The Stooge (1951)

The Stooge (1951) – A has-been vaudeville performer stumbles on a new lease on life when he reluctantly takes on a sidekick.  But who is the star and who is the sidekick?

Directed by Norman Taurog                              Starring Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Polly Bergen

Why I Liked It – This is Lewis at his best, playing with just a little restraint and playing off one of the great straight men of all time.

I hear lots of people say they don’t like Jerry Lewis. Before you say you don’t like Jerry Lewis, watch this movie.

Martin and Lewis were the biggest stars in the world at one time.  Modern generations may only remember Jerry Lewis for some later movies and the Muscular Dystrophy telethon.  Dean Martin may only recall his boozy, playboy image of the ’60s.  That’s assuming that folks remember them at all.  What a great loss, if we’ve forgotten how incredible these two were back at the beginning.

They would make sixteen movies together.  They would headline in nightclubs all over the world, and star in Las Vegas and Atlantic City. The act would last ten years to the day, then they wouldn’t speak for two decades more.  There is a tragic element to their story in real life that gets a little air in this movie.

The act, in real life and the movie, is the smooth, sophisticated crooner and the stooge.  In comedy, a stooge is someone who is the butt of all the jokes.  What set Martin and Lewis apart is that while Jerry acted like the stooge, it was Dean who was the butt of the jokes.  There is not enough appreciation of the work of a great straight man.  Martin played the act straight, while Jerry was, well, Jerry Lewis.  Uninhibited but naive.  His humor didn’t come with an edge, just whimsey by the truckload.  It was impromptu and free-form and improvised on the spot, and Dean had to keep up.  This movie comes the closest to capturing what they had on stage. Lewis always said it was his favorite of the movies.  Too often Dean got lost in silly romantic sub-plots while Jerry ran amuck.  His anger at this treatment was one of the reasons the duo broke up (one of many).  Those lackluster movies make up too much of what is remembered.  Before you say you don’t like Jerry Lewis, watch this movie.

Rating – **** Recommended

Here’s  Martin and Lewis at the height of their fame, and having to ad-lib through three extra minutes on TV.  Jerry is flying by the seat of his pants, but watch how Dean never gets left behind.  Two geniuses at work.