Topic: Hollywood or Bust (1956) - Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis

[metaldams]

   

      YouTube warning alert.  There are about three or four instances where the audio goes out for a few minutes.  Every time, this is during a musical number.  I’m assuming this is the only reason why we are able to view this film on YouTube in the first place, as I’m guessing the musical recordings are copyrighted.  I would think the film would be too - but whatever.  For free, we get what we can take.

      So I’ve been reviewing films for almost ten years and I’m finally getting around to Martin and Lewis.  There’s a reason why it took me so long - I’m not exactly a big fan.  I’ve seen maybe half of their films and the subject of this week’s review and the last of the Martin and Lewis films, HOLLYWOOD OR BUST, I just had my first viewing of.  My overall verdict is this film is good.  Not great, but good.  I will compare it to my other Martin and Lewis experiences.

      For me, a fatal flaw of Jerry Lewis’s screen character is anytime they try to make him anything but his child like character.  Whenever drama or pathos is applied to Lewis, it just does not work, he’s unbelievable and I just think Jerry Lewis can’t play anything at least I sympathize with.  The film THAT’S MY BOY is a great example of this and was one of the most excruciating viewing experiences I’ve ever had, but I’ll save that for another time.  Here?  There’s fortunately none of that.  The Jerry Lewis character in this film plays nothing but goofball comedy and I find the film better for it.

      As far as gags go, Jerry actually does have a gift for that.  The golf ball and chase stuff at the beginning of THE CADDY is excellent and the submarine stuff in SAILOR BEWARE (probably my favorite Martin and Lewis film), is Keaton worthy.  My frustration is he doesn’t sustain that kind of thing.  In HOLLYWOOD OR BUST, there are no moments as good as what I mentioned, but there are still some nice comic bits.  I love Jerry running down from the top of the auditorium onto the stage at the beginning.  The way he’s being carried, it looks like he’s stage diving.  The craps table bit he has with Dean later in the film the two work really well together and I love their respective fainting bits.  The car scene with only the dog in the car is a fun silent comedy style chase.  So yeah, some good comedy in there.

      As far as Dean goes, he has this machismo rat pack image to uphold which clashes a bit with Jerry.  Now the whole crooner/comic teaming has already been done with Hope and Crosby and Crosby’s lady swooning crooner gels much better with Hope.  The two were always competing for the same girl and that girl was always Dorothy Lamour, so a natural chemistry was there with those three.  In this film and the others I’ve seen, Dean’s image was something that would show in addition to Jerry, not with Jerry - and that’s a big difference.

      So overall, an enjoyable road comedy kind of movie.  Not a classic, but nothing overly annoying like I’ve seen in some of their other films.  Again, the key for me is with Jerry, stay away from drama.  I can’t stress that enough and they do a good job of that here.  So yeah, that concludes my review of something not exactly in my wheelhouse.  I have a box set of Jerry Lewis films I have barely touched, perhaps I should watch more of those.

[HomokHarcos]

I've been really into classic film comedians that past few years, despite that I've never watched Jerry Lewis before, this was my first time. I thought this movie was a pleasant popcorn flick, not the best comedy I've ever watched, but I had good fun with it.

I've heard people complain about Jerry Lewis's character being annoying, but I didn't have that issue, aside from one part: his singing. I'm a fan of Dean Martin's music, he's somebody I occasionally put on for fun, but I didn't care for Jerry Lewis's vocals. I find the musical segments mostly enjoyable though, particularly the song when they are going through the states and singing about them.

The parts on the road were my favorite, Martin and Lewis did have pretty good chemistry together. There is a big contrast between them, with Dean being a bigger brother type to the more naive Jerry. Usually these old comedy features have moments that feel like padding, I didn't get that feeling at all here. It flowed smoothly. The carjacking scene was pretty random though, why would the old lady steal their car only to leave it very soon after?
 
Fun, family entertainment. I would consider watching the rest of the movies they made.

[Paul Pain]

At 20 minutes flat I waved the white flag because I couldn't tolerate the multi-galactic reaches of the stupidity of this film.

[metaldams]

At 20 minutes flat I waved the white flag because I couldn't tolerate the multi-galactic reaches of the stupidity of this film.

A pretty common response to Jerry Lewis.  I’ve had my moments, even if I do think he’s OK here.

[metaldams]

….and a quick story.  Years ago I saw LIVING IT UP on TCM.  There was a point where Jerry’s character almost fell off a high building.  My instinct was to root for his fall.  Bad I know, but my instincts with Lloyd are different. 

Yeah, I gotta be in the mood.

[Dr. Mabuse]

"Hollywood or Bust" marked the cinematic swansong of Martin and Lewis, with the comedy team on its last legs (Jerry was taking over the act by this point — much to Dean's displeasure).

Despite Frank Tashlin's inventive direction, the film is uneven.  Jerry performs some memorable routines, but Dino has had enough (particularly when it came to Jerry's increased amount of singing). Compared to the natural rapport in their earlier films, the chemistry is gone. Still, it remains one of the duo's better efforts.

Interesting side note:  "Hollywood or Bust" was released in December 1956 — five months after Dean and Jerry's breakup. According to Martin biographer Nick Tosches, the team's final film was their least successful at the box office due to the fans' resentment of their split. Tosches called it "illusion depravation."

[Paul Pain]

A pretty common response to Jerry Lewis.  I’ve had my moments, even if I do think he’s OK here.

It wasn't actually Jerry as much as it was the entire thing with the dog that finished me off.  If I'm going to see magically transporting dogs, I expect them to go all the way with that kind of thing, and a lot of opportunities were missed in those first 20 minutes because of the writer's psychological hangup on the dog.  Those 20 minutes made Gomer Pyle seem like highbrow humor.