You Can't Cheat an Honest Man

You Can't Cheat an Honest Man is a 1939 comedy film starring and scripted by W. C. Fields. Fields plays "Larsen E. Whipsnade", the owner of a shady carnival that is constantly on the run from the law. The whimsical title comes from a line spoken by Fields about ten minutes into the film. Whipsnade says that his grandfather Litvak's last words, spoken "just before they sprung the trap", were: "You can't cheat an honest man; never give a sucker an ... more

You Can't Cheat an Honest Man is a 1939 comedy film starring and scripted by W. C. Fields. Fields plays "Larsen E. Whipsnade", the owner of a shady carnival that is constantly on the run from the law. The whimsical title comes from a line spoken by Fields about ten minutes into the film. Whipsnade says that his grandfather Litvak's last words, spoken "just before they sprung the trap", were: "You can't cheat an honest man; never give a sucker an even break, or smarten up a chump." The line expanded on his character's comment to his daughter in Poppy, "Let me give you just one bit of fatherly advice: Never give a sucker an even break." The character name is obviously a play on "larceny", a point which Fields reinforces at one point when someone calls him "Larceny Whipsnake". The film features Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy, capitalizing on the popularity of their ongoing radio "feud" with Fields. A scene from the film is featured in the opening to Dummy. Fields' character in this... less