The Stooge | | Cast : | Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis | | Director : | Norman Taurog | | Studio : | Paramount Home Video | | Format : | Black & White | | Released Date : | February 04, 1953 | | DVD Released Date : | October 12, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed) | | Audience Rating : | NR (Not Rated) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | June 09, 2005 | | Summary | Jerry Lewis Breaks into Showbiz | Content
 | I generally enjoy most of the Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis movies. I find them to be consistently funny. Jerry Lewis is a master of physical comedy and his silliness, when used effectively, created excellent comedy. This movie may be a bit less than the best created by the Martin-Lewis team, but it is still very funny and nearly ranks with their best.
Dean Martin plays struggling comedian Bill Miller. Miller hires Ted Rogers (Lewis) to be a heckler in the audience, hoping to get laughs in the process. The result is beyond Bill's expectations. Ted is a natural comedian and gets laughs wherever he goes. However, self-centered Miller believes he is the star of the show and does not need Ted. Ted shows incredible loyalty to Miller regardless of how poorly Miller treats him.
As Bill's fame rises, and he continues to treat Ted as a nobody, Bill's wife Mary Turner (lovely Polly Bergen) becomes increasingly upset with Bill, wanting Bill to share the glory. Similarly, Ted's girl friend Genevieve "Frecklehead" Tait (Marion Marshall) becomes angry with Ted for allowing Bill to take advantage of him.
Eventually everything works out for the best, but not before we are treated to a series of jokes and slapstick comedy that will have you laughing from the beginning of this movie to the end.
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| Rating | | | Date | September 22, 2004 | | Summary | The Martin and Lewis Collection??? | Content
| While I applaud Paramount's decision to finally start releasing some of their older titles, I have to wonder how serious they are when they release only one disc from one of their most successful comedy teams' films, at the same time they're dumping most of the Jerry Lewis catalogue on the market.(And I'm not ragging on Jerry. I think Jerry's great,though it may not be cool to admit it, I'm proudly out of the closet on this issue. But even Jerry admits that he was never as good as when he was with Dean) So the question is how do you have a Martin & Lewis "Collection" with only one movie?
Don't get me wrong, it's a good one. The Stooge is their 7th outing and, unlike the previous films, has some character development and a certain edge. Dino plays Bill Miller a Vaudeville Entertainer whose partner has just quit on him. After an abortive attempt at a solo act, his agent (the dependable Eddy Mayehoff)convinces him to find a patsy to plant in the Audience that Bill can mock. Enter Jerry as the titular Stooge also known as Ted Rogers. Turns out Ted is funny just being himself and the Act is a Smash. But Bill is something of an egomaniac and decides that he himself is responsible for his new found success, and refuses to acknowledge Ted's contribution, or even give him billing. In the end Bill gets a lesson in humility, and we get treated to something that looks a lot like what the Martin and Lewis famous nightclub act may have been. All too brief...
Dino doesn't try to be likable, and gives a performance with hints of the fine dramatic actor he would become. Jerry cements the nebbish, but gives him humanity this time. Polly Bergen is fine as Bill's Show Biz Wife, who has given up her own career. She and Dean do a nice duet on the pleasant but annoying "A Girl called Mary". The other song that will never leave your brain ,once you hear it, is "Who's yer little Whozits". I recommend humming "Lady of Spain" or "Itsy Bitsy Teenie Weenie Yellow Polka Dot Bikini". If those don't work, try a .45.
Back to the issue at hand, there are dozens of public domain versions of "At War with the Army" out there. But where are
My Friend Irma
My Friend Irma Goes West
That's My Boy
Sailor Beware
Jumping Jacks
Scared Stiff
The Caddy
Money From Home
Three Ring Circus
Living it Up
Artists and Models
You're Never Too Young
Pardners
and Hollywood or Bust?
Universal put out the 24 Abbott and Costello Films in three sets for reasonable prices. Hope and Crosby are out for a similar price. The Marx Bros., W.C. Fields all have collections coming out for affordable cost. So why not Martin & Lewis? I'm just askin'. And by the way, just who is yer little whozits? |
| Rating | | | Date | February 12, 2004 | | Summary | Preferred other films of Martin and Lewis | Content
| I feel that their 3 best films were "Scared Stiff", At War With the Army" and "Living It Up. And of all 3 I think "Scared Stiff" is the best. I could watch this over and over and good songs in it. And another treat that adds to the film is Carmen Miranda. Even if the film is in black and white, it helps with the theme of the film. I recommend this film to everyone and is a must for any Martin and Lewis film. I saw this when I was a kid and those were the days when movies were movies and didn't have to worry about any ratings on it. |
| Rating | | | Date | August 04, 2002 | | Summary | The greatest film either man has made... | Content
| On account if its steady storyline, memorable songs, sincere scenes and appropriate actors, "The Stooge" is probably the most effective movie that either Dean Martin or Jerry Lewis has ever appeared in as a team, and it is possibly the most effective of all films that Dean and Jerry have appeared in solo. In an interview, Jerry Lewis claimed that "The Stooge" was his favorite Martin and Lewis film, because it was "so close to home." The relationship between their characters in the film, including the hardships and tribulations of being a team and dealing with the division of public reception, credit and acknowledgement may possibly relate to that of their own personal partnership, which makes the already stimulating storyline and characters even more entertaining and moving. There are a few great M&L films, including "Scared Stiff" and "The Caddy", but on account of this indirect relation to their personal acquaintanceship, "The Stooge" definitely tops them all. |
| Rating | | | Date | March 25, 2002 | | Summary | Who's Your Little "Whozit"? | Content
| My favorite Jerry Lewis movie of all time. I remember seeing it as a kid and somehow 30 years later while playing with my 2 year old son, I find myself singing what my son calls "The Whozit" song with the high pitched Jerry Lewis twang. He loves it. When I showed him the movie he said, "Daddy, man is sing YOUR whozit song". |
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