"Harrison's Reports" called it "A good program comedy. W.C. Fields is at his best and for that reason the picture should go over very well with his fans." John Mosher of "The New Yorker" wrote that "there is often an incident or gesture reminiscent of the Mack Sennett comedies. At times, the movie even smacks of those old days so exactly that you almost believe it must be a revival of some classic. There's nothing antiquated about it, however, no stale, museum starchiness, and the scandalous Mr. Fields has to be forgiven his outrageous behavior, since he is so simply and honestly funny." Film critic Leslie Halliwell deemed it "Imperfect, but probably the best Fields vehicle there is", and W.C. Fields biographer Robert Lewis Taylor called it "One of the great classics of American comedy".