The Errand Boy

Starring:Stanley Adams, Iris Adrian, Felicia Atkins, Pat Dahl, Brian Donlevy, Isobel Elsom, Fritz Feld, Joey Forman, Kathleen Freeman, Rita Hayes, Robert Ivers, Kenneth MacDonald, Howard McNear, Mary Ritts, Paul Ritts, Sig Ruman, RenÃ©e Taylor, Doodles Weaver, Dick Wesson
Studio: Paramount
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Description
In THE ERRAND BOY, Morty is hired by Paramutual Pictures as a spy to find out where the company's money is being spent. Working in the mailroom, Morty has access to the production lot and discovers that wherever he goes, havoc ensues in his effort to provide his new boss, Mr. Sneak, with the information he has requested.

Jerry Lewis - The Legendary Jerry Collection (The Bellboy / Cinderfella / The Delicate Delinquent / The Disorderly Orderly / The Errand Boy / The Family Jewels / The Ladies Man / The Nutty Professor / The Patsy / The Stooge)
Average customer rating:

I'm a Sucker for All Things Silly

Almost Perfect

Jerry Lewis Rocks!

Classic Laughs!

The Bellhop

Jerry Lewis - The Legendary Jerry Collection (The Bellboy / Cinderfella / The Delicate Delinquent / The Disorderly Orderly / The Errand Boy / The Family Jewels / The Ladies Man / The Nutty Professor / The Patsy / The Stooge)
Starring: Jerry Lewis
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
Classic Comedies | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video
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All Paramount | Paramount Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Boxed Sets | Paramount Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Classics | Paramount Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Comedy | Paramount Home Entertainment | Studio Specials | Stores | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Collection - Vol. 1 (The Caddy / Jumping Jacks / My Friend Irma / My Friend Irma Goes West / Sailor Beware / Scared Stiff / That's My Boy)

Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis Collection - Vol. 2 (You're Never Too Young / Artists and Models / Living It up / Pardners / Hollywood or Bust)

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis Collection

At War With the Army

The Best of Abbott & Costello, Vol. 4 (Abbott & Costello Meet Dr. Jekyl & Mr. Hyde / Abbott & Costello Meet the Keystone Cops / Abbott & Costello Meet the Mummy / Abbott & Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld / Abbott & Costello Meet the Monsters / The World of Abbott & Costello)

ASIN: B000ANVQ4G
Release Date: 2005-10-25

Amazon.com

This 10-DVD boxed set is a delight for anyone afflicted with a susceptibility to the fractured antics of Jerry Lewis, or "Le Roi du Crazy" to the French. This set emphasizes Lewis's busy period after the breakup with Dean Martin, when he was exerting more influence over his vehicles (six of the titles are directed by Jerry himself) and almost single-handedly keeping Paramount Pictures propped up with his box-office take. The set curiously includes one of the Martin-Lewis pictures, 1953's The Stooge, which has echoes of the real-life vibe between Jerry and Dino.

The other titles include Lewis's 1957 solo starring debut, The Delicate Delinquent, and his directing bow, The Bellboy (1960). The latter is an often-ingenious and plotless collection of gags with Jerry as a bellhop in Miami Beach's Fountainebleau Hotel. His character doesn't speak (making the connection with silent cinema more pointed), but in one uproarious sequence the obnoxious movie star "Jerry Lewis" comes to visit the hotel.

The Ladies Man puts Lewis alone in a boarding house full of women. This film's bizarre sexual politics (and its amazing cut-away set) helps explain why French critics such as Jean-Luc Godard consider Lewis a cinematic genius--Godard actually borrowed the cut-away set idea for his film Tout va bien. The Errand Boy is a cascade of gags strung together on the set of "Paramutual Pictures," a movie studio that employs Lewis's klutzy gofer; it features one of Jerry's best musical miming routines. The Patsy is another good one, as nebbish Jerry is drafted into impersonating a famous deceased celebrity, but by 1965's The Family Jewels the inspiration is flagging a bit.

Two of the titles are directed by Lewis's mentor, Frank Tashlin. Cinderfella works a sentimental variation on the fairy tale; it's slow and at times mawkish, but some of Lewis's physical stuff is top-notch. The Disorderly Orderly is livelier, with a hospital setting and some of Jerry's most inspired babbling. The box also includes Lewis's acknowledged high point, The Nutty Professor, in its special-edition form. Its Jekyll-and-Hyde story is still the funniest and weirdest premise Lewis ever had. There are other Lewis films out there, but this box is definitely the cream of the career. If some of the jokes haven't aged well (and those who can't stand his mugging won't be convinced even by this set), Lewis still seems a more interesting filmmaker than he's usually given credit for. Extras include some disappointing commentaries with Lewis and Steve Lawrence, plus a smattering of outtakes, some of them funny and/or revealing of Lewis's directing technique. --Robert Horton

Description

Contains: The Nutty Professor, The Ladies' Man, The Delicate Delinquent, Cinderfella, The Bell Boy, The Errand Boy, The Patsy, The Disorderly Orderly, The Family Jewels, and The Stooge.

Customer Reviews:

I'm a Sucker for All Things Silly.......2007-06-19

This box set is right up my alley. No, it's not perfect. I also wanted Who's Minding the Store, The Geisha Boy, and Visit to a Small Planet. But you can't have everything. I do like the clear picture and sound on these films. What a fun trip down memory lane.
I haven't had a chance to watch the film which includes Dean Martin. That's back-burner for me. So, as for Jerry's films themselves...

The Good -
The Nutty Professor has been called his best. I really love it. Just great stuff, smooth and funny and colorful. But I hate the Buddy Love character. Totally one dimensional, one of the most obnoxious jerks you'd ever meet, and too much makeup. However, this movie has some truly brilliant comedy before it adds some maudlin goop (a lot of Lewis' work tends to do this sometimes, so you have to roll with it). This is probably the height of his talents.

The Ladies Man is a lot of fun at Miss Welonmelon's boarding house, with some great bits: the butterflies, feeding Baby, the Southern gal's incomprehensible dialogue, fixing the gangster's hat, wiping Welonmelon's portait (that always makes me laugh out loud!), and the microphone problem while broadcasting 'Up Your Street'. There's a rather sudden ending, but this is one of my favorites in Jerry's career. Amazing set, too.

The Bellboy is very enjoyable, and extremely rewatchable because it has a lot going on, one thing after another. The lunch counter gag kills me. And you can't beat Jerry tampering with a clay bust that's still wet. Very good overall. And his character has virtually no dialogue.

The Fair -
The Errand Boy is a fairly good comedy, a typical vehicle for Jerry Lewis. Again, slipping into pathos and mush (with the puppets) seems completely out of place with the pace and feel of this movie, no matter how charming and sweetly executed. But the scene where Jerry butchers all the last names is hilarious.

The Disorderly Orderly is part slapstick and part depressing psychological study. Some wonderful comic bits cannot overcome the serious feel that the movie plays with in the pretty blonde patient who is so bitter, resentful to everyone, and very troubled. If you took out all the parts with her and then extended the slapstick, you'd have a better flick. Just my opinion.

The Family Jewels is cute, definitely a family film; I liked this more than I remembered. Which uncle will young Donna choose to raise her? Granted, you know the ending long before it happens, but I loved the part when Jerry as the pilot takes the old ladies on a trip. Silly, surreal, and fun. Only on a plane with Jerry does the in-flight film become affected by the angle that the plane is flying. And Jerry gets to don five silly disguises in this movie, Uncle Julius being the same character as the Nutty Professor.

The Bad -
The Patsy just doesn't do it for me; taking the same exact concept as The Errand Boy (bigwigs need a substitute immediately and grab the first idiot they see), this movie grows tedious rapidly. It is not as funny as we expect.

Cinderfella is a musical that I don't care for; although it is nice to look at and has a few nice moments, the completely glacial flow kills it. It is slow, dull, and talky. It's not funny. (And Ed Wynn looks like he just returned from a three day drunk in Vegas.) Maybe this would have been a better film if Jerry had written it and directed it. Sorry, but a big yawn.

I still have to watch The Delicate Delinquent, but so far I am pleased with this collection. The bottom line is that this set has a handful of terrific movies that you just don't see on television any longer. And the gems make up for the duds, definitely.

Almost Perfect.......2007-03-08

The product was precisely what was ordered, but the back of the packaging had a gash in it that went through the plastic into the cardboard.

Jerry Lewis Rocks!.......2007-03-08

The Master. Unfortunately, we don't find this type of humor anymore, so we need to keep it alive.

Classic Laughs!.......2007-02-22

Great Praice for 10 classics and lots of laughs! If you are a Jerry fan, you will really enjoy these movies! (especally "Family Jewels", Priceless!)

The Bellhop.......2007-02-20

This collection is a must for Jerry Lewis fans - a delightful return to the days when comedy was clean and presented by talented people.

Average customer rating:

A sarcastic glance to movie business
Jerry Lewis delivers in this movie!
Typical Lewis, almost his best.
Some of his best
Errand Boy Gets the Job Done

The Errand Boy
Starring: Stanley Adams , Iris Adrian , Felicia Atkins , Pat Dahl , and Brian Donlevy
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

Slapstick | Comedy | Genres | DVD | Video

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Similar Items:

The Bellboy
The Disorderly Orderly
The Ladies Man
Cinderfella
The Patsy

ASIN: B0002NY8UI
Release Date: 2004-10-12

Description

In THE ERRAND BOY, Morty is hired by Paramutual Pictures as a spy to find out where the company's money is being spent. Working in the mailroom, Morty has access to the production lot and discovers that wherever he goes, havoc ensues in his effort to provide his new boss, Mr. Sneak, with the information he has requested.

Customer Reviews:

A sarcastic glance to movie business.......2006-01-06

The third movie of Lewis as film director, also written ( in collaboration with Bill Richmond ) and performed by Lewis himself, follows the same scheme he invented for " The bellboy "; this is a comic film with the structure of a long cartoon and an almost inexistent but necessary plot ( Morty, an anonymous worker from Paramutual Pictures is hired by the major studio's moguls as spy to watch closely how the company's money is spent ), the basic support that allows Lewis to tack a collection of depurated and satirical sight-gags focused in an only stage: this time, in a very particular hell named Hollywood( the name of the movie studio where action takes place, Paramutual, is, of course, a deliberated sarcastic distorsion of Paramount Pictures ). " The errand boy " is a subversive ( still today )comic glance to movie industry where Lewis dismounts many secrets and lies of movie business. The film is plenty of delightful comic scenes like that one in which Morty ( Jerry Lewis ), sat in front of the table where the big boss manages the movie studio, develops a mocking caricature of the " big fishs " of film industry only with mimicry and the support of Count Basie's music.

Widescreen edition.

Jerry Lewis delivers in this movie!.......2005-09-19

When this movie came out in 1961, Jerry Lewis deliver a humorous look into what really happens in Hollywood. 44 years later it is still relevent today as it was then. Lots of surprises in this movie including the music of Count Basie in the classic boardroom scene with Lewis mouthing off to the music. I enjoyed Lewis' work in this movie!!

Typical Lewis, almost his best........2005-05-13

A typical Jerry Lewis movie. As with most of his, if you don't like Lewis you won't like the movie, but also as with most of his films, it's packed with funny comedy that's mostly timeless and often imitated.
The cast includes Brian Donlevy (Cowboy, The Quatermass Experiment, Beau Geste, etc.), Howard McNear (Floyd the barber on The Andy Griffith Show), and Joe Besser (The Three Stooges, The Abbott & Costello Show).
The plot's not; just a flimsy frame for Jerry's shenanigans, of which there's enough to fill 90 minutes with laughs, plus a couple cute scenes with puppets. Jerry's hired ostensibly as an errand boy for a movie studio, but actually to spy for the upper management. He get's into plenty of slapstick trouble on the job but never accomplishes any spying.
But the comedy is not all slapstick by any means; much of it is poking fun at movie directors and supervisors, and other screwball comedy. One of my favorite bits is when three kids are ordering candy where Jerry's filling in at the studio cafeteria, and they send him up the same high ladder 3 times for different orders from the same giant glass jar of jelly beans. There's also a great basketball scene with the Dover Basketeers. But wait, there's more, including a cameo appearance by the Cartwrights of Bonanza, Lorne Greene, Michael Landon, Pernell Roberts, and Dan Blocker.
My favorite Jerry Lewis movies are "The Delicate Delinquent," "Way... Way Out," (which doesn't seem to be available anywhere) and of course "The Nutty Professor" (nothing against Eddy Murphy, but he's no Jerry Lewis). I think The Errand Boy is almost as good as these.

Some of his best.......2004-10-24

I rank this #3 in my choice of favorites from him. The Count Basie music in his conference room bit is worth it alone. I see familiar faces in the movie including the guy who sold tribbels in Star Trek. Buy it. You won't regret it. It's a good spoof on how movies are made and some good b/w footage of early hollywood.

Errand Boy Gets the Job Done.......2004-10-17

I had never seen this particular Jerry Lewis film until it recently came to DVD and wasn't sure what to expect. What I saw was nearly 90 minutes of the most biting satire I have ever seen propogated against Hollywood and I love it! It is incredible to think that this motion picture was made in 1961, it is more relevant now in many aspects than it was then.

Not only does this film have some of Jerry's best comedy--some of it coming from other actors--but it also features some rather touching dramatic moments.

Average customer rating:

Realist as a poet
Innocence and experience

So Close to Paradise
Starring: Tong Wang (II) , Yu Shi , Tao Guo , and Tao Wu
Director: Xiaoshuai Wang
Manufacturer: First Run Features
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

General | Art House & International | Genres | DVD | Video

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DVDs Under $7.49 | Today's Deals in DVD | Special Features | DVD | Video

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Suzhou River
Beijing Bicycle
Springtime In a Small Town
The Blue Kite
Unknown Pleasures

ASIN: B00005UM27
Release Date: 2002-02-19

Amazon.com

Paradise is a long way from the waterfront slums and nightclub dives of Wang Xiaoshuai's restless crime story. Like a modern Chinese take on a classic American film noir, this tale of a small time-criminal on the outskirts of the Wuhan underworld, a beautiful karaoke singer who dreams of pop stardom, and the naïve country boy who watches their destructive romance bristles with doom. Director Wang Xiaoshuai (Beijing Bicycle) is from China's sixth generation of filmmakers, and his agitated style--featuring handheld takes, jump cuts, and vibrant colors that cut through the clutter and the darkness--couldn't be more different from the smooth, formal beauty of fifth-generation greats Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige. His remove keeps us at arm's length from the characters, but his luscious imagery, grimy glamour, and haunting narration give just a hint of romantic hope in the squalor of the urban jungle. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews:

Realist as a poet.......2003-02-21

Wang Xiaoshuai is one of the younger greats of Chinese cinema. In two recent films, Wang overcame the over-deliberate and somewhat artificial approaches to social problems in his earlier works (The first foray he made into US is "Frozen", which I critisized elsewhere), and has shown himself to be a realist with a rare lyrical ease. The other film I would recommend is Wang's "Beijing Bicycle", which is now available on DVD.

Innocence and experience.......2002-07-21

A noticeable trend in world cinema in the last three or four years has been to fuse drama with noir elements and here's an excellent example of that fusion from China.

Directed by Wang XiaoShuai (Beijing Bicycle), this is the tale of two men from rural China who come to the city (an unnamed large urban center in mainland China) to seek their fortunes. One, Gao Ping, has a slicker approach to life, needing to make real money--and feels the only way to do that is to work with underworld figures in semi-shady dealings. The other, Dong Zi, sticks to the life he knows best from his native village and works as a "shoulder pole", a laborer who hauls boxes every day for menial wages.

Dong Zi retains his rural ignorance of city ways, but what comes across more than anything else is his complete innocence and straightforwardness. His friend Gao Ping becomes increasingly mired in the dark side of life. This comes to a head when he meets a nightclub singer whom he is sure knows the man owing Gao Ping money. He kidnaps her but the two fall in love--or, as Gao Ping puts it, what passes for love in the city--and ultimately, because she belongs to "the Boss", Gao Ping is a hunted man.

Eschewing the overly stylized approach of countryman Wang Kar Wei, Wang XiaoShuai has made a stronger film. The one obvious concession to style is the use of a green filter for flashback scenes; this works well because aside from the green tint, these scenes include action that is as straightforward as Dong Zi's character.

The constant juxtaposition of innocence and experience is what gives this film its striking emotional power. The singer herself moves from one mindset to the other in the course of the film, emphasizing the theme, and one can even detect minute bits of innocence in Gao Ping, at rare monents, and, towards the end of the film, just as tiny traces of experience in Dong Zi's psychology.

A very well crafted film; recommended.

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