This is a compendium of the views and reviews of the films of Jerry Lewis as published in Cahiers du Cinema between 1954 and 1968.
Scared Stiff (Fais-moi peur [Frighten Me]) (George Marshall)
Cahiers du Cinema Nov 1954 "Films released in Paris" page 61 (my translation)
The usual clowning of two half-wits of American film. Strictly for their fans.Cahiers du Cinema Jan 1955 "Films released in Paris" page 59 (my translation)
New comico-frightening adventures of Martin and Lewis. Lizabeth Scott is fetching in a long chemise.For some odd reason, this film was listed twice in the "Films released in Paris" section.
The Caddy (Amour, délices et golf [Love. Delights and Golf]) (Norman Taurog)Cahiers du Cinema May 1955 "Films released in Paris" page 62
So far as it concerns golf, it is not very convincing. What is the beautiful Donna Reed doing on these grounds. A little sympathy.
Money from Home (Un galop du diable [A Devil's Gallop]) (George Marshall)
Cahiers du Cinema Dec 1954 "Films released in Paris" page 60
A pair of nitwits even more nitwit than all the others. George Marshall is not Griffith but he does deserve better than this.
Living it up (C'est pas une vie, Jerry! [That's Not Life, Jerry]) (Norman Taurog)
I found no evidence of this film in the "Films released in Paris" or the
conseil des dix features of
Cahiers du Cinema.
3 Ring Circus (Le Clown est roi [The Clown is King]) (Joseph Pevney)Cahiers du Cinema June 1955 "Films released in Paris" page 59
Our two comedians in a traveling circus.
You're Never Too Young (Un pitre au pensionnat [Class Clown]) (Norman Taurog)
Cahiers du Cinema Jan 1957 "Films released in Paris" page 62 no blurb
In an addendum to the March 1957 "Films released in Paris" feature,
Numerous gags, too often restrained by the director.
Not considered by the conseil des dix
Artists and Models (Artistes et modèles [Artists and Models]) (Frank Tashlin)Reviewed by Jean-Luc Godard in the August-September 1956 issue page 46 (my translation)
Godard reviewed both this film and
The Lieutenant Wore Skirts which was also directed by Frank Tashlin. Jerry Lewis is not mentioned once in his review. This review marked Godard's return to
Cahiers after an almost four year hiatus, most of which he spent back home in the area of Geneva Switzerland .
It can be witnessed that Tashlin keeps the best remembered of Lubitsch, that of Cluny Brown and To Be or Not To Be. American comedy is dead. So be it. Long live American comedy.
In the
conseil des dix, among the
Cahiers regulars, Jacques Rivette and François Truffaut gave the film 2 stars. André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Pierre Kast gave it 1 star. Eric Rohmer abstained. Non-
Cahiers panelists broke thusly, Simon Dubreiulh gave the film 2 stars, Pierre Braunberger gave it 1 star and Henri Agel and George Sadoul abstained.
Pardners (Le Trouillard du Far West [The Yellow-belly of the Far West]) (Norman Taurog)Cahiers du Cinema Feb 1958 "Films released in Paris" page 63
Classic burlesque. Jerry Lewis's gags are better in intent than in workmanship.
Not considered by the
conseil des dix.
Hollywood or Bust (Un vrai cinglé de cinéma [A real looney for movies]) (Frank Tashlin)Jean-Luc Godard reviewed this film in the July 1957 issue (page 44) (excerpt my translation)
According to Georges Sadoul, Frank Tashlin is a second rank director because he has never filmed the remake of You Can't Take It With You or The Awful Truth. By me, my colleague's mistake is to take a too quickly closed door for an open one. It will be realized in 15 years that The Girl Can't Help It functioned, in its time, meaning today (1957), as a fountain of youth where the cinema of now, meaning tomorrow (1972) drew a renewal of inspiration.Godard manages to mention Tashlin in all 7 paragraphs while only mentioning Dean Martin once and Jerry Lewis once.
In the
conseil des dix, among
Cahiers regulars,
Hollywood or Bust received 4 stars from Jacques Rivette, 3 stars from François Truffaut, and 2 stars from both Eric Rohmer and Jacques Doniol-Valcroze. The 6 non-
Cahiers critics on that panel rendered the following judgments of the film. Two stars from Jean de Baroncelli, Pierre Braunbarger, and J-P Vivet, One star from both Georges Sadoul and France Roche. Henri Agel was the only critic to bullet the film.
Hollywood or Bust was selected as one of the 10 Best Films of 1957 by 4 respondents: Claude de Givray, Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut and Paul Gegauff. That year Tashlin also released two non Martin-Lewis films;
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? was cited on 11 Best Film List and
The Girl Can't Help It was cited on 7.
The Delicate Delinquant (Le Délinquant involontaire [The Unwitting Delinquent]) (Don McGuire) Cahiers du Cinema August 1958 "Films released in Paris" page 63 (my translation)
With Tashlin absent, Dean Martin's partner is not the equal of Fernandel on his worst day.On the
conseil des dix, among
Cahiers regulars, Charles Bitsch, Robert Lachenay (Truffaut?) and Eric Rohmer bulleted the film while Jean Domarchi, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Jean-Luc Godard and Jacques Rivette abstained. The tally of the non-Cahiers panelists is Henri Agel bulleted the film while Pierre Braunberger and Georges Sadoul abstained.
The Sad Sack (P'tite tête de trouffion) (George Marshall)
Reviewed in January 1959 by François Mars (page 68) (excerpt my translation)
As for Jerry Lewis, he offers us only the blundering flightiness of a mad dog. Lewis's misfortune is not losing Dean Martin; it is not being directed by Tashlin.This film seems to have never been considered by the
conseil des dix.
Rock-a-bye Baby (Trois bébés sur les bras [Three Babies on his Arms]) (Frank Tashlin)Reviewed in June 1959 by Jean Domarchi (pp 55) (excerpts my translation)
No, this is not the best Tashlin. Maybe, a little through the fault of Paramount. Surely, through that of actor-producer Jerry Lewis....It can clearly be seen what the latter asked of Tashlin - less eccentricity and more sentiment....It seems that the syrupy Dean (I am speaking about the singer, not the actor) has taken possession of Jerry. This burden of trying to be Dean without ceasing being Jerry, forces us to consider greatly what Frank would have been able to do, if Jerry had made himself a little scarce.In the
conseil des dix, the film was awarded 3 stars by Charles Bitsch and 2 stars by Philippe Demonsablon, Jean-Luc Godard, Fereydoun Hoveyda, Luc Moullet, Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohmer while André Martin abstained. Jacques Demy who consorted with the "young turks", but only had one contribution published by
Cahiers du Cinema, abstained. The only non-
Cahiers critics on that panel, Henri Agel gave the film 2 stars.
The Geisha Boy (Le Kid en kimono [The Kid in the Kimono]) (Frank Tashlin)
Reviewed in Cahiers du Cinema in a letter from London by Louis Marcorelles in a column headlined ""Tashlin" page 41 (excerpt my translation)
By comparison to these crazies of film that Nicholas Ray and Leo McCarey are, Frank Tashlin seems like a very wise, conventional director and should we say rather classical but nevertheless who pleases in his latest film The Geisha Boy.
Reviewed by Fereydoun Hoveyda in Feb 1960 (excerpt my translation)
If Tashlin's new film doesn't succeed in erasing the memory of The Girl Can't Help It, Artists and Models, Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? and Hollywood or Bust, it does reassure us, however, that the vitality of the auteur for an instant placed in doubt by the disappointing Rock-a-Bye Baby. More turmoil and less mawkishness permit us to savor again, in more than one place, the raciness and vertiginous inventions of the most prodigious gagmen of contemporary cinema. The screenplay might appear thin and annoying with this complex paternity which consumes Jerry since his break up with Dean. But the story is only a pre-text for Tashlin.In the
conseil des dix, Jacques Rivette, Luc Moullet and Louis Marcorelles gave the film 2 stars while Jacques Doniol-Valcroze abstained. Among non-
Cahiers critics on the panel, Henri Agel gave the film 2 stars, Jean de Baroncelli, Pierre Braunberger and Georges Sadoul all gave the film 1 star. Pierre Marcabru bulleted the film and Claude Mauriac abstained.
Don't Give up the Ship (Tiens bon la barre, matelot [Hold the Tiller Firmly, Mate]) (Norman Taurog)Cahiers du Cinema Feb 61 "Films released in Paris" page 61 (excerpt my translation)
This very conformist naval comedy returns us to the pre-Tashlin level of Jerry Lewis.In the
conseil des dix, among
Cahiers critics, Jean Domarchi and Jean Douchet gave the film 1 star while both Louis Marcorelles and Jacques Rivette bulleted the film. As for the non-
Cahiers critics on that panel, Henri Agel gave the film 1 star, Michel Aubriant, Pierre Marcabru, Claude Mauriac and Georges Sadoul all bulleted the film and Jean de Baroncelli abstained.
Visit to a Small Planet (Mince de planète [Darn, What a Planet]) (Norman Taurog)Cahiers du Cinema Jun 1961, Films released in Paris page 56 (excerpt my translation)
The inhabitant of the planet mentioned discovers love but as a voyeur. Ever since he has gone out on his own, Jerry Lewis no longer bases his films on homosexuality, but on powerlessness.This film was not assessed by the
conseil des dix.
The Bell Boy (Le Dingue du Palace [The Looney of the Palace]) (Jerry Lewis)Cahiers du Cinema Aug 1961 reviewed in "Notes on other films" by François Mars (page 60 excerpt my translation)
Maladroit, on the minus side of its possibilities, The Bell Boy, none the less, opens the road up. A mediocre precursor is, maybe, as valuable as the most fineshed of successes. And it is agreeable to think that this new impetus furnished by a man who owes his commercial success only to outdated clowning and antediluvian gags and owes his success d'estime to the eminence of a great director who knows how to direct him.In the
conseil des dix, Jacques Rivette gave the film 2 stars, André Labarthe and Jean Douchet gave the film 1 star, and Eric Rohmer and Michel Delahaye both abstained. Among the five non-
Cahiers, Morvan Lebesque, Michel Aubraint bulleted the film while Henri Agel and Jean de Baroncelli both abstained.This film was listed as one of the 10 best films of the year by Jean Domarchi, François Mars and Bertrand Tavernier
Cindefella (Cendrillon aux grands pieds [Cinderella with Big Feet]) Frank Tashlin)Cahiers du Cinema Jan 1962 Reviewed in "Notes on other films" by François Mars (page 61 excerpt my translation)
Some gags, sprinkled throughout an hour and a half of viewing, would have convinced us of a failure, indeed a debacle. Now, concerning gags in Cindefella, there exist not one, not a single one. I have no choice, thus, to conclude there was a deliberate refusal. This film truly is a tragic film, a melodrama, intended as such by its auteurs, whose comic element is systematically discarded.In the
conseil des dix, among
Cahiers critics, Jacques Rivette, Eric Rohmer and Louis Marcorelles each gave the film 2 stars while Jean Douchet awarded it 1 star. The breakdown for the non-
Cahiers critics is thus: Pierre Marcabru and Henri Agel gave the film 1 star, Michel Aubriant bulleted the film while Jean de Baroncelli and Claude Mauriac abstained.
The Ladies Man (Le tombeur de ces dames [The Stud for these Women]) (Jerry Lewis)Reviewed by André S Labarthe in the lead article in June 1962 issue of
Cahiers du Cinema (page 1, excerpt my translation)
If it is necessary to justify the following notes I will only say this: There exists an argument Lewis as there exists an argument W C Fields, an argument Groucho, an argument Chaplin or an argument Keaton. It is justly one of the most remarkable characteristics of comic heroes to have always presented themselves as an argument - as if laughter (and the psychologists are not mistaken here) immerse themselves deeper into the human soul than tragic or melodramatic heroes do. Yes, there is a depth to laughter but there is also a shame of laughter. From one to the next, the argument Lewis, to our mind, offers a good example.
Five panelists on the conseil des dix were Cahiers regulars: among them, Michel Delahaye gave the film 3 stars, Jacques Rivette, Jean Douchet, and André Labarthe gave it 2 stars, leaving Louis Marcorelles who abstained. The returns from the 5 non-Cahiers broke down like this: Pierre Marcabru gave the film 3 stars, Henri Agel and Michel Aubriant gave it 2 stars, Jean-Louis Bory gave it 1 star and Georges Sadoul contributed the lone bullet among the ten critics.
This film was listed on the 10 best films of the year by Jean Domarchi, André S Labathe. Pierre Marcabru, Michel Mardore, François Mars, Jacques Rozier, Jacques Siclier and Bertrand Tavernier.
The Errand Boy (Le Zinzin d'Hollywood [The Goofball of Hollywood]) (Jerry Lewis)
This film was reviewed in the "Notes on other films" section in the March 1963 issue of Cahiers du Cinema by Bertrand Tavernier (page 60, my translation.)
After having proven with The Ladies Man that he as well capable as each and everyone and better than anyone at directing an authentic burlesque-surrealistic masterpiece, Jerry Lewis returns with The Errand Boy to his first love: the conversion of an absurd scenario into a succession of gags without any logical sequence, a principle which he carried out in The Bellboy. (It is fitting here to note the relationship of these three titles: all define a character, as opposed by Chaplin's titles, for example.)
The Cahiers critics on the
conseil des dix gave this film 3 stars - François Weyergans, 2 stars - Jacques Rivette and André S Labarthe while Eric Rohmer abstained. The accounting among the non-
Cahiers critics was - 2 stars, Pierre Marcabru and Jean-Louis Bory, 1 star, Bernard Dort and Georges Sadoul, abstaining were Henri Agel and Jean de Baroncelli.
The Errand Boy was cited as one of the 10 Best Films of the year by Bertrand Tavernier
It'$ Only Money (L'Increvable Jerry [The Imperturbable Jerry]) (Frank Tashlin)Reviewed by François Mars in the "Notes on other films" section of the June 1963 issue of
Cahiers du Cinema (page 57, excerpt my translation)
The films produced and directed by Lewis himself, however revolutionary they may be, know in America a growing commercial success. and the passion which the auteur of The Bellboy brings to bear by going from audacity to audacity in each new production should not prompt him, it seems, to go backwards and submit to the influence of another. It'$ Only Money is a hybrid film, but one whose two auteurs, far from disputing jealously its paternity, each trying to impose his style at the expense of the other, passing the ball back and forth in a perfect altruism.
On the conseil des dix, among Cahiers reglars, Jacques Rivette gave the film 2 stars, and Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Jean Douchet gave it 1 star. Among the non-Cahiers critics on that panel, Jean-Louis Bory gave the film 3 stars, Pierre Marcabru gave it 1 star and Henri Agel, Michel Aubriant, Bernard Dort, Claude Mauriac and Georges Sadoul all abstained.
In its Dec63-Jan64 issue "American Cinema" special issue,
Cahiers du Cinema printed thumbnail critiques of 121 American directors, including Jerry Lewis and Frank Tashlin.
Jean-André Fieschi was responsible for Tashlin's thumbnail. (page 170, my translation)
Now that Jerry Lewis has done himself right and with the good fortune that we know of the tradition that he could exist only through Tashlin, we can better evaluate the profit each returned to the other. Indeed, the relationship of these two creators was not one of submission, but one of complimentary inspiration and reciprocal accomplishment similar to the golden age of Donen-Kelly. Lewis was, undoubtedly, for Tashlin, the perfect magus of the irreal, the magical victim of publicity, comics and cinema who would morph into an astounding poetry. In brief, the subject and object dream of his caricatural virtues. Still, we have maybe to be responsive to the caricature. Thus, to the realistic, being detrimental to the qualities peculiarly non-sensical of the auteur (thus, the fantastic).In fashioning his dishevelled mythology of god-objects (TV, cinema, machines, etc.) or of new goddesses (stars, idols, etc.) close to the out-of-order universe of the cartoon, Tashlin contributed to the creation of an other world. But, today, more and more, he sacrifices to an oneiric atmosphere, a nightmare from which (It'$ Only Money, The Man from the Diner's Club) or falsely fairy-tale (Cindefella), the other side of the mirror rather than its reflection.André S Labarthe contributed the thumbnail for the director Jerry Lewis. (page 142, my translation)
The revelation of the last years and the unique case of on-sight transformation which we have been able to follow from the start. First, the period of adjustment. Jerry looks for his character, inventories his themes, runs after this famous point from which, as time goes go, his character will constantly draw its coherence. This is a time of testing, which, in spite of the signatures on the credits of minor hacks, Jerry, in a certain measure directs himself, through an intermediary character. Second, the period which we can henceforth speak of as the time of plenty, and, in which, the first signs are in the Tashlin films. The character is in perfect focus, the director knows how to cede to him the technical resources which he will henceforth have at his disposal; color, special effects, camera movement.
Today, it is possible to define Lewis's character, yet, it is not possible to define the respective roles of the director, the actor and the character which he embodies. But is not the key to this universe precisely this division? And is not his visage, metaphorically, the mirror?
The Nutty Professor (Docteur Jerry et Mister Love [Doctor Jerry and Mr Love]) (Jerry Lewis)
Reviewed in the May 1964 issue of Cahiers by Claude Ollier (page 40, my translation)
In the first three films he conceived and directed himself, Jerry Lewis easily pursued two endeavors closely dependent on each other or, quite the least, interdependent, tied by multiple threads to a common background. On one hand, the maturation of a character henceforth adult bearing in the direction of a incipience which consecrate not a threat of destruction, but a positive strenghtening, definitive of the characteristics gained; on the other, the elaboration of a universe tending towards a complete oneiric representation.
In the conseil des dix, this film, from Cahiers regulars received 4 stars from Jean Douchet and Jacques Rivette and 3 stars from Jean-Luc Godard and Jacques Doniol-Valcroze. The other critics on that conseil gave it: 4 stars, Robert Benayoun, 3 stars, Jean Collet and Jean-Louis Bory, 2 stars, Jean de Baroncelli and Georges Sadoul, abstained Albert Cervoni.
This film was listed on the 10 Best Films lists of Robert Benayoun, Pierre-Richard Bré, Jean-Louis Comolli, Michel Delahaye, Jean Douchet, Jean-André Fieschi, Claude de Givray, Jean-Luc Godard, Fereydoun Hoveyda, Pierre Kast, André S Labarthe, Pierre Marcabru, Michel Mardore, Jean Narboni, Jean-Daniel Pollet, Georges Sadoul, Barbet Schroeder, Bertrand Tavernier, Paul Vecchiali, and François Weyergans.
Who's Minding the Store? (Un chef de rayon explos [The Boss of the Exploded Department]) (Frank Tashlin)
Reviewed in the June 1964 issue of
Cahiers by Serge Daney (page 57, my translation)
Because he (Tashlin) leaves for war with mock armament, he achieves only provisional success. This vision of a mechanical world, where the human is swallowed up little by little, infests and confuses his outlook with this difference - that the complicity (which bound him formerly to the world of comics exposed in Artists and Models) between man and machine, the inventor and the invented is no longer possible. The relationship is no longer one of submission but one of uncertainty: what machines gain in autonomy, man loses in maturity. It is this relationship which Tashlin pursues and encircles, making his cinema a clockwork cinema where only the passage from one order to another counts.This film was awarded 3 stars on the
conseil des dix by
Cahiers staffer, Jean Douchet. His colleagues - Jacques Rivette, Jean-Louis Comolli and Michel Delahaye gave the film 2 stars. Among the non-
Cahiers contingent of that panel, Robert Benayoun and Jean Collet gave the film 3 stars, Jean-Louis Bory gave it 2 stars and Michel Aubriant, Albert Cervoni and Georges Sadoul abstained.
Fereydoun Hoveyda and Serge Daney placed the film on their 10 Best Films lists.
The Patsy (Jerry souffre douleur [Punching-bag Jerry]) (Jerry Lewis) Reviewed in the January 1965 issue of
Cahiers by Jean-Louis Noames (page 146, my translation)
...a misunderstood and despised film, The Patsy has only one fault, that of coming after The Nutty Professor and of at no point resembling it....Let's start at the beginning. It was with Cindefella that Lewis's solitude was revealed for the first time. But circumstances were not set. Lewis, who ought to have directed the film, left the responsibility to Tashlin who succeeded in making only a bastard work of it, but also a fascinating one, to the extent that the converging aspirations of two dissimilar artists meet up with each other. Where Tashlin ends and Lewis begins, it is here that we find it.Four
Cahiers regulars sat on the conseil des dix panel which considered
The Patsy: Jean Douchet gave the film 4 stars, Michel Delahaye and Jean-André Fieschi gave the film 3 stars and Jacques Rivette gave it 2 stars. Six non-
Cahiers critics also sat on that panel: Robert Benayoun and Jean Collet gave the film 4 stars, albert Cervoni gave it 2 stars, while Michel Aubraint, Jean-Louis Bory and Georges Sadoul gave the film 1 star.The following put this film on their 10 Best List - Robert Benayoun, Pierre Braunberger, Michel Cournot, Serge Daney, René Gilson, Fereydoun Hoveyda, Jean Douchet, Jean-Louis Ginibre, Claude de Givray, Gérard Guégan, André S Labarthe, François Mars and Jean-Louis Naomes.
The Disorderly Orderly (Jerry chez les cinoques [Jerry among the Looneys]) (Frank Tashlin)André Téchiné's review in April 1965 issue of
Cahiers du Cinema begins, (page 71, my translation)
One always feels ill at ease watching Tashlin's films. Everything appears blindly subordinate to the mechanical.Téchiné mentions Tashlin a total of 7 times and in every paragraph. Lewis is not cited until the 3rd paragraph and his name comes up only 2 times.
Jean-Louis Comolli gave film 4 stars, while Michel Delahaye and Jean-André Fieschi rounded out the bloc on that panel giving the film 3 stars. Robert Benayoun and Georges Sadoul, among the other panelists, gave the film 3 stars. Jean-Louis Bory, Jean Collet and Michel Cournot gave it 2 stars while Michel Aubriant gave the film a bullet, a rare occurence for a Lewis/Tashlin film.
This film appeared on the 10 Best Film list of: René Allio, Robert Benayoun, Jean-Pierre Biesse, Jacques Bontemps, Jean-Louis Bory, Pierre Kast, Jacques Robert, Jacques Rozier, Roger Tailleur, André Téchiné, and François Weyergans.
The Family Jewels (Les Tontons farceurs [The Madcap Uncles]) (Jerry Lewis)In the February 1966 issue of
Cahiers -- the Jerry Lewis special issue - short reviews by Claude-Jean Philippe, Sylvain Godet, Serge Daney and André Téchiné were published. (excerpts, my translation)
Serge Daney (page 37),
This is a serious film because never has the actor been so little sure of himself, so intimidated, he has just refused artifice, make-up, magic; he is going to appear such that he is and for what he is, he is going to run the risk of not being recognized.Sylvain Godet (page 39),
To master the ecstasy that up until now has accepted no boundaries, to reach for the delights of conscious creation, such is Lewis's ambition.
André Téchiné (page 40)
In Lewis's world, as in that of Cocteau, one takes the good jinns for soulless jumping jacks and a retiring manner for uncommon acrobatics.Claude-Jean Philippe (page 42)
First off, this is a reflection on laughter. There are those whom children like (the clumsy chauffeur, kind and a little ridiculous) and those whom they do not like (the selfish, cynical clown uncle who puts his savings in Switzerland and renounces the circus and his American citizenship). Put these two characters on either side of a mirror and you get the film in a nutshell.
That month's
conseil des dix found
Cahiers regulars Jacques Bontemps and Jean-André Fieschi giving the film 4 stars and Michel Delahaye giving it 3 stars. The tally for the other panelists was: Jean Collet, Robert Benayoun and Jean-Louis Bory gave the film 4 stars, Michel Cournot gave the film 3 stars, Albert Cervoni and Georges Sadoul gave the film 2 stars, and, finally, Michel Aubraint gave it 1 star.
The film appeared on the 10 best lists of Robert Benayoun, Jean-Pierre Biesse, Jean Collet, Jean-Louis Comolli, Michel Cournot, Michel Delahaye, Jean Douchet, Jean-André Fieschi, Folon, André S Labarthe, Claude Ollier, Claude-Jean Philippe, André Téchiné, Henri Chapier, Serge Daney, Claude de Givray, Sylvain Godet, François Mars, and Jean-Louis Naomes.
Boeing-Boeing (Boeing-Boeing) (John Rich)Reviewed in the "Films Reased in Paris" June 1966 issue of
Cahiers by Jean-André Fieschi (page 80, my translation)
Noteworthy exclusively for its negative and constrictive quality, by demonstrating the complete impossibility in which today the great Lewis, inserting himself even through fraud, in a universe other than his own. It is a comfort to confirm that the lower depths of French slapstick and farce are completely closed to him. So much the better.Among the four
Cahiers critics sitting on the panel which considered this film, André Fieschi and Michel Delahaye bulleted the film while Jean Narboni and Jean-Louis Comolli abstained. The tally of the six non-
Cahiers critics broke down thusly: Robert Benayoun gave the film 2 stars and Georges Sadoul gave the film 1 star. Jean-Louis Bory and Michel Cournot bulleted the film while Michel Aubraint and Albert Cervoni abstained.
Three on a Couch (Trois sur un sofa [Three on a Couch]) (Jerry Lewis)Reviewed by Jean-Louis Comolli (
Cahiers co-editor) in the January 1967 issue of
Cahiers (pages 67-68, my translation)
Thus, here is the most constructed film of Lewis's; the one in which the comic technique best couples with the dramatic technique. This coherence, this substitution of the "serious" for the "demented" might be regretted. The "Bell Boy" gives way to the coordinator of plots and the ridiculous actor to the worried auteur. But the itinerary is magnificent.In the
conseil des dix, among
Cahiers regulars, Jean-Louis Comolli and Michel Delahaye gave the film 4 stars, while Jacques Bontemps and Michel Mardore gave it 3 stars. Among the non-
Cahiers contingent on that panel, Jean-Louis Bory and Jean Collet gave the film 3 stars, Albert Cervoni and George Sadoul gave the film 2 stars, and Michel Aubriant and Jean de Baroncelli gave it 1 star. This film was listed as one of the 10 Best Films of the year by Jean-Louis Comolli, René Richetin and Jacques Robert.
Way...Way Out (Tiens bon la rampe, Jerry [Keep Hold of the Launchpad, Jerry]) (Gordon Douglas)
Reviewed in the January 1967 issue of
Cahiers by Michel Mardore in the "Films released in Paris" section (page 73, my translation)
If Lewis is looking to prove, as in Boeing-Boeing, his aptitude for portraying "normal" characters, this performance aims at an abusive masochism.In the conseil des dix, among
Cahiers regulars, Michel Delahaye and Jean Narboni bulleted the film and André Téchiné abstained. The non-Cahiers split like this: Jean-Louis Bory and Albert Cervoni gave the film 2 stars, Robert Benayoun, Henri Chapier and Georges Sadoul gave it 1 star, Michel Aubriant bulleted the film, and Jean de Baroncelli abstained.
Don't Raise the Bridge, Lower the River (Te casse pas la tête Jerry [Don't Overwork Yourself, Jerry]) (Jerry Paris)Reviewed in the October 1968 issue of
Cahiers by Patrick Brion in the "Films released in Paris" section (page 65, my translation)
This new item, after Boeing-Boieng (sic) - a European adventure [note: this film was shot in Portugal], from Lewis is even more disheartening than its predecessor. Encumbered by an awful screenplay, which one might believe had been written for Kenneth More, surrounded by bad comics and most of all crippled by a direction which does not even reach the level of t most mediocre comedies of the Paramount era, Lewis appears quickly disoriented and, more than that, uninterested by this grim comedy. But what else could be done here?By September of 1968, when this film was released in Paris, Cahiers had abandoned the conseil des dix feature.
The Big Mouth (Jerry grande gueule [Jerry, The Big Mouth]) (Lewis)The
Christmas 1967/January 168 issue of Cahiers included a special section devoted to Jerry Lewis with an interview conducted by André Labarthe and
Positif critic Robert Benayoun.
The refinements of construction, the physical-metaphysical reach of the slightest gag, the tidal wave of madness which bowls over the dimensions of space, time and cinema, force us to dedicate a special issue to their analysis. The Big Mouth marks the center of gravity, the inevitable outcome of the previous films of Lewis.In the conseil des dix, among Cahiers regulars Jean Narboni and Jacques Bontemps gave the film 4 stars, while Michel Delahaye and Michel Mardore gave it 3 stars. Among the non-Cahiers critics on that panel: Jean Collet and Jean-Pierre Leonardi gave the film 4 stars, Robert Benayoun gave the film 3 stars, Michel Aubriant and Henri Chapier gave the film 1 star and Jean de Baroncelli abstained.
The Big Mouth was cited as one of the 10 Best Films of the Year by Jacques Aumont, Robert Benayoun, Patrick Bensard, Charles Bitsch, Jacques Bontemps, Patrick Brion, Michel Ciment, Jean Collet, Jean-Louis Comolli, Serge Daney, Jean Douchet, Bernard Eisenschitz, Sylvain Godet, Gerard Guegan, Pascal Kané, Claude Ollier, Sylvie Pierre, Sebastien Roulet, Jacques Siclier, Roger Tailleur.
Labels: "Jerry Lewis"
