All Movie Guide

Martin and Lewis tee each other off on a PGA tour in The Caddy. Harvey Miller (Jerry Lewis) is an expert with his golf club, except when he tries to play in front of a crowd -- then he completely loses control. With his mind set on getting into the PGA one way or another, he latches onto Joe Anthony (Dean Martin), a stylish gadabout. Harvey teaches Joe everything he knows about the game, and when Joe enters a tournament, Harvey does too -- as his caddy. But while the golf fans still make Harvey go wild, laid-back Joe feeds upon their applause. As Joe's game improves, his ego grows, and he begins to think Harvey is useless and wants to take the tour alone. The Caddy introduced the Dean Martin classic "That's Amore" to the world of kitsch and features a bevy of real life professional golfers in cameo roles -- including Sam Snead, Byron Nelson, and Julius Boros. Paul Brenner

All Movie Guide

Although The Stooge had been filmed right after Martin and Lewis' Sailor Beware, the film was temporarily shelved so that the team could continue their winning streak of military comedies with Jumping Jacks. This time, Dean Martin plays Chick Allen, a paratrooper-in-training whose commanding officer intends to do away with all camp variety shows. In desperation, Chick sends for his old nightclub partner Hap Smith (Jerry Lewis) to change the CO's mind. In order to gain entry to the military base, Hap is forced to pose as a GI, and thus the plot proper gets under way. Most of the "awkward squad" gags are straight out of Abbott and Costello, with Lewis messing up at each and every turn while Martin lags behind for damage control. The film concludes with a routine from Abbot and Costello's Keep 'Em Flying, wherein Martin and Lewis bail out from a plane in flight, with one parachute between them. Robert Strauss repeats his Sailor Beware duties as Lewis' irascible topkick, while nominal leading lady Mona Freeman does practically nothing magnificently. Dean's songs include the deathless "Do the Parachute Jump." Hal Erickson

All Movie Guide

My Friend Irma was supposed to be an straightforward adaptation of the popular radio sitcom of the same name. The film's focus therefore was supposed to be on air-headed Irma Peterson (Marie Wilson), her levelheaded roommate Jane Stacy (Diana Lynn, taking over from the radio series' Cathy Lewis) and their various romantic misadventures. But the audience tended to ignore Irma, Jane and the others in favor of two movie newcomers: Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, cast respectively as would-be singer Steve Laird and dumb-dumb restaurant employee Seymour. Having risen to the top of the heap in the nightclub world, Martin and Lewis were discovered for films by producer Hal Wallis, who decided to test the boys out in secondary roles in an established property. Wallis felt that while Martin had potential as a singing star, Lewis was hopelessly inept as an actor. As the whole world knows by now, it was Lewis who ended up as the team's main attraction with his own inimitable brand of wacko humor. Even as early as Irma, Lewis manages to dominate every scene he's in, often by sheer force of will. Pretty soon, the viewer has forgotten the gossamer-thin plot (Irma's Runyonesque boyfriend Al, played by John Lund, tries to promote Dino into stardom) and is waiting anxiously to get back to Jerry. When time came for the 1950 sequel My Friend Irma Goes West, virtually the entire plot revolved around Martin and Lewis, with the official "stars" relegated to supporting roles. Like Marie Wilson, several of the My Friend Irma cast members were holdovers from the radio series, including Hans Conried as Professor Kropotkin. Felix Bressart had originally been slated to play Kropotkin on film, but when he died during shooting, Conried was brought in to complete his scenes (Bressart can still be glimpsed in a few medium and long shots). Hal Erickson

All Movie Guide

In 1949, Paramount put together a film version of the radio series My Friend Irma. It was assumed that the main attraction would be scatter-brained Irma, delightfully played by Marie Wilson. Instead, the picture was stolen by a couple of young upstarts named Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Accordingly, My Friend Irma Goes West concentrates almost exclusively on Martin and Lewis, with poor Marie Wilson virtually consigned to a supporting role in her own picture. The story begins when Irma and her friends head westward on the incorrect assumption that Steve Laird (Dean Martin) has landed a movie contract. During the train trip to California, Steve's goonish pal Seymour (Jerry Lewis) is entrusted with a pet monkey, owned by movie star Yvonne Yvonne (Corinne Calvet). There's a contretemps with gangsters and a kidnapping before a happy ending can be realized. Some critics found Jerry Lewis' moronic mugging to be tasteless; others were too busy laughing to be upset. Having proven their mettle with the two My Friend Irma flicks, Martin and Lewis were awarded with their own vehicle, At War With the Army. Hal Erickson

All Movie Guide

Using elements of two earlier films, The Fleet's In and Lady Be Careful, Paramount came up with the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis vehicle Sailor Beware. As usual, Jerry Lewis is the helpless goof and Dean Martin the suave ladies' man; this time Lewis is a navy recruit while Martin is his submarine-officer buddy. The film skips from one comic setpiece to another (the best is a parody of radio audience participation shows) until it reaches the slapstick climax: A boxing match pitting Lewis against the navy champion. After a few very funny moments in which Lewis pretends to be a punch drunk pug, the match commences, much to the dismay of Lewis and the delight of his fervent fan following. Martin makes good use of his screen time by romancing an "ice princess" movie star (Corinne Calvert), who of course melts once Dino turns on the charm. Betty Hutton, star of Sailor Beware's precursor The Fleet's In, pops up at the beginning and end of the Martin/Lewis epic as "Hetty Button." And watch for an unbilled James Dean as one of the team's shipmates. Hal Erickson

All Movie Guide

Filmed right after 1951's At War with the Army, the Dean Martin-Jerry Lewis vehicle The Stooge was shelved until late 1952 to make way for another military farce, Jumping Jacks. When Stooge finally hit the screens Martin and Lewis fans were surprised by its dramatic content and the subdued performances of its stars. Martin plays an obnoxious vaudeville singer named Bill Martin, who gets nowhere professionally until he is accidentally teamed with goofy would-be comic Ted Rogers (Lewis). Bill and Ted climb to the top of the showbiz heap with a riotous act wherein Bill's onstage singing is interrupted by Ted's heckling from the audience (not unlike Martin and Lewis' genuine nightclub act). As his fame grows, so does Bill's ego, and eventually he ditches Ted to strike out on his own. Without his partner, however, Bill is a failure, so it's up to faithful Ted to save the day and patch up the friendship. The "femme angle" (to use Variety's phrase) is handled by Marion Marshall as Frecklehead Tait and Polly Bergen as Mary Turner. It's worth noting that The Stooge was Jerry Lewis' favorite Martin and Lewis comedy. Hal Erickson

Product Details

• UPC: 097360413724
• Source: PARAMOUNT
• Region Code: 1
• Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
• Presentation: B&W
• Sound: Dolby Digital Mono
• Language: English, Français
• Subtitles: English, Español
• Time: 13:14:00
• Sales Rank: 927

This set contains DVDs which may be available separately:

• My Friend Irma
• My Friend Irma Goes West
• That's My Boy
• Sailor Beware
• Jumping Jacks
• The Stooge
• The Caddy

DVD MENU