Der Tolpatsch

Before I review The Caddy proper, let me just say that as a big fan of It's a Wonderful Life, I like to mention whenever players of that movie are in others I review. First, there's leading lady Donna Reed who of course was Mary Hatch there. Next, there's Argentina Brunetti-Mrs. Martini there-who's Dean Martin's mother here. Then, there's Bill Edmonds-Mr. Martini there-who's another of the Italian relatives (though I have to admit I didn't recognize him here). Finally, though I also didn't recognize her here, there's Mary Treen who even IMDb couldn't identify by role. Okay, with that out of the way, I'll just say that with Dean & Jerry playing entertainers who were once golfer and caddy, respectively, there's some hilarious scenes of Lewis wrecking havoc at a department store, of impersonating an Important Rich Man, and of disrupting some famous golfers' games. And Martin has an iconic moment when he sings a song that would be permanently identified with him: "That's Amore". And not just him but Jerry and the whole family sings along to one of the most entertaining numbers on film ever. What I didn't like was the way they have Dean treating Jerry like dirt in the middle of the movie and how dramatic that becomes at the expense of the mostly funny business that came before that. But it's worth it just to see how the whole thing ends especially when a couple of surprises happen there. Oh, and it was also hilarious whenever Jerry's boss Fred Clark-best known to me for his part in "The George Burns and Gracie Allen Show"-is on screen. And the leading lady Jerry has here is played by the stunning Barbara Bates. So appealing is she here that I was stunned when I read of how tragic her life turned out. So on that note, The Caddy, despite its unevenness, gets a recommendation from me.

Harvey Miller Jr. (Jerry Lewis) and Joe Anthony (Dean Martin) are two golfers and later Harvey becomes the caddy of Joe. But after causing a chaos at the big tournament their career as golfers is over and soon they find themselves from the world of entertainment.The Caddy (1953) is a great comedy from Norman Taurog. It features the funny man and the king of comedy Jerry Lewis and the straight man Dean Martin. It also has Donna Reed as Kathy Taylor. You can remember this amazing actress from It's a Wonderful Life and other classics. Martin and Lewis were just amazing together. Dean charmed the ladies and took care of singing and Jerry's job was to be the clown and make people laugh. Those were the good times.In 1956 Lewis and Martin sadly broke up but they did just great on their own. Martin lived in the years 1917-1995. Lewis is 77 years old today. He hasn't been working so much lately but last month he did a voice for a character in The Simpsons. I've been a big fan of this comedian for five years, since they showed Lewis movies on TV in the summer of 1998. Thanks for the laughs, Jerry Lewis! But now back to this movie. The Caddy is a movie that offers you lots of laughs and also some great songs, like That's Amore. It's been 50 years since this movie was made but Jerry Lewis movies don't age. They only get better with time.

Joe Anthony (Dean Martin) and Harvey Miller, Jr (Jerry Lewis) are a star humor team. A friend recounts their story to a reporter. Harvey's father is a champion golfer. Harvey could be a great golfer but he can't perform in front of a crowd. When both Harvey and girlfriend Lisa (Barbara Bates) get fired for leaving work to see a golf tournament, Lisa gets him to work as a golf instructor. Lisa's brother Joe becomes his first client. Joe is a natural and starts playing in tournaments with Harvey as his caddy. He falls for socialite Kathy Taylor (Donna Reed).

This is generally fun. It is sad to hear that Martin and Lewis had already started splitting during this film. It doesn't really show on the screen although they aren't always together. Lewis is hamming it up while Martin is suaving it up. It's not the funniest but the guys are working hard. The misunderstanding is stupid but those are often the case in this type of movie. This is a fair Martin and Lewis film.

"The Caddy" is one of more than a dozen comedy films that Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis made together. Their pairing made them both famous in films. This has the usual mayhem that Jerry's Harvey Miller causes or gets into. In one scene in the department store in which he works, he trips, slides, rolls on a coaster table, and clumsily stumbles around and smashes numerous merchandise displays. This scenario includes toppling and breaking several shelves of chinaware and dishes (no doubt, this was not expensive stuff for props). This could very well have established some sort of record for breakage in a comedy film.

Dean sings a few songs, including the debut of a song that would be a major hit and become his signature song for years, "That's Amore." Harry Warren wrote the music and Jack Brooks wrote the lyrics for the song specifically for this film. The song was nominated for a 1953 academy award. Although it didn't win, it was a smash hit with audiences and rose to No. 2 on the Billboard charts that year.

As the title alludes, the film centers a lot around the sport of golf. Jerry gets in some of the best humor there. With legendary golfers Ben Hogan and Sam Snead, there's also some very good golf shots.

This isn't the best of their pairings, but it will entertain folks who like this sort of comedy. I don't recall thinking Jerry was that funny when I watched his films as a kid and later on TV. His later solo movies, when he wasn't such a loud, complaining goofball, had more spontaneous humor, I thought.

Anyway, fans of the two will enjoy this film, and maybe some in the younger audiences will still find it quite funny. Golfers will enjoy seeing the famous pros on the course with the Dean and Jerry.

I have now re-watched all of the Martin & Lewis films and one thing I have noticed is how often Dean had to play characters who were complete louses. I can honestly see how this helped to break up the team as who would want to constantly play jerks in order to make their partner look more sympathetic?! This one finds Dean to be a bit of a jerk--though fortunately it's not nearly as bad in this one as in some of their other films and as a result it works a bit better.

Jerry plays Harvey, the son of a pro golfer who is ALSO a heck of a player. However, Harvey cannot go pro because he chokes up horribly when folks watch him play. But when he meets his fiancée's brother, Joe (Dean), Harvey sees that Joe could be a pro himself--and with his help, Joe enters his first tournament. But there is a problem...Joe wins the tourney and his ego becomes a bit inflated. He soon is taking his new friend for granted. Can Joe pull it together or are the two destined to go their separate ways? What do you think?!?!

One of the best things about this film is the music. Often I find the musical interludes distracting...but here Dean sings one of his greatest hits. "That's Amore" is the PERFECT tune for Dean's talents and you cannot help but love the song. Additionally, the humor is decent and Joe's not nearly so rotten as he could have been! Pleasant viewing.