It's the Old Army Game

It's the Old Army Game
Film poster
Directed byEddie Sutherland
Written byThomas J. Geraghty (scenario)
J. Clarkson Miller (scenario)
Story byJoseph P. McEvoy
William LeBaron
Based onThe Comic Supplement
by Joseph P. McEvoy
Produced byAdolph Zukor
Jesse L. Lasky
William LeBaron (associate producer)
StarringW. C. Fields
Louise Brooks
CinematographyAlvin Wyckoff
Edited byThomas J. Geraghty
Production
company
Distributed byParamount Pictures
Release date
  • May 24, 1926 (1926-05-24) (US)
Running time
1 hr. 17 mins.
CountryUnited States
LanguageSilent (English intertitles)

It's the Old Army Game is a 1926 American silent comedy film starring W. C. Fields and Louise Brooks. The film was directed by Eddie Sutherland and co-stars Sutherland's aunt, the stage actress Blanche Ring in one of her few silent film appearances. The film is based on the revue The Comic Supplement by Joseph P. McEvoy and Fields, and included several skits from Fields' stage plays. The "army game" in the title is in reference to a shell game, a confidence trick which Fields’ character observes being played. "It's the old army game," he says, sagely.

Large sections of the film, including the "picnic" and "sleeping on the porch" scenes, were incorporated into Fields' classic talkie film It's a Gift (1934).