Jay Raskin
This is a series of about 40 visual gags and one cute verbal gag at the end. They are tied together by the presence of Jerry Lewis in almost all of them and the Fountainbleu Luxury Hotel in Miami, where all but two scenes were shot. The movie reminds me of Jacques Tati's films, but probably the bigger influence was the early television variety shows like the Colgate Comedy Hour that Lewis often hosted. Still, it has its own flavor and may be considered unique and original. If you wish to understand why Lewis is considered an auteur, this is the film to see.Unfortunately, his commentary on the DVD was a bit disappointing. Steve Lawrence who is on the commentary with him does nothing but laugh. Lewis is as silent as his character of Bellhop Stanley is most of the time. The only insight that we get is that he considered the film an homage to his friend Stan Laurel. Apparently Laurel read and approved the script.The movie is not very socially relevant, but shows some sympathy for the oppression faced by bellhops/workers at the time. One does sense that Lewis has some compassion for their plight, although he perhaps sees himself more as a rich guest at the hotel rather then a bellboy. Still, it is a good look at a great slapstick comedian at the top of his game.My favorite gag is the setting up of chairs. It contains a nice turn-around punchline.My least favorite is the woman falling asleep on Lewis' arm. It seemed trite and poorly played.Overall the film zips by in 72 minutes and is still fun to watch.
kuciak
I have not seen this film in some 40 years. When I saw it as a child, I realized even then, that there was some art to this film. I finally got to see it on DVD in 2009. The first 28 minutes of this film is really good, and the last 28 minutes is not bad. From 29 minutes to 43, it has a lot to be desired. No, I don't find the telephone sequence very funny. When released in 1960, it was double billed with Tarzan the Magnificent, a very strange pairing.A Gentlemen from Australia, 4 years my junior, said that the film did not have a point, or meaning. I respectively disagree. In the DVD audio commentary where Jerry Lewis discusses the film with Steve Lawrence, he near the end of the film says to Mr. Lawrence "you can understand why people did not know that the kid did not talk".The final climactic scene, when the bellboys are talking about a strike I think is the films denouncement. Here we are given an indication that Stanley might not be this stupid bumbling idiot that others think he is. Some of his co-workers mention that he is hard working, and fast. He shows his skills in putting seats in an auditorium so quickly together. If Mr. Lewis had wanted to show him as a stupid idiot, the scene where he takes this jet up into the air, he would have had the character of Stanley act in fear as he is flying the plane. But he does not, he lands the plane without any problems. While Stanley makes mistakes, and may do absurd things, Jerry Lewis asks the question, if we allow Stanley to speak, perhaps we would discover a really intelligent human being.Throughout the film, Mr. Lewis asks the question, who are really the idiots. Mr. Lewis I think even makes fun of himself, the real Jerry Lewis, when he plays himself with his bunch of yes people who travel with him. The sequence, in many ways reminded me of La Dolce Vita, La Aventura, which were released the same year. It also brought back memories of Woody Allens Star Dust Memories, made some 17 years latter. There is a scene where Stanley, is sitting my a glass window, looking at the bottom of a swimming pool, the man who has just finished the work there, and taken down some boards, is polite. But one of the guests of the FountainBleu who sees Stanley, calls everyone to come down to look at this crazy person eating at the bottom of the pool. Here Jerry Lewis shows who really are crazy. Amazing to me that the real management of the Fountainbleu did not get that the joke might be on them.Also look how people treat the bellboys, calling them boy. Ironically, there is not one black person in the film, which for us in 2009 calls attention to itself. Also you do not see Spanish Speaking people, unless the gentlemen who wants his pants pressed is one. Had the Stanley character, been a black person, I am sure that even in 1960, people would have understood what Mr. Lewis was maybe trying to say.Mr. Lewis says this is a film as a homage to Stan Laurel, though in it you see a lot of Jaque Tati. When I finally saw a Tati film, I realized the similarities even then to The Bellboy. The Stan Laurel character does not work to well now, because we know that it is not him, though it 1960, perhaps it did work.I could not give it 10 out of 10, because not all of the film works for me, but those who have seen it, and perhaps dismissed it as just a series of gags, should see it again and reevaluate it. Perhaps the film is about our not being able to communicate, and that if we did, that those who we think are not worth knowing, perhaps are. The American film goer of 1960 was right, while the critics back then were wrong. While American critics only could look at Mr. Lewis as a commercial entity, the critics across the Atlantic, "Those silly French", were correct in realizing the worth of Jerry Lewis. I have not seen many other films by him, and perhaps he did not live up to what promise he showed with his first directing effort (Though many say his Nutty Professor, which I have seen some of is his masterpiece), The Bellboy is an interesting film, that should not be dismissed as just a series of jokes.
moonspinner55
Jerry Lewis wrote, produced, directed, and stars in this collection of skits centering around a put-upon bellhop at a Miami Beach hotel. Having just completed "Cinderfella" for a mid-year release, Lewis suggested to Paramount Pictures they hold off showing that film until Christmas and gave them this one in its place (put together in near-record time). Short and relatively painless, the film benefits from Haskell Boggs' sharp black-and-white cinematography, Walter Scharf's bright score, and of course the snazzy locale. Lewis, making his directorial debut, smoothly segues from one sight-gag to the next, and his low-key performance is actually one of his best. **1/2 from ****
