IT'S A GIFT

IT'S A GIFT (1934). Director: Norman Z. McLeod.

Another delightful W. C. Fields comedy -- with Baby Leroy! -- stars him as Harold Bissonette, who runs a general store and has his problems with a blind man who practically wrecks the place, as well as a flood of molasses -- not to mention his nemesis Baby Dunk (Baby Leroy). Bissonette decides to chuck it all and buy an orange grove in California, although his wife (Kathleen Howard) thinks he's crazy. Fields and Howard are excellent, Baby Leroy is adorable, and the supporting cast are all in fine form. It's a Gift may not be top-notch Fields but it is still very amusing and very well-played by all. The general store sequence is especially memorable.

Verdict: Can't beat that baby! ***.