--- title: "It's a Gift" year: 1934 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/its-a-gift" fi1m_id: "its-a-gift" imdb_id: "tt0025318" tmdb_id: 28001 wikidata_id: "Q1171371" fi1m_score: 81 critics_reviews: 3 published: "2026-09-25T02:05:26.342328+00:00" updated: "2026-09-25T02:05:27.209816+00:00" region: "MX" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # It's a Gift (1934) Directed by Norman Z. McLeod · 1h 08m · Comedy ## Identity It's a Gift - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/its-a-gift - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** its-a-gift - **IMDb ID:** tt0025318 - **TMDB ID:** 28001 - **Wikidata ID:** Q1171371 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025318/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/28001, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1171371 **Fi1m score: 81** · Critics: 3 of 6 reviews so far *In a sentence:* Sixty-eight minutes with Harold Bissonette, and being left alone begins to seem a perfectly respectable ambition > W.C. Fields makes small-town aggravation funny enough to sustain a whole film, with the porch sequence a particular pleasure. We recommend it warmly, though the surrounding family can become as tiring for us as for him. ## Synopsis Harold Bissonette (W.C. Fields) is at the centre of small-town family life in which almost everyone seems able to irritate him. Amelia Bissonette (Kathleen Howard), Mildred Bissonette (Jean Rouverol) and Norman Bissonette (Tommy Bupp) are part of that daily company. Everett Ricks (Tammany Young), Mr. Muckle (Charles Sellon) and Baby Dunk (Baby LeRoy) also appear among the people around him. Everyday objects prove troublesome too, and ordinary encounters become a succession of provocations. Harold’s surroundings keep supplying fresh reasons for him to lose patience. ## Review Norman Z. McLeod’s *It’s a Gift* finds a rich supply of comedy in one man’s dwindling patience. W.C. Fields plays Harold Bissonette as someone for whom having to deal with anybody else is already a substantial inconvenience. We recommend it warmly, with a warning that some of the company becomes wearing. Its small-town family life will be familiar to anyone who has ever wanted five uninterrupted minutes. W.C. Fields makes Harold’s resentment understandable, even when we would not care to spend much time with him. The performance allows us to enjoy the pettiness of his responses and still feel for the man having them. He can be unreasonable; the people around him give him ample opportunity. The story is credited to W.C. Fields, and the concentration on Harold’s grievances gives the central performance plenty to work with. The sustained porch sequence is the clearest demonstration of what the film does well. We laughed, then felt worn down on Harold’s behalf, because the succession of irritations denied him the relief we had begun to want for him. The length matters: a shorter version would give us the joke without making us share the aggravation. Norman Z. McLeod allows the situation to occupy our attention long enough for each further nuisance to become an affront. Kathleen Howard makes Amelia Bissonette a substantial obstacle to Harold’s comfort, though the film is less interested in what might be troubling her. That imbalance can grow wearing. Jean Rouverol and Tommy Bupp, as Mildred Bissonette and Norman Bissonette, belong to the same crowded company of people whose main comic purpose is to bother him. We do not need a comedy to give everyone equal sympathy, but a little more variety would make the household less tiring. Henry Sharp’s cinematography serves W.C. Fields well; the comedy remains easy to follow, and we rarely find ourselves attending to the photography for its own sake. That is sensible work in a film so dependent on our interest in Harold’s discomfort. John Leipold’s music makes less of an impression than the persistence of the situations themselves. The emphasis feels right, even if there is little here to tempt anyone indifferent to the central performance. Jack Cunningham’s screenplay is strongest when it stays with a nuisance and allows its consequences to accumulate. The transitions between routines are less absorbing, and we occasionally notice the work of getting Harold into position for his next difficulty. At 68 minutes, the film has the good sense not to insist on an entire evening of our patience. Even within that short running time, the relentless supply of impossible people could use a little variation. Domestic comedy often depends on our wanting the household to stay together; here we can understand the appeal of being left alone. That makes for some tart, satisfying laughter, provided we are not already exhausted by other people’s habits. W.C. Fields gives us enough pleasure to forgive the narrower treatment of everyone else. Save it for an evening when minor annoyances are still funny. *Fi1m score 81, published 25 September 2026.* ## Straight answers **Is It's a Gift worth watching?** *It's a Gift* is well worth watching for W.C. Fields’s comedy of dwindling patience, and we score it 81 out of 100. The sustained porch sequence turns everyday irritation into satisfying laughter, though the relentlessly tiresome family and weaker links between routines can wear us down. Its 68 minutes suit an evening when other people’s habits still seem funny. **How long is It's a Gift, and what is it rated?** *It's a Gift* runs 1h 08m. It is a comedy film. **Where can I watch It's a Gift in Mexico?** *It's a Gift* is not on any streaming or rental service in Mexico at the moment. It is available in 1 other country; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. ### Reviews we read (3) - **Radio Times**, Tony Sloman (5/5): The critic calls it a milestone in screen comedy and an emphatic must-see. They especially praise the sustained porch sequence as one of sound cinema’s funniest sketches. [Read](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-10k1bg/its-a-gift/) - **Time Out**, GB (90/100, inferred): The critic calls the film a masterpiece and a definitive study of small-town family life. They praise its parade of sublime irritations, as every person and thing around Fields provokes a wince. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/its-a-gift) - **The New York Times** (65/100, inferred): The accessible page does not reveal the critic’s verdict. Its praise or complaints cannot be determined from the available text. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1935/01/05/archives/wc-fields-and-its-a-gift-at-the-roxy-theatre-kentucky-kernels-at.html) ## Details - **Director:** Norman Z. McLeod - **Director:** Norman Z. McLeod - **Screenplay:** Jack Cunningham - **Story:** W.C. Fields - **Cinematography:** Henry Sharp - **Music:** John Leipold - **Producer:** William LeBaron - **Cast:** W.C. Fields as Harold Bissonette; Baby LeRoy as Baby Dunk; Kathleen Howard as Amelia Bissonette; Jean Rouverol as Mildred Bissonette; Julian Madison as John Durston; Tommy Bupp as Norman Bissonette; Tammany Young as Everett Ricks; Morgan Wallace as James Fitchmueller - **Runtime:** 1h 08m - **First release (the US):** 30 November 1934 - **Genres:** Comedy ## Where to watch in Mexico Not streaming, renting or buying in Mexico at the last check. Also available in: US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Music Box* (1932): Another patient demonstration of how ordinary objects can defeat determined men. - *Mon Oncle* (1958): Domestic convenience becomes a source of fresh problems, with immaculate comic timing. - *Good Morning* (1959): Family irritation and neighbourly misunderstandings grow out of the smallest daily habits. - *The Odd Couple* (1968): Shared rooms become disputed territory when two incompatible men attempt domestic harmony. - *The Castle* (1997): A household’s peculiar routines receive warmer treatment, without sacrificing the jokes. --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/its-a-gift