Artists and Models

source: Artists and Models

Well it looks like I will be the first reviewer to give Artists and Models a lukewarm opinion. Saw this on the big screen today at a downtown theater. With Jerry Lewis, Dean Martin, Shirley MacLaine,Dorothy Malone and Eva Gabor and the most fun I wind up having is with Eddie Mayehoff! Loved his portrayal of publisher Murdock. I don't know...to me, this movie just got more boring as it dragged on. While I do love all the vintage set designs, vintage wardrobe and remembrances of how things used to be-one pay phone in the hall for an apartment building, Dean scrubbing up in a bathtub before a shower became common and the historical fact that comic books were once decried as evil by the bastions of society, I still had to fight off massive amounts of sleepiness as this grinded to its conclusion. I don't know...maybe it was just the mood I was in. It WAS very colorful and Martin can't keep from smiling even when he's supposed to be mad which is amusing but, Gabor was a disappointment and Malone was kind of blah and Jerry, I was just kind of bored with his schtick today. But yes the highlight for me was Mr. Murdock played by Eddie Mayehoff.

One of Martin & Lewis's better films, this gaudy comedy stretches a paper-thin plot by unnecessarily stringing out a couple of Lewis's comedy sequences – the bathtub scene, and the scene in which he's accosted by an elfin-like Shirley Maclaine on the stairs in particular. Lewis moons and gurns and pulls the kind of faces that are hilarious to a six-year-old (and French people) but will leave anyone in long trousers cold. Martin looks effortlessly cool and does his bit to pad out the film by singing a few numbers. The story is rubbish, an excuse to show Maclaine and Malone in various states of modest undress to keep the dad's interested while mum swoons over Martin and the kids shriek at Lewis.

Seen on the big screen, Frank Tashlin's ARTIST AND MODELS is one of the most colorful live action move ever made. It's also probably the best movie made by Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis. Martin is a comic book artist with little talent who takes room-mate Lewis's flights of fancy as his own. As in all Martin & Lewis films, mayhem ensues. It's fast paced, very funny, and very enjoyable. How can anyone not like movie with characters named Eugene Fullstack and Bessie Sparrowbrush? Martin and Lewis are in fine form and the supporting cast is exceptional. Dorothy Malone, Eva Gabor, Anita Ekberg and, best of all, Shirley MacLaine. It also helps to have the likes of Eddie Mayehoff and Jack Elam (as Ivan) in the mix. Daniel L. Fapp provided the extremely vivid cinematography. The clever art direction is by Hal Pereira, who had a hand in virtually every Paramount release during the 1950s and 60s.

A feast for the eyes. It's candy box Technicolor the whole way with lots of skimpy costumes and color loaded sets. Of course, director Tashlin specialized in cartoonish fare like A and M. Team him with the cartoonish comedian of the day, Lewis, and you've got the perfect visual counterpart. Then add impish Shirley MacLaine, the perfect loopy foil to Lewis, and you've got perhaps the best Martin and Lewis feature. Forget the plot, which is incidental anyway. Then too, Lewis's antics are much at times. Instead, catch that centerpiece with MacLaine and Lewis on the stairway. It's brilliantly done, a combination of mugging and acrobatics, showcasing their athletic skills. I don't know how they rehearsed since the timing and coordination are so precise. Besides, one misstep on the staircase and somebody's sporting a plaster cast. Probably shouldn't forget Martin's tuneful rendition of Innamorata (means "female sweetheart" in Italian). As I recall, it was a popular radio hit, as well. All in all, the crazy comedy manages bouncy entertainment the whole way. It also provides a chance to catch the scene-stealing MacLaine on her way up the show biz ladder. (In passing— the grisly content of comic books was an object of national debate in 1954, which likely accounts for the movie's comic book theme. That debate ended with a self- imposed code of content governing the industry for years.)

Rick and Eugene (Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis) are roommates and artists. Business is not good. However, Eugene's crazy dreams (influenced by his constantly reading comic books) which keep Rick asleep turn out to be a GOOD thing, as he talks them out in his sleep--and Rick then writes down what Eugene says and puts them in a comic book! The kids love 'em and this comic book world also brings them into contact with two cuties--Abigale (Dorothy Malone) for Rick and Bessie (Shirley MacLaine) is smitten with Eugene. On a cute twist, when Eugene first sees Bessie, she is dressed up as a model for Abigale to draw--and she is dressed as 'Bat Lady'. Eugen is smitten....but not so smitten with her when she's in her normal guise--and he doesn't know they are the same person! Later, it turns out that the material Eugene unknowingly gives Rick happens to miraculously have fragments of US Government secrets. And, spies are interested in find out more! Rick quickly picks up on this and alerts the government--who then ask Rick to go along with the spies and to let himself get vamped (by Eva Gabor) so he can learn more about her organization--but his girlfriend (Malone) is not amused. Tune in if you want to find out what happens next. Overall, while this is not a great film (understanding I am NOT a Martin & Lewis fan), it does have some clever moments and is pleasant. I especially liked the weird inside jokes--such as one making fun of Jimmy Stewart and "The Rear Window" and liked seeing Eugene sign his name on the easel near the end. But, the film also is pretty low-brow and only pleasant. But the plot is very original and I have to give the film some credit for this.

This movie has three things going for it, cinematography, Lewis and MacLaine, Daniel L. Fapp was a great cinematographer who did "West Side Story" and "the Great Escape" among other films. The gorgeous and vibrant colors jump off the screen and embrace you here. Thankfully the Technicolor is preserved in all its glory. The second great thing about this movie is Jerry Lewis's slapstick. If you enjoy this genre of comedy, there are numerous scenes where Lewis shows off his superb skills. He and Danny Kaye were the two masters of it in fifties. My favorite scene where Lewis entwines a number of bodies during a back-rub sequence. The third plus is Shirley MacLaine. She only has five or six scenes but she is terrific and you see the origin of the Chaplinesque or more properly Normandesque (after Mabel Normand) character that she would play so magnificently in "The Apartment," "Irma La Douce," and "Sweet Charity." Shirley had only played in "The Trouble With Harry," a rare Hitchcock comedy misfire before this film. It is this film that really shows her best qualities and talents. The script is generally quite funny and witty, but takes an odd turn in the third act when it adds an out of blue spy plot. The film is also quite sexy. Its sexy talk and many sequences of beautifully dressed and nearly undressed women really pushed the boundaries of sexuality in movies in 1955. One does feel a bit sorry for Dean Martin, as he plays a straight man who really has only average scenes that do not show his talents very well. He does have a couple of good song numbers. The film's satire on the comic book scandals of the 1950's will also be appreciated by comic book fans. Lewis' character is in love with a comic book heroine called "The Bat Lady." reflecting the popularity of the Batman character even in this time period. Fans of cinematography, slapstick, Jerry Lewis and Shirley MacLaine should definitely catch this one. Others might have a hard time with it.

Once again, before I review this Martin & Lewis movie proper, I have to acknowledge various players that had appeared in their pictures before. Like Dorothy Malone, who was previously in Scared Stiff, playing Dean's leading lady here or Eddie Mayehoff, who before this was in That's My Boy and The Stooge. And how about Kathleen Freeman, whose first appearance with the boys was in 3 Ring Circus, in her small role as the landlady. Okay, with that out of the way, I also want to remark on the fact this was Frank Tashlin's first time directing the boys and as a former Warner Bros. animator, he brings plenty of inventive cartoon-like gags that adds to the fun of their movies. And Shirley MacLaine, in only her second film appearance, also adds to the sexy fun especially in her encounters with Jerry along with Ms. Malone, a model named Anita Ekberg, and Eva Gabor, sister of Zsa Zsa who had her own M & L experience in the aforementioned 3RC, as a foreign spy. And Ms. Freeman and especially Mayehoff bring their own comic gifts to the fore here. While things threaten to lose steam near the end, the production numbers themselves are even more elaborately entertaining than previously possible. So on that note, I highly recommend Artists and Models.

A crazy film for devotees of the super-hero comic book. Shirley MacLaine was both wacky and alluring as Bessie, who is the inspiration of the Bat-Lady, a character of the comic book which Dorothy Malone draws(?) Jerry is his usual self, while Dean Martin turns up a one-note performance as the typecast Lothario who tries to romance Dorothy who at first would have nothing to do with him. Eva Gabor(before Green Acres), cast as the seductress who tries to worm spy secrets out of Jerry is excellent. I remember seeing the movie years ago and there was a scene where Jerry paints faces and puts little dresses on the knees of a young blonde actress in one scene. The actress bared a slight resemblance to Anne Bancroft. Is this correct? Brian T

When artist Dean Martin needs inspiration for a violent new comic book, he takes it from the dreams of his best pal (Jerry Lewis). Unfortunately they also contain the secret code for a new space station. This is the first Martin and Lewis film I've seen, and it was OK. Lewis isn't particularly funny, but you acclimatise to his relentless mugging after a few minutes, and he had a few good moments – particularly his encounter with the Bat Lady and the fat lady. I watched it because of Tashlin, a former animator who specialised in big, bright comedies satirising anything he felt like, including the marvellous Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? But here his direction is overbearing to the point of being annoying, with sound effects at every juncture. The film's best moments belong to Shirley MacLaine as Lewis's girlfriend (it's always amusing to see where stars ranked in the Hollywood Order of Attractiveness). This was her second film and she's so full of energy she's practically bouncing into your living room. Particularly good is her reprisal of the number Innamorata, where she leaps around a staircase, trying to kiss Lewis. In fact, the musical interludes are mostly surprisingly good; rather better than the comedy (the tone is set by the opening scene, which promises a man being flung through a billboard and then contents itself with dropping some paint on people's heads). Martin's Lucky Song, filmed in a similar way to I Got Rhythm from An American in Paris, is a joy, and the title tune is cleverly staged around an artist's palette filled with various women. Did I mention that the film is quite sexist? All in all, I'm not in a rush to check out more Martin and Lewis movies, but if there's one on TV, I might give it a go.