My Friend Irma

Moviecut—My Friend Irma

A musical comedy with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis that, unlike many others, is not focused exclusively on the comedy duo, leaving room for other characters to shine. With Martin more as a singer than a romantic actor and Lewis, although exuberant as ever, reduced to an almost secondary role, I would say that the ones who stand out the most in this film are the duo Diana Lynn and Marie Wilson, the first with an unquestionable charm and charisma and the second with a very amusing role, which she plays perfectly, a kind of female version of Jerry Lewis, much more restrained and elegant, but no less fun for that. A pleasant surprise.

My friend Irma is the first of 16 films that Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis made together, and it's their worst, and only one of two that aren't very good. The reason is Lewis and his character of Seymour. He is a constant complaining, loud, obnoxious character who adds zero comedy to this film. Fortunately, the duo are not the lead stars of the film. That billing goes to John Lund, Diana Lynn and Marie Wilson. Most of the comedy is provided by Lund's Al, and Wilson's Irma Peterson. She provides some scatterbrained humor, and Lund is a riot playing the tough, uneducated but sly con artist. Those two performances trump the terrible Lewis role and raise mediocre roles of Martin's Steve and Diana Lynn's Jane Stacey. Don DeFore is good as Richard Rhinelander, also providing some comedy. The later pairings of Martin and Lewis have Jerry toning down his loud, complaining characters and then dropping that for good comedy and antics. Here are the better lines from this film. Al, "Chicken, believe me. You've got no chance to win this contest." Irma Peterson, 'Why not?" Al, "For one thing, all contest winners live in one of two places - Butte, Montana, or Keokuk, Iowa." Irma, "I'll move." Al, "... And the only other way you can win a contest is if you have a husband who isn't working and you 're the mother of 32 children." Steve, "But what's the sense of living if you have to kill yourself?" Steve. "Well, that's me - never a director, always a chauffeur." Mrs. Rhinelander, "Well, what is she, a neurotic?" Irma Peterson, "Her religion has nothing to do with it." Irma Peterson, "It's just that your son has so much money that she is drawn to him like a maggot." Mrs. Rhinelander, "A maggot?" Al, "Chicken, you're cryin'. What's happened?... You didn't lose your job?" Irma, "Oh, no." Al, "Oh, you had me scared for a minute." Radio Contest Announcer, "Well, ladies and gentlemen, we're about to call the winner of the mammoth $50,000 gift contest. There goes the giant wheel and someone will be the lucky winner. Our telephone operator is waiting to call the lucky winner who is Mrs. Hilda Platz of Keokuk, Iowa, the mother of 32 children." Irma Peterson, "Al was right." Radio Contest Announcer, "Hold it, folks. Mrs. Platz is disqualified - she has no phone. And there goes the wheel again and the call goes to Miss Irma Peterson."

It was seven years ago that I first reviewed this film. Seeing it again now, it's better than I remembered it being. It's a "small" film, notable primarily for the introduction of the comedy team of Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis to the national public. It is based on a CBS radio series. You can't help but wonder how the "other" actors felt when production of the film was already underway when Martin & Lewis were added...and I would say pretty quickly became the main figures in the film. So, in terms of the "real" stars of the film: John Lund is the actual male lead, and he's good here, although I found the character he plays to be annoying; Lund showed early promise, but then never made it to the top of his profession. Marie Wilson is supposed to be shallow, and is; is it acting or was that just who she was? Her film career ended not along after the two "Irma" pictures. Diana Lynn seems a rather pleasant screen presence, and as I recall did show up in future Martin & Lewis films. She died of a stroke at age 45. Don DeFore does nicely as the love competition to Dean Martin. Hans Conreid is around briefly to reprise his role from the radio show. For their first film, Martin and Lewis do rather nicely here. Jerry is...Jerry. But, he's fairly funny here, and you certainly do see the beginning to the Martin & Lewis film persona, even in this first film. Dean is suave and relaxed, and has some pretty decent songs: "Here's To Love" (so relaxed; extended version would have been better; shows up again later in film); "Just For Fun" (nicely done); "Donkey Serendade" (which features the first real Martin & Lewis routine on film); "My Own, My Only, My All". In terms of the story, it's a decent light comedy. Some good laughs, but things are kept simple. It would have been interesting to see what the movie would have been without Martin & Lewis...obviously it would have been a drastically different story. Far from the best of the Martin & Lewis films, but interesting to see careers from their point of ascent.

This is only a moderately funny Martin & Lewis debut film, with Marie Wilson easily stealing the show as the lovable ditzy dame and roommate of Diana Lynn, who might easily have doubled for Vera Miles. Martin had not yet mastered his vocal style, while Lewis is more annoying than funny. As a side note, Ian Wolfe, who played the uncredited role of the marriage pastor at film's end, also played another uncredited role of Dr. Weyland who declines to give Shelley Winters an abortion in A Place in the Sun. Wolfe is one of the few actors who, though not famous, seem to have an unmistakable recognition factor for some reason. There are some funny lines that Wilson delivers, such as "We are both women so let us talk man to man" though I can't recall the exact words. But by far one of the funniest lines I've ever heard in a film is "Don't try dragging the river for my body because I hung myself." I am willing to have a gentleman's bet that the scene where Wilson falls down after following her fiancé out the door was not staged at all but was an accident that was left in the film. Maybe it's included as part of the goofs section in this platform, though I haven't yet checked. However, technically it can't be a goof since clearly the studio saw the scene and decided to leave it in regardless. One final mention goes to my favorite bit actor, Percy Helton, who plays an unusually dignified role as Irma's employer in this movie, though he's usually cast as a sleazy character in noir movies.

Considered a vehicle for comedienne Marie Wilson at the time, "My Friend Irma" is mostly remembered today as the movie that launched the film careers of Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis. Martin sings a couple of songs pleasingly, while Lewis introduces his idiotic overgrown-child persona; I found his antics singularly unfunny, but it's a matter of taste. Diana Lynn is beautiful and believable and grounds the film with genuine emotions; Wilson is eager but she cannot quite compare to Gracie Allen; and John Lund says "chicken" about a hundred times. It's all quite harmless, but overlong at 98 minutes. **1/2 out of 4.

Don't be fooled by the 3 hour, 12 minute running time listed on Google search for this movie; that appears to have been written by Irma herself, combining the two films in this series released a year apart. However, be forewarned as well that even without a cellphone to distract her as she walks down crowded Manhattan streets, she ends up walking into an open manhole. Yes, Irma is the stereotypical dumb blonde, lovably portrayed by veteran actress Marie Wilson who had specialized in those type of roles for over a decade. Irma, in spite of her dimwit personality, is completely lovable, giving the urge to see her protected (from herself mostly) rather than ignored. I wish I could say the same for squeaky voiced Jerry Lewis in his film debut, o.k. in small doses (if you're not French), but at length rather annoying! At least where there's Lewis in these early films, there's also Martin, and he's a suave, likable young actor whose characters had to have the patience of Job to deal with the cloying characters his overrated costar played. Wilson hits her comic height in a scene, where as the secretary to the slimy looking Percy Helton, she turns his office totally upside down, only keeping her job as he tells her, because only she knows how to figure out her filing system. I take each of the Lewis/Martin teamings patiently, and in a few, he's less annoying and obnoxious than others. When Dean sings, the thoughts of Jerry slip into the background, and in their first two films, they are basically supporting. Think Lenny and Squiggy to Wilson and roommate Diana Lynn's Lavern and Shirley. The basic story is simple of how Wilson and Lewis's airhead antics affect the lives of their smarter pals, Lynn and Martin. Don DeFore plays Lynn's romantic interest (and boss) whom she manipulates a job out of. Thanks to Wilson and her agent boyfriend John Lund, Martin and Lewis end up at Wilson and Lynn's house guests, leading to a few amusing complications but not much else. What little plot exists surrounds their attempts to get Martin discovered. At least other than their scenes together, Wilson and Lewis aren't paired romantically; that would in itself would be a recipe for disaster!

My Friend Irma is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. Diana Lynn, the beautiful lead actress, plays such a gold-digging tart, I was rooting for her to get her comeuppance not the predictable "twist" of her falling in lurve with the guy who was broke. He falls in lurve with her too, and this grand romance kindles in less than a day, even though he spends the entirety of their acquaintance wrecking her plans albeit unintentionally while she spends the entirety of their acquaintance being unkind to him. Irma, played by Marie Wilson, was so stupid that it was impossible to have any sympathy for the troubles she brought on herself and everyone around her by trying to "help". She is one of those characters who truly would have done better for the people around her if she had done nothing whatsoever. One can only pray that such an imbecilic creature is sterile. I shudder to think what she would do with children in her care. Her slimy boyfriend was so appallingly selfish I spent the whole movie wishing I could watch him being beaten to a pulp. The good-looking rich man was far too easily taken in for a man who can manage to keep two nickels together for more than five minutes. And Jerry Lewis spent the entire movie talking in a falsetto voice that's ten times worse than fingernails on a chalkboard. Apparently, Lewis mistook being as irritating as humanly possible for humor. He makes every single one of his scenes constant, cringing, unrelieved agony. I thought this guy was supposed to be a famous comedian. I thought he was supposed to have talent. When people said he killed his audiences, they neglected to mention that the audiences died of aneurysms brought on by the stress of unrelenting idiocy delivered in an excruciatingly noxious voice. Did moviemakers mistake rigor mortis grimaces in their audience for grins of delight? That Jerry Lewis was allowed to make even one movie is astonishing; that he was brought back for another one makes me wonder just how good he was at dispensing sexual favors to studio moguls. The only bright spots at all in the film are Dean Martin singing, so do yourself a favor and purchase one of his albums rather than forcing yourself to sit through this torturous mess. If I could give this movie negative stars, I would. It's such a bad movie that it will ruin your enjoyment of the last three movies you watched and the next three that you watch. AVOID.

When Paramount Pictures and Hal Wallis decided to debut their new comedy team find of Martin and Lewis, they chose a vehicle with a built in audience should the new team fail. My Friend Irma was a popular radio comedy from that period with Marie Wilson in the title role of Irma Peterson. Irma is one of those dumb Dora blonds so popular back in the day who seem to just sail through life oblivious to what's around and somehow get through it. She causes all around her to scratch their heads and those closest to her scratch the most. Diana Lynn is her roommate and levelheaded best friend Jane Tracy and John Lund is Irma's charming loafer of a boyfriend complete with New York speech. Lund as boyfriend Al seems so suited for Wilson because anyone else would have given this bum the heave ho years ago. They're engaged, but she's the one who bought him a ring. He's forever got some get rich quick scheme that never works out and that was part of most of the radio comedy episodes. But he might have latched onto a good thing now when he discovers Dean Martin entertaining the customers at a juice bar he works at with a song or two. And of course Dean is working their with Jerry who is trying hard not to burn down the place. Lund signs Martin to a contract and now he will be his manager. At the same time Martin is falling for Lynn and she him. But Lynn has that practical streak in her and she's set her cap for her rich boss, Don DeFore. I think you can see where this is all going. It was a good debut film for Dean and Jerry. But Jerry wanted Lund's role and complained all the way through the shooting to Hal Wallis and director George Marshall. Lewis's part is created and practically shoehorned into the picture. But give Jerry credit, he took the part and made himself a star with it. The one tragic note in this film is that Felix Bressart was supposed to play Professor Kropotkin the doorman of the Gypsy Tea Room. He died in the middle of shooting and Hans Conreid was rushed in as a last minute replacement. My Friend Irma did have a successor film with Martin and Lewis as well in My Friend Irma Goes West. And Marie Wilson recreated her signature part for television for three years. If they ever decide to revive it for the 21st century, Jessica Simpson would be perfect casting. I'd pay to see that.

This is one of my 2nd favorite Jerry Lewis and Dean Martin movies the only one that is better is The Caddy. This movie was also the first of D/M & J/L that I had ever seen. It's quiet little movie but with so many good songs and lots and lots of great laughs by Jerry and a couple of laughs from Irma. This comes highly recommended by me and I hope that you see it after you've read my comment. 9/10