(Joseph Levitch March 16, 1926 - )
I can imagine
that some visitors to this web site might be wondering why I have
included Jerry Lewis with two famous actors who are primarily known for horror
films. I have a few reasons: 1) Lewis, like Karloff and Lugosi is currently
primarily
a cult figure, 2) none of the films discussed on this site are "monster"
movies,
but most importantly 3) my limited discussion of Lewis focuses on films
he
wrote and directed. These auteur works differ significantly from his strictly
comic material from the Martin & Lewis years. In large part the auteur
films of
Jerry Lewis are nightmare comedies. These films all deal with the darker
side of human nature and are often very critical of American society.
There is probably
no other individual in the American entertainment community
who elicits such strong polar emotions from the public. People either love
Jerry
Lewis or they loathe him, and there is just cause for either reaction. Lewis
is
unrivaled as a physical comedian and his philanthropic work has helped millions
of children -- but he is a man celebrity who does not hesitate to display
the
most obnoxious, egotistical and mean spirited behavior in public and many
find his philanthropic "begging" to be in the worst of taste.
In a few pages
I can not begin to give serious discussion to this complex issue.
But before looking at the films I would like to point out three major accomplishments.
A) inventor of the "video assist"
B) only actor in history to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize
C) awarded French Legion Of Honor
RECOMMENDED FILMS OF JERRY LEWIS
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"The
Nutty Professor" 1963 The first film in which Lewis would totally abandon the personna he had created for the Martin & Lewis comedy duo and reveal his dark side to the world. The film is a comic retelling of the Dr. Jeckyl And Mr. Hyde story. Buddy Love is the egotistical, obnoxious, bully alterego to shy, reserved and klutsy Prof. Kelp. An easy moral here: people prefer the obnoxious bully to the nice person. |
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A widely-held, but erroneous belief, is that the Buddy Love character was a parody of former partner Dean Martin. But the opposite is true, Love is based on the dark side of Lewis himself. Lewis was well aware of exactly what type of person he had become and he ruthlessly attacked himself! He has made this assertion on many occassions. There is a very good article about Lewis and this film on the Internet. Click here to read "The Nutty Professional" by Jonathan Rosenbaum. |
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"The
Big Mouth" 1967 A very
funny nightmare comedy from Lewis. Gerald Clamson, a mild mannered
accountant stumbles across a dead man while on a fishing vacation.
Clamson tries in vain to alert someone, anyone, to what has happened.
But no one will listen to him -- not the police, his girlfriend or
anyone else. |
"Don't
Raise The Bridge, Lower The River" was the first non-American film Lewis
starred in. The film is a 1968 British production. It was the first film to
be directed
by Jerry Paris (who had previously directed "The Dick Van Dyke"
show for
television, as well as playing a recurring role on the program.) Max Wilk
wrote
the script, which was an adaptation of his book of the same title. Lewis
later dismissed the film as having a "thin script" and one that
he did only
because the money was right. However I enjoy the film quite a bit and enjoy
seeing Lewis work with the excellent British comedian Terry-Thomas. Leading
lady
Jacqueline Pearce was one of the best female leads to play opposite Lewis.
To see part of my personal collection of rare publicity photographs for this
film
click here, or on the link below.
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