Customer Reviews

The Legendary Jerry Collection (The Bellboy / Cinderfella / The Delicate Delinquent / The Disorderly Orderly / The Errand Boy / The Family Jewels / The Ladies Man / The Nutty Professor / The Patsy / The Stooge)

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The author of a recent book in appreciation of Lewis' film work, Enfant Terrible! notes that he's been honored primarily not in the US but in France, by "those incomprehensible hedonistic strangers across the sea." This set affords an opportunity to reappraise his standing in the cinema, and I find myself falling in with the hedonistic strangers in appreciation of his considerable talents.

I can remember as a kid laughing my head off in the theater watching Who's Minding the Store? (not included in this set), but it wasn't until I saw Martin and Lewis on the Colgate Comedy Hour shows on DVD that I had any idea of his range and versatility. Then I saw the first Dean and Jerry movie, My Friend Irma, a film based on a radio show, and thoroughly forgettable but for one thing: the Martin/ Lewis interplay. Paramount long ago saw what I'm just finding out, and the duo made sixteen movies together.

Only their last film in that series is included in this set, The Stooge, from 1953, in which, as Leonard Maltin has noted, Lewis shows hidden depths as an actor. His first solo outing, The Delicate Delinquent (1957) is surprisingly poignant, with only intermittent comic bits. This unimaginably rich set of ten films from 1953 to 1965 may not convert staid critics on this side of the Atlantic, but it certainly will prove the Lewis lover's cup of tea. The films are on ten single sided DVDs in five slimline cases which fit in a box set. The slim cases are too thin to comfortably hold two discs, however, and plastic pieces had broken off in all the cases I opened. The DVDs were still OK though (single sided discs are tougher than double sided ones), and except for that problem this is an attractively packaged set.

The ten films are in widescreen, four in black and white and six in color. In chronological order they are: The Stooge (1953, black and white), The Delicate Delinquent (1957, black and white), The Bell Boy (1960, black and white), Cinderfella (1960, color, with Ed Wynn as the fairy godfather), The Errand Boy (1961, black and white), The Ladies Man (1961, color), The Nutty Professor (1963, color, special edition), The Patsy (1964, color), The Disorderly Orderly (1964, color, with an opening song by Sammy Davis Jr.), and The Family Jewels (1965, color, in which Lewis plays six roles). There's not much information on the box, but many films include trailers and extra features, listed inside the DVD cases. The piece de resistance is a personal note from Jerry slipped into the box, expressing his hope that the Martin/ Lewis films will also soon make it to DVD. A sentiment we fans, mon ami, fervently echo.

I'm thrilled that Paramount has boxed up their 10 Jerry Lewis titles and cut the price. The titles include The Bellboy, Cinderfella, The Delicate Delinquent, The Disorderly Orderly, The Errand Boy, The Family Jewels, The Ladies Man, The Nutty Professor, The Patsy and The Stooge.

I've been entertianed by most of these films - having checked out the single releases - but was unwilling to buy them for $15 a pop. But now the price is right and I will be able to torture my children with Jerry on the loose.

While the bonus features on most aren't overwhelming, they seem enlightening to understand what Jerry was doing at the time. He was an innovator using video monitors to help direct himself.

I do hope Paramount is able to put out a good low priced boxset of the Jerry Lewis - Dean Martin comedies.

As a child-- I'm 60-- my dear mother used to give me a dollar to go to the movies
every Saturday. For that $1, I'd have enough to see a Triple-Feature amongst Woody
Woodpecker/Mickey Mouse/Stooges' shorts...buy a soda, a candybar, popcorn and return
home [on a 15-cent bus] with a nickle!
Jerry Lewis was my favorite. Well, here's YOUR chance for a bargain.
It may not be the same experience-- it MAY cost a little bit more-- but, you'll OWN
the movies!
What a treat; what a bargain!
It's often said that Jerry Lewis's biggest fans are the French; little kids; and...
Jerry Lewis.
I think that Jerry has all the right in the world to have a big ego... he's EARNED
the right.
I give it TEN STARS-- the meter, unfortunatly, only goes to 5.
"Oh Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaadyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

THis is hilarious! I cracked up when i saw these movies. My favorite ones are the Bellboy,Family Jewels, the disorderly orderly, the ladies man, and the deliquent deliquent. THose i think are the funniest and are Jerry Lewis's greatest performances. This is the best box set ever and has truly ingenious comedy from one of the best comedic actors of all time!

The Master. Unfortunately, we don't find this type of humor anymore, so we need to keep it alive.

These ten classic motion pictures were issued (or re-issued in the case of "The Nutty Professor") individually on DVD in 2004 and one year later arrived in this collectible box set. The films are gems with several standouts:

The Stooge (1953)--This is the only pairing in this compilation with Dean Martin and may have been selected because Mr. Lewis says it is his favorite of the sixteen films he made with Dean.

The Delicate Delinquent (1957)--His first film without Dean Martin has more of a dramatic tinge and can still be relatable almost fifty years later for his societal themes which--for the most part--have stayed with us.

The Bellboy (1960)--Jerry's directorial debut is this zany, intriguing film about a madcap Bellboy who refrains from speaking because he "has never been asked". One of the best scenes in this film is Jerry playing himself and proving that stardom isn't all it is cracked up to be.

The Ladies Man (1961)--Every man in the world who has ever been dumped can relate to this witty and wonderful saga about Herbert H. Heebert as he attempts to live without love in a house full of girls.

The Errand Boy (1961)--Wonder why the French love Jerry Lewis? Watch the puppet segments of this film and you'll understand--you'll love him, too.

The Nuttty Professor (1963)--This film can still scare children today (when Professor Kelp transforms into Buddy Love for the first time). It can also delight with tons of humor.

The Disorderly Orderly (1964)--A medical film with humor and heart and what may prove to be the best romantic storyline to be discovered in a Jerry Lewis classic.

The Family Jewels (1965)--This last installment (chronologically) is for the family and among seven delightful Jerry Lewises (you'll see what I mean) features the wonderful Donna Butterworth starring as the little orphan heiress.

I anticipated these films on DVD for a long time (I bought a DVD player in 2001 because of such films). If you want to relive some classics, or enjoy them for the first time, what's your wait? At this price you can afford these terrific movies and enjoy them for generations.

This collection is a must for Jerry Lewis fans - a delightful return to the days when comedy was clean and presented by talented people.

Ten, count'em, ten comedic masterpieces from all-time funny man Jerry Lewis! His wacky,zany style of slapstick was completely original,but still acknowledging the silent pioneers that came before him. Here's hoping that all of Jerry's films eventually receive the same treatment as these gems. Picture quality is excellent on all, and the commentaries are fun and insightful. The box set includes a "personal" letter from Jerry that was a nice touch, and the discs themselves come in space-saving slimline cases. A wonderful collection from one of the greatest performer-directors. "The Ladies Man" is my favorite comedy - every time I see it, I'm laughing from minute one until the credits roll!

It makes you wonder "whose minding the store" when these companies put these compilations together. Don't get me wrong, there's a few goodies here. But those of you out there know, there were these few selections that we didn't mind seeing over and over again. For example, there are four sleeper classics which all of Jerry's kids should have for their personal collection: 1) Way...way out 2) Visit to a small planet 3) The Big Mouth and 4)Whose minding the store? Why these outrageous comedy films weren't included, only Mr. Quimby knows! These films, in my opinion, were of the same caliber as the Nutty Professor and should have been added. Hopefully, someone will see fit to include them in the next collection.

Ten Lewis comedies: "The stooge" ( 1953 ), one of the best vehicles for the tandem Lewis-Martin; " The delicate delinquent " ( 1960 ), his first solo movie; " Cinderfella " ( 1960 ), funny inversion of the famous tale by ex-cartoon director Frank Tashlin; " The bellboy ( 1960 ), " The ladies man " ( 1960 ), " The errand boy " ( 1961 ), " The nutty professor " ( 1963 )," The patsy " ( 1964 )and " The family Jewels "( 1965 ), six masterpieces all of them directed and written by Lewis himself and " The disorderly orderly " ( 1964 ), a satirical comedy by Tashlin about psychiatrists and orderlies so vulnerables as the patients they care, all of them in their widescreen versions for a very nice price. All the discs include the theatrical trailer. O-la-la! Mon cherries

P.D.: By the way: for when an edition of any of the films of Pierre Etaix, the genial french filmmaker and comic actor whose work is level with three other monsters of cinema and comedy as Keaton, Tati and Lewis ?