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Pool Sharks
(1915)

Pool Sharks (1915) is a standard comedy of its day, being the story of two rivals for the affections of a young woman. The two mashers decide to settle their dispute at a pool table. Things fall apart for both of them when the object of their affections discovers them in the pool hall.

The film was one of two films W.C. Fields made for the American division of Gaumont. The films constituted Fields’ film debut.

— Carl Bennett

The Criterion Collection
2000 DVD edition

W.C. Fields: 6 Short Films (1915-1933), black & white, 115 minutes total, not rated,
including Pool Sharks (1915), black & white, 10 minutes, not rated.

The Criterion Collection, CC1557D, collection number 79,
UPC 7-15515-01072-6, ISBN 1-55940-905-3.
One single-sided, dual-layered, Region 1 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles (Pool Sharks only), no foreign language subtitles, no chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $29.95.
Release date: 15 August 2000.
Country of origin: USA

Ratings (1-10): video: 7 / audio: 7 / additional content: 7 / overall: 7.

This DVD collection from The Criterion Collection, originally prepared for and released on laserdisc and VHS videotape, features the best edition of Pool Sharks available on home video. Utilizing an excellent 35mm preservation print from the Raymond Rohauer collection that features new main titles and intertitles, with excellent image detail and greyscale range, the video transfer has been made at sound speed and so plays back at too fast. This is our only criticism of this edition.

This is a far better disc than the horrid Madacy DVD editions (noted below) of the same six films included in this collection. A couple of the sound films have been mastered from 16mm reduction prints.

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 1 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Madacy Entertainment
1999 DVD edition

W.C. Fields Collector’s Choice Double Feature (1915-1933), black & white, 120 minutes total, not rated,
including Pool Sharks (1915), black & white, 15 minutes, not rated.

Madacy Entertainment, DVD9 9112, UPC 0-56775-03709-3.
One double-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), 5.0 Mbps average video bit rate, 448 Kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 48 kHz 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, 2 chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $11.98.
Release date: 2 March 1999.
Country of origin: Canada

Ratings (1-10): video: 2 / audio: 4 / additional content: 2 / overall: 2.

This DVD collection will be a complete disappointment to any W.C. Fields fan. To begin with, the 16mm print used for the video transfer of Pool Sharks is blurry and contrasty. I have personally projected a 16mm print of this film and can vouch for the lousy quality of that dupe, so I suspect that Madacy’s print probably originated from the same supplier. Nonetheless, the picture quality is made far worse by bad video mastering. All the of the films on the second side of this disc (The Pharmacist, The Barber Shop and Pool Sharks) look as though they have been transferred from of one of Madacy’s EP videocassette copies of these films. The results are just awful.

As for the sound films in this collection: All are transferred from 16mm reduction prints, some originally made for television distribution. All prints are tightly-cropped on all edges of the frame. In the tee-off scene in The Golf Specialist, heads are completely cut off by the tight framing. The sound synchronization is off by about half a second in both The Dentist and The Fatal Glass of Beer, with the sound leading the picture. The picture quality on these films are OK at best, but with the sound synchronization problems they are rendered almost unwatchable. Thoroughly unpleasant.

We do not recommend this DVD.

Contents: Pool Sharks (1915), The Golf Specialist (1930), The Dentist (1932), The Fatal Glass of Beer (1932), The Pharmacist (1933) and The Barber Shop (1933).

USA: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.com. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Canada: Click the logomark to purchase this Region 0 NTSC DVD edition from Amazon.ca. Your purchase supports Silent Era.

Madacy Entertainment
1999 DVD edition

W.C. Fields Hollywood Classics, Volume 1 & 2 (1915-1933), black & white, 120 minutes total, not rated,
including Pool Sharks (1915), black & white, 15 minutes, not rated.

Madacy Entertainment,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One double-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, chapter stops; two standard DVD keepcases in cardboard slipcover; $11.98.
Release date: 2 March 1999.
Country of origin: Canada

Ratings (1-10): video: 2 / audio: 4 / additional content: 2 / overall: 2.

Madacy also issued the same material on two DVDs under another package design, with wraparound slipcase as W.C. Fields Hollywood Classics Volume 1 & 2 on 2 March 1999. This version uses the same DVD masters as the DVD reviewed above.

Madacy Entertainment
1999 DVD edition

W.C. Fields Hollywood Classics, Volume 2 (1915-1933), black & white, 55 minutes total, not rated,
including Pool Sharks (1915), black & white, 15 minutes, not rated.

Madacy Entertainment,
unknown catalog number, unknown UPC number.
One single-sided, single-layered, Region 0 NTSC DVD disc, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 2.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, chapter stops; standard DVD keepcase; $9.98.
Release date: 1 April 1999.
Country of origin: Canada

Ratings (1-10): video: 2 / audio: 4 / additional content: 2 / overall: 2.

On 1 April 1999, Madacy again released a portion of the same program material on two separate DVDs, W.C. Fields Hollywood Classics, Volume 1 and W.C. Fields Hollywood Classics, Volume 2, with volume 2 containing Pool Sharks (1915). These constant repackaging efforts smack of an attempt to pull a fast one on the DVD purchasing novice.

Passport Video
2005 DVD edition

W.C. Fields Extravaganza (1915-2005), black & white, 240 minutes total, not rated,
including Pool Sharks (1915), black & white, ? minutes, not rated.

Passport Video, DVD-3330, UPC 0-25493-33309-1.
Three single-sided, single-layered?, Region 0 NTSC DVD discs, 1.33:1 aspect ratio image in full-frame 4:3 (720 x 480 pixels) interlaced scan MPEG-2 format, SDR (standard dynamic range), ? Mbps average video bit rate, ? kbps audio bit rate, Dolby Digital 1.0 mono sound, English language intertitles, no foreign language subtitles, chapter stops; three standard DVD keepcase in cardboard slipcase; $19.99.
Release date: 8 March 2005.
Country of origin: USA

This budget DVD edition of Pool Sharks has likely been mastered from a 16mm reduction print, and may be of similar quality to the Madacy editions noted above.

We recommend the Criterion edition noted above.

Contents: Pool Sharks (1915), Sally of the Sawdust (1925), The Golf Specialist (1930), The Dentist (1932), The Fatal Glass of Beer (1933), Cupid Gets His Man (19??), W.C. Fields Film Follies Festival (????), An Affectionate Look at W.C. Fields (2005).