench right in front of the knocked-out bank robber. The other robber randomly flings his gun, which hits Egbert, knocking him over and onto the knocked-out robber. The police then swoop in and assume Egbert knocked out the bank robber and got the money. Egbert eagerly plays along with this.
 The Bank Dick / int_bd1faab9
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_bd1faab9
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_bd1faab9
 The Bank Dick / int_c8e3e074
type
Removable Steering Wheel
 The Bank Dick / int_c8e3e074
comment
Removable Steering Wheel: When asked by the bank robber in the back seat to give him the wheel, Egbert matter-of-factly pulled it off the steering column and gave it to him. This sequence paid homage to the Mack Sennett/Keystone Kops and Hal Roach/Our Gang comedies of the 1920s and 1930s. Model T Fords were generally used for these comic chases.
 The Bank Dick / int_c8e3e074
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_c8e3e074
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_c8e3e074
 The Bank Dick / int_dd53c52b
type
Crushing Handshake
 The Bank Dick / int_dd53c52b
comment
Crushing Handshake: Inverted when the bank manager gives Egbert a "hearty handclasp" which consists of limply placing his fingers in Egbert's hand. Played straight when the con artist crushes Egbert's hand with a handshake.
 The Bank Dick / int_dd53c52b
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_dd53c52b
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_dd53c52b
 The Bank Dick / int_deecc9eb
type
Awful Wedded Life
 The Bank Dick / int_deecc9eb
comment
Awful Wedded Life: Egbert clearly loathes his wife and family, and they hate him back.
 The Bank Dick / int_deecc9eb
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_deecc9eb
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_deecc9eb
 The Bank Dick / int_f5663a6f
type
Dropped Glasses
 The Bank Dick / int_f5663a6f
comment
Dropped Glasses: After finding out that the bank examiner can't see anything without his glasses, Egbert tries to stop the audit by knocking the examiner's glasses off and "accidentally" stepping on them. He's dismayed to see the examiner keeps about a dozen spares in his briefcase.
 The Bank Dick / int_f5663a6f
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_f5663a6f
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_f5663a6f
 The Bank Dick / int_f96f188c
type
Drives Like Crazy
 The Bank Dick / int_f96f188c
comment
Drives Like Crazy: A bank robber grabs Egbert and forces Egbert to drive the getway car. This turns out to be a mistake, as Egbert goes on a wildly careening ride through the town and the countryside, ending up nearly going over a cliff.
 The Bank Dick / int_f96f188c
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_f96f188c
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_f96f188c
 The Bank Dick / int_fa6bfde9
type
Have a Gay Old Time
 The Bank Dick / int_fa6bfde9
comment
Have a Gay Old Time: Egbert urges the bank examiner to "be happy and gay!" The title might be an example of this, as "dick" is not a word people use to mean "detective" anymore. Eggbert patronises a bar called The Black Pussy; back then, a pussy meant a cat and nothing else.
 The Bank Dick / int_fa6bfde9
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_fa6bfde9
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_fa6bfde9
 The Bank Dick / int_fd8edf01
type
Bit Character
 The Bank Dick / int_fd8edf01
comment
Bit Character: Joe the bartender — played by Shemp — repeatedly turns up walking down the street, which gets Egbert's attention each time.
 The Bank Dick / int_fd8edf01
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_fd8edf01
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_fd8edf01
 The Bank Dick / int_name
type
ItemName
 The Bank Dick / int_name
comment
 The Bank Dick / int_name
featureApplicability
1.0
 The Bank Dick / int_name
featureConfidence
1.0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
The Bank Dick / int_name
 The Bank Dick / int_name
itemName
The Bank Dick

The following is a list of statements referring to the current page from other pages.

 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
Accidental Hero / int_49333fe0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
Definite Article Title / int_49333fe0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
Dropped Glasses / int_49333fe0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
Pronouncing My Name for You / int_49333fe0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
Slipping a Mickey / int_49333fe0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
Smoking Is Cool / int_49333fe0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
Suicide as Comedy / int_49333fe0
 The Bank Dick
hasFeature
Too Important to Walk / int_49333fe0