Customer Reviews

Money From Home

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is the first Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis film to be released in color. Additionally, upon the original release, it was 3D.

The film takes place in the 1920s and revolves around the racetrack (horse racing, that is). These sorts of films were popular in the 1940s and 50s and Martin and Lewis were trend setters. Like many of their previous and forthcoming works, this movie is not only loaded with humor, but music and song as well.

This marks the release of fifteen out of sixteen Martin & Lewis films on DVD. The last one we're waiting for is "Three Ring Circus". I also hope more Jerry Lewis titles are on the way, we still need: "Visit to a Small Planet", "Who's Minding the Store?", "Rock-a-Bye Baby", "Hardly Working", "Cracking Up", "Which Way to the Front", and others.

I am happy to report the quality of this DVD is excellent and licensed through Paramount.

For reasons unknown (to me), Paramount's DEAN MARTIN & JERRY LEWIS COLLECTION VOLUME TWO does not include MONEY FROM HOME and 3 RING CIRCUS. Both films are among the team's lesser efforts, but it still would have been nice if they had been a part of this set. Now MONEY FROM HOME has been released as a separate disc, as per Legend Films' licensing deal with Paramount. This is good news for M&L diehards, who will want to add this title to their collection.

Originally photographed in 3-D, MONEY FROM HOME (1953), the team's first film in color, places suave Dino and screwball Jerry in the 1920s world of horseracing, Prohibition, and gangsters. While several set-pieces garner chuckles and smiles, they fail to deliver the sort of huge belly-laughs found in other Martin & Lewis pictures. One major exception is a sequence in which Jerry frantically lip-synchs to Dean's rendition of "I Only Have Eyes For You." It's a brilliant bit of pantomime. If only more passages had been up to this level.

MONEY FROM HOME is a pleasant if forgettable trifle, and if you`re already a Martin & Lewis addict, then you`ll enjoy this outing much more than an average viewer will. If the sight of Jerry masquerading as a harem girl sends you into uncontrollable hysterics, then this is a movie tailor-made for your tastes.

Kids will probably get a big kick out of this film, so if you're judging this entry as family-friendly fare, you may rate it higher than I do. However, the aforementioned MARTIN & LEWIS COLLECTION VOLUME TWO -- which contains LIVING IT UP, YOU'RE NEVER TOO YOUNG, ARTISTS AND MODELS, PARDNERS, and HOLLYWOOD OR BUST -- provides superior examples of Dean and Jerry's brand of comedy and song.

Technically speaking, this DVD transfer is first-rate, with breathtaking color values. Paramount made some of the most visually stunning Technicolor movies of the 1950s, and this one is no exception. But there are no extras. Not even a measly theatrical trailer. If they didn't have one for MONEY FROM HOME, you'd think they would have included other Martin & Lewis trailers instead. (A trivial note: The back cover includes a shot of Dean and Jerry with Donna Reed from THE CADDY. Is there a shortage of MONEY FROM HOME photos?)

So now that MONEY FROM HOME has been released, where is 3 RING CIRCUS? I think it`s the weakest of the 16 feature films Dean and Jerry made together, but I would still like to see it on DVD.

I have been waiting a very long time for this movie to come out. I actually called Paramount Studios about 2 1/2 to 3 years ago to ask them if it would ever be out on dvd. The gentleman told me that around June of I think '06 it would be packaged with some other movies from Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis so to watch for it. It was advertised just as he said so my husband bought the group for me for Christmas. The package was miss-marked with the right title but wrong movie. I kept the pack anyway because I love Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis movies. I just kept waiting and watching. I decided to check recently and there it was on Amazon in a single dvd. I knew Amazon would come through for me. I got the movie and loved it just as much as when I first saw it. My 13 year old loves it too. Very funny. So happy. See ya.

OVER THE PAST TWO YEARS I HAVE BOUGHT FIVE COPIES OF THIS DVD FROM VARIOUS DEALERS AND EVERY ONE OF THEM WAS DEFECTIVE IN THE VERY SAME SPOT IN THE MOVIE. CHAPTER 17 THE LAST CHAPTER STARTS OUT OK BUT MIDWAY THROUGH THE PICTURE FREEZES. EVEN WITH A GOOD PROGRESSIVE SCAN DVD PLAYER THE PICTURE CONTINUES TO FREEZE AS IT ATTEMPTS TO SCAN FORWARD. WHAT YOU END UP WITH IS PICTURE FREEZES EVERY TEN TO FIFTEEN SECONDS WITH LOST ACTION AND DIALOGUE AS YOUR DVD PLAYER HOPELESSLY BATTLES THE DEFECTS AND THIS OCCURS ALL THROUGH THE LAST FIFTEEN MINUTES OF THE MOVIE. LEGEND FILMS SURELY KNOWS ABOUT THIS PROBLEM BUT HAS CHOOSEN TO DO NOTHING ABOUT IT. THEY SHOULD BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE AND SUED FOR THEIR ABSOLUTE NEGLIGENCE IN THIS MATTER.

OMG!!! I love Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin. It was great that I could get this movie as I have started a collection of Jerry Lewis movies. Love it!!!

OK, my opinion is that this is one the best of the Martin and Lewis movies. And much better than many of Lewis' own later films. There are no dull spots; the songs are not too long, all are entertaining and most are funny; Lewis is both ridiculous and clever, and as in "The Caddy" he comes across as sympathetic and talented. There are no moments of attempted pathos. The supporting cast is excellent, the ensemble work is first class, and the timing between actors is much fun to watch. The only disappointment is that the climactic chase-and-race is not as gag-driven as it should be and keeps losing momentum. Other than that, the movie consistently proceeds at a good clip, and no fast-forwarding is necessary. Martin and Lewis work perfectly with each other, and their teamwork reminds me a lot of their sketches in the Colgate Comedy Hour. Everyone in the movie seems to be having a very good time, and as you watch it you will too. I wish I could give it four and-a-half stars, but the rating isn't available! Excellent restoration.

My #1 favorite movie of all time. I'm a huge Dean Martin fan, and this movie cemented it for me. They just don't make guys like that anymore. The movie offers lots of quotables, like "ha ha and ho - that's a jolly notion" and is, that I've ever found, the **only place** to find Dino singing "I Only Have Eyes for You." I am so very happy it's finally out on DVD!

I've waited a long time to finally see this movie, and I was a little disappointed, the relationship between Martin a Lewis seemed strained. No "set" pieces that usually have me falling off my chair. Having said that, I'm a huge fan and I enjoyed it.

I am a huge Martin & Lewis fan and before Paramount became so gracious and began to release these classic films, I had copies I taped off of AMC & TCM and actually have all 16 M & L's on personal VHS, but finally Paramount got off their rears and released films 1-2 & 4 through 9 in M & L volume 1, as At War With the Army is in public domain, then in volume 2 I was awaiting more than anything, Money From Home, and it wasn't in the set, neither was 3 Ring Circus?! That really bothered me because I thought Paramount was going to complete the series...well thank GOD they allowed LEGEND, through their own distribution to release Money from Home, and the transfer is PERFECT, the film is top notch technicolor & beautiful Marjie Millar & Pat Crowley are stunning mates for our 2 heroes Dean & Jerry...The great Damon Runyon characters are alive and well in this one, No Knees Nolan, Jumbo Schneider, Fat Phil, The Seldom Seen Kid, etc., a must see for all Martin & Lewis fans, and fans of classic comedy...Dean Croons perfectly & Jerry does a bang up job in his Cyrano impression, in this their 1st ever Color film, originally shot in 3D.

If you get the chance, buy this DVD, you'll laugh...So, Do me Something!?

I used to catch "Money From Home" all the time on TV when I was a kid, and it still hasn't lost its punch. Martin & Lewis' first film in color sparkles on the screen, and is downright hilarious. MFH captures the duo at the crest of their success, and before tensions between them arose later that year (1954).
Rumor has it that it was excluded from the official Martin & Lewis Collection because Damon Runyon's estate refused permission to use it. I'm glad it finally got its release, even if it's sold separately from the collection.
Now...please, please, PLEASE put the missing "Three Ring Circus" on DVD for us to enjoy!