Der Agentenschreck

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.

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.)

I first saw this movie in the 90's with my mother, a huge Dean Martin & Jerry Lewis fan. To this day it is my favorite movie from their pairing. The two play roommates who sing, dance, and at one point consider getting a divorce while trying to pay the rent on their NYC flat. They have a run-in of sorts with their upstairs neighbors and of course, all hilarity ensues. One of my favorite parts of the movie, however, is Shirley MacLaine, in her second movie role. She steals scenes from Lewis every chance she gets and is simply hilarious! The scene between her and Lewis on the stairs is one of my favorite movie moments of all time! I only wish MacLaine had gotten to make more movies with Lewis; they make for a pretty funny pair on screen! Watch for the scene between Martin and the little girl on the street; its a great song with some pretty impressive dancing on both parts. A great movie to watch if you're a fan of Lewis, Martin, or MacLaine.

Lets face it, attempts to make a slapstick comedy, done after the '40's, can hardly be called good or successful ones. This movie however does work out surprisingly and it's one that is hard not to enjoy and will make you laugh, guaranteed. In all honesty, it's one of the most amusing comedies I have ever seen.

It's a movie filled with lots of physical humor, mostly coming from Jerry Lewis of course. This at the same time of course means that there is not much to the story but still the movie has a good script, which story provides the movie with plenty of fun and good characters and some nice comical situations. Still the movie at times feels as if it's trying to have too much story in it, which makes the movie drag a bit at times, certainly toward the end. It also makes the movie a bit overlong and it also easily could had been a shorter one had it cut out some of its lesser story lines. The movie should had focused more only on its comedy.

It's definitely not a too impressive looking movie. The movie didn't cost a lot of money to make. Not that it matters too much for the movie but its quality will probably still put off some people.

Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis were a screen-duo that appeared in quite a few comedies together. Lewis was there for playing the goofy characters and for adding most of the slapstick comedy of the movie, while Dean Martin was mostly there to play the pretty guy and to provide the movie with his singing skills. Kind of a strange and also unlikely duo but it worked out very well within their films. For this movie a whole bunch of other well known actors showed up. Cameos was a thing that became big and mostly popular in the '50's and lost of well known persons show up in this movie, though most of them just aren't that well known and recognizable this present day. The movie further more also features Shirley MacLaine and Eva Gabor among others in some big roles.

All in all a movie that I enjoyed watching and made me really laugh more than once.

7/10

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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